Uses of NADP Data

Uses of National Atmospheric Deposition Program/
National Trends Network Data for Science Education and Environmental Problem Solving; November 27, 1995 to February 10, 1997

Mark A. Nilles, John D. Gordon and Charles J. Litteral, U.S. Geological Survey
Gary Lear and Cathy Copeland, NADP Coordination Office, NREL,
Colorado State University

U.S. Geological Survey
Open-File Report 97-45

The use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

ABSTRACT

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the lead agency for the monitoring of atmospheric deposition in the United States. The USGS supports 77 of the 191 sites in the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) and provides nearly one-half of the network operating budget. In late 1995, NADP/NTN data were made available on the Internet at http://nadp.nrel.colostate.edu/NADP/.

Four hundred ninety six uses of data were identified as supporting science education. Students ranging from the fourth grade through Ph.D. candidates utilized the NADP/NTN data to analyze environmental data and its application in science education. For this group, the NADP/NTN data provide a readily available source of finalized, quality assured, and summarized on-line information for use in science education projects and assignments. Because of the national scope of the network, educators and students can easily locate data from sites near their community.

In addition to educational applications, 565 uses of data were identified as supporting environmental problem solving. This includes uses for industry, environmental organizations, government agencies at the Federal, State and local level, university researchers, and international organizations. For this group, the NADP/NTN data represent an essential source of environmental data that supports work on air and water quality issues, environmental regulation, materials effects, research, global change, agriculture, and hundreds of other significant applications.

INTRODUCTION

The USGS is the lead agency for the monitoring of atmospheric deposition in the United States. The National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) brings together the USGS and over 100 other partners from federal, state, local and private organizations to provide continuous measurement and assessment of precipitation chemistry and acid rain at sites throughout the United States. The network is the only nationwide deposition network and provides coast to coast and border to border coverage. The USGS operates 77 of the 191 sites and provides nearly one-half of the network operating budget.

In November 1995, all data and other network products and summaries were made globally available on the Internet by the NADP/NTN coordination office located at Colorado State University. The data and other products are accessed via the coordination office's World Wide Web (WWW) site at http://nadp.nrel.colostate.edu/NADP/. As part of the WWW project for the NADP/NTN, an on-line form is used to track the external customers for the network's data and document the intended applications for the information that was downloaded. The on-line authorization form is only required to be filled out when downloading data. A number of other products, including US maps showing deposition and precipitation chemistry patterns, site photos and summary information are available without completing the form. For this reason, the number of applications documented in this report represents only about 10% of the number of site accesses recorded by the coordination office.

In organizing and categorizing the information from the user forms, care was taken to eliminate duplicate entries. Some apparent duplications in the following tables are in fact different students from an individual school who are accessing the data for a common class assignment. Also, similar entries were retained when an individual's records indicated that the application for data had changed or if a significant length of time had passed between data accesses. Additional contact information provided in the file was examined to identify these situations. The data in the appendix are direct quotes by users and are minimally edited.

USES OF NADP/NTN DATA

This report identifies two distinct groups of users. The first group consists of those using the data for educational purposes. In the appendix of this report, 496 uses of data were documented as supporting science education. This includes students ranging from the fourth grade through Ph.D. candidates who are using the data to prepare dissertations, papers, projects, science fair exhibits and a myriad of other learning based activities. For these users, the NADP/NTN represents a valuable and unique source of data with which to analyze, summarize and to understand environmental data and it's application to science education. Because of the national scope of the network, educators and students can easily locate data near their community.

In addition to educational applications, 565 uses of data were identified as supporting environmental problem solving. This includes application by industry, environmental organizations, government agencies at the Federal, State and local level, university researchers, and international organizations. For this group, the NADP/NTN data represents a essential source of environmental data that supports work on air and water quality issues, environmental regulation, materials effects, research, global change, agriculture, and hundreds of other significant applications.

For additional information write to:		Copies of this report can be obtained from:
Chief, Office of Water Quality		Mark A. Nilles
U.S. Geological Survey		Water Resources Division, BQA
MS-412		PO Box 25046, Mail stop 401
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive		Bldg.53, Denver Federal Center
Reston, VA 20192		Denver, CO 80225

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

USES OF NADP/NTN DATA