Visibility Protection

Scenic vistas in most U.S. parklands are diminished by haze that reduces contrast, washes out colors, and renders distant landscape features indistinct or invisible. Protecting Visibility in National Parks and Wilderness Areas describes the current understanding of the nature and extent of haze in various regions of the United States. The book addresses the scientific and legal framework of efforts to protect and improve visibility, as well as methods for assessing the relative importance of anthropogenic emission sources that contribute to haze in national parks and for considering various alternative source control measures. The volume provides guidance on how to make progress toward the national goal of correcting and preventing visibility impairment due to human activities affecting large national parks and wilderness areas.

Visibility: The Seeing of Near and Distant Landscape Features reviews the science of visibility from how to measure it quantitatively to its impacts by one of the foremost experts in the field. Carefully designed pedagogy allows a diversity of readers, from regulators to researchers to use this book to further their understanding of the field. Topics covered include the interaction of light with the atmosphere and aerosols, the transfer of light through the atmosphere especially as it relates to non-uniform haze layers, perception questions, including visibility metrics, image processing techniques for purposes of visually displaying effects of haze on scenic landscapes, visibility monitoring techniques, and the history of visibility regulatory development. Heavily illustrated to convey the concepts introduced, then followed by more mathematical coverage of the topic Covers all aspects of visibility, including science, social, and regulatory Expands traditional US only coverage of visibility and scenic to global

Air Pollution Control Law provides explanation of the legislative provisions, regulatory requirements, and court decisions that comprise the body of air pollution control law.