Particulate matter makes up the most visible and obvious form of air pollution (Figure 1). Carbonaceous material forms a major component of urban aerosols and can break down into elemental carbon and organic compounds through atmospheric chemical reactions. Within this organic fraction there are a number of organic molecules that are characteristic of their source; these compounds are called molecular markers. A number of molecular markers indicate the origin of the particulate matter and the relative concentration of the marker can indicate the magnitude of the source.

U of Utah Researcher: Wally Jarman, Energy & Geoscience Institute

The Peregrine Falcon (Figure 2 - Falco peregrinus) population in the United States has been recovering from a severe decline that began in the late 1940s. By the 1970s the population had reached a critical level, with very few active pairs remaining. This decline has been attributed to the effect of the organochlorine contaminant, p,p'-DDE (DDE), a stable metabolite of DDT.

The United States Peregrine population is recovering since the banning of DDT and the start of captive breeding programs. Egg samples (Figure 3) have been collected in the United States, from California, the Rocky Mountain Region,and the East Coast since 1986, and are being analyzed foroganochlorine compounds including PCBs, HCB, and Dieldrin (Figure 4).

U of Utah Researcher: Wally Jarman, Energy & Geoscience Institute

We are attempting to identify trends in the distribution, concentration and detrimental effects of contaminants in San Francisco Bay (Figure 5). General water quality is determined by measuring: salinity, water temperature, total suspended solids (TSS), chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen (DO), as well as water toxicity to mysid shrimp (Mysidosis bahia). We are sampling sediments and biota in the San Francisco Bay to quantify the effectiveness of DDT remediation efforts, and to document the decontamination of a marine food web (Figure 5).

U of Utah Researcher: Wally Jarman, Energy & Geoscience Institute

EGAL

U of Utah Researcher: Wally Jarman, Energy & Geoscience Institute