Back to Chapter 4: Resource Risks
River management and the Upper Colorado River Recovery Implementation Program
By John Wullschleger
Mysterious tadpole die-off in Whiskeytown
By Jennifer Gibson
Water quality–monitoring partnership on the Pedernales
By John Tiff and Brian Carey
Calling for stronger fossil resource protection: A report to Congress
By Julia Brunner and Lindsay McClelland
Off-road vehicles in Big Cypress to be managed in consideration of natural resources
By Robert V. Sobczak and Antonio J. Pernas
Change in status of lynx and black-tailed prairie dog
Virus responsible for amphibian deaths in parks
Exotic invertebrates spread
Award-Winner Profile - Maintenance Chief Merry Petrossian recognized with award
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Sequoia–Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks exceeded ozone standards in 2000, according to data from the NPS Air Resources Division. For the second year in a row, Sequoia–Kings Canyon (California) was at the top of the list, logging 65 days on which it exceeded the level of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. Next was Joshua Tree (California), followed by Great Smoky Mountains (North Carolina and Tennessee). However, the number of times ozone levels at Great Smoky Mountains exceeded the standard was notably lower (about half) in 2000 than in 1999. This reduction is attributed to climatological differences between the two previous years. Ozone is a secondary air pollutant that results from chemical reactions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in sunlight. It can cause human health problems and damage park vegetation. To exceed the national standard a park must log an eight-hour period in which the average ozone concentrations exceed 85 parts per billion. Further information on this subject is available from the Air Resources Division website at www.nature.nps.gov/ard/gas/exceed.htm. |
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This material is from Natural Resource Year in Review--2000, published by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in May 2000 (publication D-1459)
/YearInReview/yir/yir2000/pages/04_resource_risks/04_10_sidebar_ozone.html
Last Updated: 06/17/2001
Direct comments on this website to jeff_selleck@nps.gov