Welcome to the first issue of the Wisconsin Focus on Energy Environmental Research Update. This newsletter will be published
periodically to feature progress on projects funded by the Focus on Energy Environmental Research Program, along with reports
on the program's outreach activities. Please forward this newsletter to colleagues who may be interested in our program or
research projects.
What is the Environmental Research Program?
This program is part of the Wisconsin Focus on Energy public benefits program. Funding is set aside each year for research
into the environmental effects of electrical generation and transmission in Wisconsin. Projects are chosen in a competitive
RFP process.
The Environmental Research Program's primary goal is to identify and fill gaps in the body of existing knowledge about the
environmental impact of the electricity industry. Another major goal is to find effective ways to communicate the results
of this research to legislators and policy makers who will be formulating future regulations.
RESEARCH PROJECTS DUE TO BE COMPLETED IN 2004
In addition to the MTN and NDN Networks Monitoring Projects, and the University of Iowa study Quantifying Carbon Storage in
Wisconsin Forests, the Environmental Research Program expects results from eight additional research projects by the end
of 2004:
State of the Science on the Ecological Effects of Transmission Line Siting and Construction
Project completion scheduled: June 2004
Principal Investigator: Susan Tikalsky, Resource Strategies, Inc.
Email:
tikalsky@rs-inc.com
For over 50 years, there has been extensive research conducted on the effect of transmission lines on the ecology of the local
environment. The purpose of this project is to synthesize existing work into a summary of what is and is not known, and to
present that body of knowledge integrated with a critical analysis from interviews with scientists involved in current research.
The outcome of this effort will be a comprehensive account of the "state of the science" on studies of ecosystem fragmentation
and its effects on species diversity and invasive species in relation to transmission-line rights-of-way, particularly in the
Midwest. The resulting information will be a critical resource for all parties involved with routing activities, and will help
to reduce the confusion and difference of opinion over the state of knowledge as it exists today.
Measuring Vertical Fluxes of Gaseous Elemental Mercury Near Several Major Sources in Wisconsin
Using Relaxed Eddy Accumulation
Project completion scheduled: December 2004
Principal Investigator: Mark K. Allen, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Email:
mark.allen@dnr.state.wi.us
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is currently developing a rule to control mercury emissions released to the
atmosphere from coal-fired electric utility plants and other major sources. To support evaluation of the rule, the Department
is developing a modeling system for Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region. The vertical flux of mercury near land surfaces
needs to be quantified to more accurately model the potential impact of mercury emissions to the state from coal-fired electric
utility plants and other major sources. This project seeks to measure gaseous elemental mercury fluxes in the vicinity of
coal-fired electric utility plants and other major sources using a conditional sampling method called Relaxed Eddy Accumulation.
Projecting Impacts of Greenhouse Gases on Carbon Sequestration by Wisconsin Forests
Project completion scheduled: December 2004
Principal Investigator: Eric Kruger, Associate Professor, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, UW-Madison
Email:
elkruger@facstaff.wisc.edu
Wisconsin's forests harbor the potential to sequester considerable amounts of the carbon emitted (as carbon dioxide) through
fossil fuel combustion, thereby helping to mitigate the effects of these emissions on atmospheric chemistry and global climate.
In turn, Wisconsin's forests are quite sensitive to levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other trace gases, such as ozone,
which are increasing rapidly. The Aspen Free-Air CO2 and O3 Enrichment Study (Aspen FACE) is uniquely situated to study this
complex topic in Wisconsin. In this project, we will utilize data from Aspen FACE, along with air quality data from the WDNR
Air Management Program, to model and project impacts of elevated levels of CO2 and O3 on carbon sequestration by Wisconsin
forests during the next century.
Mercury in Power Plant Combustion By-Products
Project completion scheduled: December 2004
Principal Investigator: Ken Ladwig, Research Manager, Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, California
Email:
keladwig@epri.org
Mercury occurs in coal combustion by-products (CCBs) produced at power plants in concentrations typically ranging from about
0.05 mg/kg to 1.0 mg/kg. Concentrations in CCBs are expected to increase as a result of the federal and state initiatives to
reduce mercury air emissions from power plants, resulting in greater capture in the fly ash. It is important to understand
the fate of mercury captured in CCBs, so that appropriate management steps can be taken to ensure that new problems are not
created by transferring the mercury from one media to another. This project will establish mercury concentrations in field
leachates at CCB sites in Wisconsin, evaluate mercury leaching in the presence of ammonia from NOx control technologies, and
develop laboratory data on volatilization of mercury from ash samples.
Mercury Chemistry in Power Plant Plumes
Project completion scheduled: September 2004
Principal Investigator: Leonard Levin, Ph.D., Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, California
Email:
llevin@epri.com
Recent field and pilot-scale results indicate that divalent mercury emitted from power plants may rapidly transform to elemental
mercury within the power plant plumes. To establish the presence, direction, and rate of these reactions, it is necessary to
measure power plant plumes relatively close to the stack exit, and compare mercury composition there with measured composition
within the stack. This project seeks to establish whether significant reduction or oxidation reactions occur to mercury emitted
from coal-fired power plants, and what numerical redox reactions rate should apply to these reactions for extension to other
sources and for modeling of power plant mercury plumes locally, regionally, and nationally.
Comparative Toxicity of Secondary Coal Combustion and Mobile Source Emissions
Project completion scheduled: December 2004
Principal Investigator: Annette Rohr, Electric Power Research Institute
Email:
arohr@epri.com
The promulgated National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is mass-based, which assumes
that all PM is equal with respect to health effects. However, since PM is derived from multiple sources and varies widely in
composition, it is unlikely that all components are equally harmful to human health. This project investigates the role played
by specific emissions sources and components in the induction of adverse health effects by examining the relative toxicity of
coal combustion and mobile source (gasoline and/or diesel engine) emissions and their oxidative products. The study findings
will help to answer questions regarding which constituents of PM are responsible for the negative health outcomes observed,
the likely sources of these constituents, and the degree to which further regulation of PM will improve human health.
Evaluation of Fin Clips as a Non-lethal Approach for Estimating Mercury Concentrations in Fish
Project completion scheduled: December 2004
Principal Investigator: Dr. Kristofer Rolfhus, River Studies Center, UW-La Crosse
Email:
Rolfhus.kris@uwlax.edu
Existing approaches for monitoring mercury content in sport fishes involve the dissection of sampled fish and the subsequent
analysis of axial muscle tissue or edible filets, a process requiring the removal of analyzed fish from the sampled population.
Alternative approaches for non-lethal, non-invasive sampling for monitoring mercury in game fishes are desirable. This project
examines whether analysis of methylmercury in a pelvic fin clip is a suitable substitute for the determination of total mercury
content in filets. Linear regression will be used to determine the relation between concentrations of mercury in axial muscle
and pelvic fins from fish within each lake studied. The slopes of the regression equations will be compared to determine if
the relations are constant among lakes and to evaluate the utility of pelvic fins as a useful management tool in the determination
of total mercury content in resident sport fish.
OTHER CURRENT PROJECTS
Research projects scheduled for completion in 2005 and beyond include the following:
Lichen Bioaccumulation and Bioindicator Study near Alliant Energy Columbia Generating Facility
Project completion scheduled: March 2005
Principal Investigator: Susan Will-Wolf, Botany Department, UW-Madison
Impacts of Forest Management Activities on Carbon Sequestration and GHG Emissions
Project completion scheduled: June 2005
Principal Investigator: Stith T. Gower, Professor, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, UW-Madison
Fate andTransport of Mercury in a Recovering Watershed
Project completion scheduled: June 2005
Principal Investigator: James P. Hurley, Associate Scientist, Water Science and Engineering Laboratory, UW-Madison
Population-based Methylmercury Exposure Assessment
Project completion scheduled: June 2005
Principal Investigator: Lynda Knobeloch, Ph.D., Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
Assessing the Ecological Risk of Mercury Exposure to Common Loons
Project completion scheduled: June 2005
Project Manager: Michael W. Meyer, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Integrated Science Services, Rhinelander, WI
Study Director: Kevin P. Kenow, U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center (UMESC), La Crosse, WI
Mercury in Selected Fish Species over Time
Project completion scheduled: December 2007
Principal Investigator: Candy Schrank, Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Changes in Biodiversity in Selected Natural Communities Related to Global Climate Change
Project completion scheduled: June 2008
Principal Investigator: Craig Anderson, Program Botanist, Natural Heritage Inventory Bureau of Endangered Resources, Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
PROJECTS IN FOCUS:
Project results from the University of Iowa: Quantifying Carbon Storage in Wisconsin Forests
Principal Investigator: Jerald Schnoor, Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research
Email:
jerald-schnoor@uiowa.edu
Addressing climate change is a challenge that will call on many disciplines. The Center for Global and Regional Environmental
Research (CGRER) at the University of Iowa has completed a project funded by the Environmental Research Program that adds an
important tool to the battle against climate change. This project marries geographic information systems (GIS) technology with
techniques from soil and forestry science to provide important information for climate policy.
CGRER has developed a method for quantifying the carbon stored in Wisconsin's 16 million acres of forested land. This method
uses data collected by the USDA and the Wisconsin DNR to produce an estimate of carbon stored in forest soils and biomass. CGRER
found that around 288 million metric tons of carbon are stored in Wisconsin forest soils, and that about 700,000 metric tons
of carbon are taken up by these soils every year. Forest biomass - leaves and tree trunks - store about 350 million metric tons
of carbon and add around 4 million metric tons to this total yearly. Combined, this equals about 13 percent of the greenhouse
gas emitted by Wisconsin utilities each year.
Why does this matter? Strategies to address climate change will not only include techniques to reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases but also those that increase the use of natural mechanisms to store carbon. The CGRER model helps to make better estimates
of the role that forest management can play in reducing the effects of climate change. And, having developed and tested the
model for Wisconsin, it can be rapidly and inexpensively adapted to other forest environments.
This model improves our ability to estimate the carbon storage capacity of forests, and will be of interest to anyone concerned
with climate change or forestry management policy.
WDNR Monitoring Wisconsin's piece of the puzzle: The National Atmospheric Deposition Program
Principal Investigator: Bruce Rodger, Air monitoring Field Operations Team Leader, WDNR
Email:
rodgeb@dnr.state.wi.us
The Focus on Energy Environmental Research Program recognizes the vital importance of monitoring certain aspects of environmental
quality, and particularly the need to collect data continually over time. Only then will we understand where pollution mitigation
priorities lie, and whether strategies that have been implemented have been effective or not. Two ongoing projects funded by
the Environmental Research Program not only monitor conditions in Wisconsin, but as part of two longstanding national networks,
they assist in monitoring trends both regionally and nationwide.
Since 1980, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has participated in the National Trends Network (NTN), which
was established by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) in 1978 to measure a variety of chemicals in the atmosphere.
The NADP/NTN grew from 22 stations at the end of its first year, to over 240 sites spanning the continental United States,
Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. WDNR presently operates a network of seven NTN stations throughout Wisconsin.
(View national NADP/NTN sites at
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/sites/ntnmap.asp)
In 1995, NADP established a secondary network of deposition monitoring stations, the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN), for the
specific purpose of measuring the deposition of mercury throughout North America. Wisconsin participated in the establishment
of this network from its beginning. WDNR presently operates five MDN stations in Wisconsin. There are now over 77 active sites
in the MDN network including stations across the U. S. and Canada. Stations for both networks collect samples of precipitation
for analysis, and all samples are sent to one central laboratory to keep data precise and consistent. (See map at
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/mdn/sites.asp)
Historical levels of pollutants in the atmosphere provide important clues as to what is happening to the chemistry of Wisconsin's
precipitation today. Long-term changes in the atmosphere occur very slowly, obscured by wide month-to-month variability in
chemistry measurements. In order to see beyond the short-term changes, it is necessary to analyze precipitation samples collected
by NTN and MDN sites over many years.
The National Trends Network (NTN)
Scientists and policy makers use the data provided by the NTN to examine the effectiveness of air quality regulations, determine
whether changes in land use are affecting atmospheric conditions and answer other questions regarding atmospheric deposition.
The precipitation at each NTN station is collected weekly according to strict clean-handling procedures. It is then sent to
the Central Analytical Laboratory (Illinois State Water Survey at the Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL) where it is analyzed
for hydrogen (acidity as pH), sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, chloride, and base cations (such as calcium, magnesium, potassium
and sodium). Excellent quality assurance programs ensure that the data remain accurate and precise.
A continuous record of atmospheric deposition data for Wisconsin has been generated through Wisconsin's participation in the
NADP/NTN network since 1980. Data from Wisconsin's NADP/NTN stations has established a database to measure trends in precipitation
chemistry and deposition of the above constituents to precipitation across Wisconsin. This data is critical to determine the
changes in atmospheric deposition in Wisconsin with time. Deposition trends will allow policymakers to determine if strategies
developed to reduce harmful atmospheric deposition in Wisconsin are working.
The Mercury Deposition Network (MDN)
WDNR has kept ongoing records of mercury deposition data for Wisconsin since it began participating in the MDN network in 1995.
The objective of the MDN is to develop a national database of weekly concentrations of total mercury in precipitation and the
seasonal and annual flux of total mercury in wet deposition. The MDN data will enable researchers to determine seasonal and annual
fluxes of mercury in precipitation falling on lakes, wetlands, streams, forested watersheds and other sensitive ecosystems. The
MDN characterizes the extent of the mercury problem, describes regional patterns of mercury deposition, and assesses deposition
changes over time. This data will be especially useful to ground truth mercury modeling efforts to predict mercury deposition
as controls are added to mercury sources to reduce emissions.
Weekly wet deposition samples at the MDN mercury deposition network sites are collected using standard, clean protocols for trace
metals. All MDN field technicians responsible for collecting MDN samples have received certification training at the Illinois
State Water Survey (ISWS) for performance of precipitation sampling at MDN sites.
Wisconsin's participation in both the NTN and MDN networks is essential for tracking atmospheric pollution within the state and
for helping to complete both the regional and national deposition picture. The Environmental Research Program plans to continue
its support of these important monitoring efforts.
A visit to the National Atmospheric Deposition Program web site at
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/
will show network maps and data trends for both the National trends Network and the Mercury Deposition Network, along with
details and photos of the monitoring sites.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH PROGRAM OUTREACH UPDATE
A number of new research project reports are due for publication in 2005-2006. Outreach efforts will focus on providing summaries
of project findings and publishing them on the Focus on Energy website. The complete final research reports will also be made
available on the web. We will be sending out e-mail announcements as these reports become available, so let us know if you wish
to receive these updates. Send your request to
ikelley@ecw.org.
