One can easily understand how air pollution could affect visibility throughout Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
What’s not as easy to see, but is just as devastating, is how the concentrations of nitrogen and sulfur in the air are impacting water chemistry, aquatic life and even vegetation.
air quality
Great Smoky Mountain Air
Great Smoky Mountains National Park's biologically diverse ecosystems face the threat of air pollution. However, the future may hold clearer skies as air quality over the park might be improving.
Sense of Air: Lesson Plan
From a pollution-sensing bench to high tech monitoring devices, EPA researchers in Research Triangle Park are at the forefront of monitoring the nation’s air quality.
Beyond the Bench
Remember that old saying: “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
It’s especially true when you’re talking about the bench in front of the Durham County South Regional Library near Research Triangle Park.
As you can see from the photo, the bench is very much a bench. But it turns out, that particular bench is also part of a project sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to test what you could call next-generation air monitoring stations.
Sense of Air
From a pollution-sensing bench to high tech monitoring devices, EPA researchers in Research Triangle Park are at the forefront of monitoring the nation’s air quality.
The Air We Breathe
The Appalachian Mountains, with dense forest cover, make western North Carolina a unique laboratory from which to monitor air quality and atmospheric conditions and their impact on ecosystems.