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The perception of changes in visibility at Class I Parks and Wilderness areas

The language of regulations implementing the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments distinguishes between humanly detectable visibility impairment in Class I Parks and Wilderness areas and the extent to which such impairment adversely affects a park visitor's visual experience. Two lines of environmental perception research have arisen from this distinction, one emphasizing the detectability of visibility impairment, and the other emphasizing a park visitor's experience. This study attempts to deal with issues relevant to both lines of research. Subjects were shown color slides depicting varying levels of visibility in Class I Parks and Wilderness areas under four treatment conditions. A sensitivity gradient emerged from these conditions: Subjects who rated repeated versions of selected vistas for visual air quality were most sensitive to changes in visibility, while subjects who rated a random series of scenes for scenic beauty were least sensitive. Other variables (i.e., scattering angle, and the particular vista being viewed) also proved to have substantial influence on perceptual ratings.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/276583
Date January 1987
CreatorsParsons, Russ, 1957-
ContributorsDaniel, Terry
PublisherThe University of Arizona.
Source SetsUniversity of Arizona
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext, Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)
RightsCopyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.

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