Monitoring Criteria Pollutants on a National Scale

The National Park Service established its Gaseous Pollutant Monitoring Program (GPMP) to protect the air and other resources influenced by air quality in Class I areas. ARS has performed the operation and maintenance aspects of the NPS GPMP since 1988, and the data management aspects of the program since 1996.

The National Park Service established its Gaseous Pollutant Monitoring Program (GPMP) to protect the air and other resources influenced by air quality in Class I areas.

To fulfill these mandates to protect the air and other resources influenced by air quality in the 48 Class I areas they manage, the NPS established a comprehensive air quality program. The program encompasses a wide range of activities including air quality and visibility monitoring and modeling, review of Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit applications, coordination with states and other federal agencies, inventory of air quality‑related values, and analysis and mitigation of air pollution effects.

An important component of the overall NPS program is the Gaseous Pollutant Monitoring Program (GPMP). Data from this program are used to:

• Establish existing or baseline concentrations in NPS units.
• Assess air quality trends in NPS units.
• Evaluate compliance with national air quality standards.
• Assist in the development and revision of national and regional air pollution control policies affecting park resources.
• Provide data for atmospheric model development and evaluation.
• Identify those air pollutants with the potential to injure or damage park natural resources, monitor these pollutants, and correlate the measurable effects to existing ambient pollutant levels.

ARS provides comprehensive operational support of this network including site selection, installation, network operations, instrument calibration and maintenance, site operator support, calibration standards and certifications, quality assurance documentation, and all other aspects of monitoring network operations. ARS also provides full data management support and makes all validated GPMP data available to researchers and the public on a Web page linked to the NPS air quality site, EPA’s Air Quality System (AQS) and AirNow.

Currently, the GPMP operates approximately 40 monitoring sites in 32 units of the National Park System. Monitored parameters include ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates, meteorology, and Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET) dry deposition filter pack sampling, and special monitoring systems, including portable ozone monitors, pollution alert systems, and enhanced high sensitivity monitoring systems.