Mountain Voices | White Mountain Air Quality and Climate Change: Lessons from the Past 4 Decades

The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) has been monitoring cloud and rainwater on the slopes of Mount Washington for the last 40 years, adding high elevation measurements to the story of acid rain in New Hampshire. The AMC has also tracked other air pollutants (ozone and fine particle haze) and ecological contaminants in stream water for decades in collaboration with the White Mountain National Forest and NH Air Resources. Air quality has dramatically improved, which aligns with stronger federal and state air pollution regulations. Climate indicators AMC has collected at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center since the 1930’s, such as air temperature and snow depth, are telling a different story but can be a similar solution. Join Murray as she shares data and lessons learned from air and climate trends in the White Mountains.

Georgia Murray is a Staff Scientist with the Appalachian Mountain Club. Previously she has conducted biogeochemical research for the Marine Biological Laboratory’s Ecosystem Center at Toolik, Alaska a Long-term Ecological Research site and worked at the University of Washington maintaining a long-term small watershed monitoring site within Olympic National Park. Georgia currently oversees Appalachian Mountain Club’s ambient air pollution program in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service including mountain-based monitoring of cloud, rain, and stream water chemistry in Wilderness areas in the White Mountain National Forest. She also leads AMC’s plant phenology and climate change research which utilizes community science tools and programs such as Nature’s Notebook, Community Snow Observations, and iNaturalist.

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