Atmospheric Deposition

Atmospheric deposition is the transfer of substances from the air to the surface of the earth, either in wet form (rain, fog, snow, dew, frost, hail) or in dry form (gases, aerosols, particles).  This includes acidic deposition, or "acid rain", which is a common term used to reference the acidic components found in rain, snow, fog, dew, or dry particles.  Acid precipitation best describes this atmospheric deposition, which results from a reaction of air pollutants, primarily sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, with water in the air to form strong acids (like sulfuric and nitric acid). The main sources of these pollutants are vehicles and industrial and power-generating plants. In Washington, the main local sources are cars, trucks, and buses.

• Atmospheric Deposition Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (2000)
  (Summary of the current USGS program to measure atmospheric deposition and evaluate its effects) (USGS)
  
  
• Ecological Effects of Nitrogen and Sulfur Deposition (FORT)
  
  
• Effects of Stream Water Chemistry on Mercury Concentrations in Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis) in Shenandoah National Park (.pdf) (LSC)
  
  
• High Elevation Ecosystem Responses to Atmospheric Deposition of Nitrogen in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA (FORT)
  
  
• It’s in the Air: The Ecological Effects of Nitrogen Deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park (FORT)
  
  
  
• Nutrient Limitation, Hydrology and Watershed Nitrogen Loss (.pdf) (This publication made available through the Hydrological Processes (FRESC)
  
  
• Organochlorine Compounds and Current-Use Pesticides in Snow and Lake Sediment in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, and Glacier National Park, Montana (.pdf) (USGS Publications)
  
  
• Plants and Lichens as Indicators of Atmospheric Deposition (.pdf) (National Wildlife Heath Center)
  
  
• Potential Effects of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition
  on Alien Annual Plants in the Mojave Desert (.pdf) (WERC)
  
  
• Snowpack Analysis of Chemical Loading in Glacier National Park (NRMSC)
  

Other Resources

• Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition and Habitat Alteration in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems in Southern California: Implications for Threatened and Endangered Species (.pdf) (USDA Forest Service)
  
  
• Ecosystem Factors Influencing Bioaccumulation Of Mercury From Atmospheric Deposition In Interior Lakes Of The Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota (available through the American Chemical Society's Environmental Science & Technology Website)