Acid deposition in Colorado : a potential or current problem : local versus long-distance transport into the state : a compendium of papers presented at a workshop sponsored by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere / Roger A. Pielke, editor.
Series: | CIRA paper ; no. 6[Fort Collins?] : CIRA, [1986?]Description: iv, 230 p. : ill. ; 28 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
Item type | Current library | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BOOK | NCAR Library Foothills Lab | QH545 .A17 .A36 1986 | 1 | Available | 50583000085955 |
A Compendium of Papers Presented at a Workshop Sponsored by the
Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere
Includes bibliographical references.
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Aug. 13-15, 1986.
The purpose of the CIRA workshop held on August 14 and 15, 1986 was to solicit information as
to whether Colorado currently has an environmental problem associated with acid deposition, and
whether sources of the acidic material are predominately from outside the state or within Colorado.
The list of attendees to the Workshop is presented as Appendix A. Each of the attendees was invited
to prepare a written contribution for incorporation into this publication.
The consensus of the Workshop was that the Alpine lakes within the state are the locations
II10st at risk from acid deposition. Of particular concern is the "acid flush" mechanism in which
strong acids build up in snowpacks, only to be suddenly released into the watershed during spring
runoff. The transport of urban pollution by summer thermally-forced daytime upslope flow, and by
winter upslope storms from the Front Range cities of Colorado into the adjacent mountains is also of
concern. National Forest Wilderness Areas and Rocky Mountain National Park, federally mandated
Class I areas, are situated close to this urban source of acid materials.
Except for the urban regions and a few in-state power plants, much of the acid pollutants are
transported into the state from elsewhere. The smelters in southern Arizona and northern Mexico
are of special concern because of their large volume of effluent.
It was generally agreed at the Workshop that while permanent damage to the environment has
not yet occurred, continued and/or increased transport of acidic pollution into the mountains of
Colorado could soon cause irreversible damage. It is, therefore, in the best interest of the state to
reduce pollution effluent from within Colorado, and to work with federal land managers to minimize
the contribution of pollutants transported into the state from outside sources .