Acid deposition source-receptor relationships

If the receptor region is, for example, the Adirondack Mountains region of New York State, a possible specific question of the overall source-receptor problem would be which states contribute to acid deposition in the area. One could make the question even more specific, by asking what fraction of the sulfate deposition in the Adirondacks is emitted as SO2 in the state of Ohio. The development of source-receptor relationships is a key policy question associated with acid deposition. 

The source-receptor relationships we just discussed, if available, tell us the fraction of acid deposition at a receptor that results from emissions of a particular source over a given averaging time. While this information is valuable, we would like to know something more in order to design emission control strategies. What we need to calculate is how much deposition of, say, sulfate at a receptor site will be reduced if S02 emissions by a certain source are reduced by a certain amount. Let us use as an example the estimate presented in the previous section. Assume that the utility S02 emissions in the Lower Ohio Valley are reduced by 50% (cut in half). This area as of about two decades ago (according to the RADM results) appeared to contribute on average 1.8kg(S)ha 1 yr 1 to the sulfur deposition on the Adirondacks. What would be the contribution after the emission reductions ... 

Hidy, G. M. (1984) Source-receptor relationships for acid deposition Pure and simple J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc. 34, 518-531. 

Unfortunately, development of reliable source-receptor relationships remains a challenging task. The magnitude of the task may be appreciated by envisioning North America, an area of about 2500 by 2500 km gridded in cells of 250 by 250 km. This results in some 100 cells, each of which is in principle both a source and a receptor of acidity. The source-to-receptor relation is the contribution of each source to acid deposition at each receptor. Therefore one needs to quantify 10,000 elements of the source-receptor matrix. 

Venkatram, A., and Karamachandani, P. (1986) Source-receptor relationships—a look at acid deposition modeling. Environ. Sci. TechnoL, 20, 1084-1091. 

As will be seen later, the National Cost Curves, in conjunction with the atmospheric source-receptor relationships to be discussed next, are key elements in the development of cost-effective strategies to reduce acidic deposition in Europe. 

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