Source apportionment of sulfur and nitrogen deposition to Rocky Mountain National Park using CMAQ

Donna Schwede1, Sergey Napelenok2 and Jesse Bash3

Excess deposition of sulfur and nitrogen can cause harmful effects to ecosystems.  Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) has historically been at risk to damage due to high nitrogen deposition.  In order to develop strategies to reduce deposition levels, information on geographical sources and emission sectors that contribute to the deposition levels is needed.  Using the Integrated Source Apportionment Method (ISAM) in CMAQv5.3, we analyze the contribution to deposition in RMNP for 2016 from multiple emission source sectors including agricultural fertilizer, agricultural animal operations, mobile sources, electric generating units, and wildfires.  Additionally, we assess the contribution from individual states and regions to the deposition in the park.

 

1US EPA, schwede.donna@epa.gov
2US EPA, napelenok.sergey@epa.gov
3US EPA, bash.jesse@epa.gov