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Understanding Smog in the Sierra
This article based on air quality research takes up in depth the air pollution in Sierra mountain range, Sequoia National Park and San Joaquin Valley. It explains the trends in air pollution, impact of ozone layers, man made pollutant “acid rain”, and discusses in detail the monitoring and solutions to air pollution.
Monitoring indicates that the human population level is the number one most important variable producing air pollution. Air pollution from coastal metropolitan centers, such as the San Francisco Bay Area, is transported East towards the Sierra Nevada.
Some of the major air pollutants showing up in the Sierra Nevada are ozone molecules, acid rain (nitrous oxides and sulfur oxides) and fine Particulate Matter (PM). The Federal ozone limit is set at 120ppb-hr (parts per billion per averaged minute per hour) and 60ppb-hr for California. However, research indicates that damage to vegetation may occur below either of these limits.
Solutions are varied, but include a combination of relatively small, personal actions, that when summed across the entire population can have a significant positive effect.
air pollution, air pollutants, ozone, carbon monoxide, co, particulate matter, pm, nephalometers, transmissometers, spectrophotometers, telephotometers, acid rain, smog, air quality research, air pollution trends, air quality standards, pollution monitoring, pollution measurements, auto-emissions, industrial emissions, power generation emissions, ozone levels, ambient zone, ozone holes, solutions to air pollution
Van Mantgem, Elizabeth. "Understanding Smog in the Sierra." Sierra Nature Notes, Volume 1, November 2001
October 31, 2001 10:00 PM
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Sierra Nevada Mountains, California Central Valley