Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #139976
Title: ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION OF AGRICULTURAL PESTICIDES TO SENSITIVE ECOSYSTEMS

Author
item McConnell, Laura
item TORRENTS, ALBA - UNIV. OF MARYLAND
item SPARLING, D. - USGS
item FELLERS, G. - USGS
item COWMAN, D. - USGS

Submitted to: American Chemical Society SE/SW Regional Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/14/2002
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Off-site transport of pesticides from the point of application may occur by runoff to surface waters, leaching into sub-soil layers and groundwater, and via volatilization to the atmosphere. Atmospheric transport and subsequent deposition of pesticides may negatively affect sensitive wildlife species. In this report, we present results from on-going projects in National Parks located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Delmarva Peninsula of the Chesapeake Bay. Concerns over amphibian population die-offs have led to an investigation of atmospheric loadings of organophosphate pesticides from intensive agricultural activity in California's Central Valley. Agrochemical pollution has been implicated in a severe decline in water quality and aquatic species populations in the Chesapeake Bay over the last three decades. Development of environmental sampling methods optimized for these more polar chemicals and the establishment of a small network of collection sites on the Delmarva Peninsula have revealed the complexity of atmospheric pesticide loadings to this region.