USDI - Bureau of Land Management: Dust on Snow

1. USDI - Bureau of Land Management: Dust on Snow Scott F. Archer, Senior Air Resource Specialist USDI - Bureau of Land Management scott_archer@blm.gov November 9, 2009 Sources: Images 1&2 Nine Mile Canyon Coalition Images 3&4 NASA Earth Observatory May 2008 and May 2009

3. Chronology ● National Public Radio, May 30, 2006 “Dust Storms Threaten Snow Packs” by Richard Harris ● National Public Radio, May 31, 2006 “Stirring Up Dust in the Desert” by Richard Harris ● Washington Post interview on December 24, 2008 of two BLM Scientists, two BLM Managers, and two BLM Public Affairs Specialists ● Washington Post follow-up questions on April 13, 2009 ● Washington Post, April 23, 2009 “Rise in Dust Storms Spurs Environmental Fears” by Juliet Eilperin

4. BLM Fugitive Dust Concerns ● Soil disturbance and lack of health vegetation cover increases mobilization and fugitive dust impacts ● Increased energy development leads to soil disturbance (especially surface mining, oil and gas well pad and road construction, and vehicle use) ● Organized Off Road Vehicle Events (especially staging areas) and open/occasional Recreational Vehicle Use Areas ● Overgrazing by domestic livestock, WH&B, and wildlife ● Unique special cases (such as BLM Nine Mile Canyon Backcountry Byway east of Price, Utah) ● BLM has closed some areas to recreational use, in part to limit fugitive dust impacts

5. Washington Post Article ● “… an increasing amount of airborne dust is blanketing the region, affecting how fast the snowpack melts, when local plants bloom and what quality of air residents are breathing.” ● “Jayne Belnap, a research ecologist at the [USGS] who has studied the issue, predicts that by midcentury, the fragility of the region's soil "will be equal to that of the Dust Bowl days.” … "No one has an appreciation for the scope of the calamitous impacts.“ ● “Jason Neff, … [UC-Boulder], has estimated that the amount of dust falling back to Earth now is up to five times as much as the amount before Europeans arrived. … "Nobody could deny all this activity is causing more dust," Neff said… “

6. Washington Post Article ● “Thomas H. Painter, … [U of UT], has calculated that dust deposition significantly reduces snow's reflectivity. "It's effectively like turning up the sun 50 percent and putting that energy into the snow," he said.” ● “But the Bureau of Land Management says it sees no reason to change its rules for issuing permits for dust-generating activities on the land it controls. "It's something we look at," said Scott Archer, a senior air resource specialist at the bureau. "In the big scheme of things, no, it's not that big a deal." ● However, Archer’s comments were made only in direct response to a Washington Post question regarding traditional domestic livestock grazing on BLM administered lands.

7. Additional Studies ● “Multi-Decadal Impacts of Grazing on Soil Physical and Biogeochemical Properties in Southeast Utah” by J.C. Neff, et al, February 2005, in Ecological Applications ● “Increasing Eolian Dust Deposition in the Western United States Linked to Human Activity” by J.C. Neff, et al, February 24, 2008, in Nature Geoscience ● “Images of 4 March 09 Dust Storm, North End of Milford Flat Fire” by Mark Miller, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center, Kanab, Utah ● “Biological Consequences of Earlier Snowmelt From Desert Dust Deposition in Alpine Landscapes“ by Heidi Seltzer, et al, July 14, 2009, in Proceedings:Nat’l Academy of Sciences

8. BLM Dust on Snow Activities ● Hired Morgan Phillips, student at Colorado Climate Center ● Consulted with Chris Landry, director of the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies in Silverton, Colorado ● Investigated high number of Colorado alpine dust deposition events in 2009 (focused on meteorological conditions and potential source regions) ● Analysis of individual RAWS stations during recorded Colorado dust events ●Identification and analysis of dust event generating vs. non-dust generating high wind periods ●Exploration of synoptic scale patterns and regional climate associated with period surrounding dust storms

9. RAWS sites with high winds best corresponding to dust events NOTE: Isotopic analysis also identified the Colorado Plateau as a likely source of dust found in the Colorado snow pack. (Painter et al, 2007)

10. April 3, 2009 GOES Visible loop

11. Dust Generating v. Non-Dust Generating High Wind Events Dust Event Dust Event Time series graph generated from RAWS data in Hopi, Arizona from March 28, 2009 to April 5, 2009

12. Atmospheric Conditions • Specific atmospheric conditions existed downstream of Colorado during the generation of significant dust storms • Sustained, high velocity boundary layer winds • General southwesterly flow during peak winds • Vertical structure is critical to entrainment and transport • Ideal Storm Generating Setup • Deep surface low pressure center over Wyoming with strong NW to SE moving cold front • Strong Southwesterly winds extending to 700 mb layer • Large area of high pressure located off west coast • Relative humidity, antecedent moisture and precipitation also contribute to storm generation.

13. Departure from Average of High Wind Days v.Southern Oscillation Index SOI data obtained from NWS Climate Prediction Center

14. Additional Fugitive Dust Regulatory Concerns Source: New Mexico Environment Department – Air Quality Bureau

18. Questions? Please feel free to contact: Scott F. Archer Senior Air Resource Specialist USDI – Bureau of Land Management Denver Federal Center, Building 50 P.O. Box 25047 Denver, Colorado 80225-0047 USA +1.303.236.6400 scott_archer@blm.gov