RAPID: Collaborative Research: Assessing chemical and microbiological contamination in environmental waters in Eastern North Carolina after Hurricane Florence

2018年飓风佛罗伦萨经过北卡罗来纳州东南部，造成大范围洪灾。受洪水影响最严重的县有数以千计的猪和家禽圈养动物饲养作业(CAFO)。这些地区也是许多低收入、非裔美国人、西班牙裔和美国印第安人社区的家园。这项研究的目的是研究飓风洪水造成的污染物向环境中的扩散。评估的污染物包括来自火山灰的重金属、与工业和市政废水有关的新出现的化学污染物，以及与CAFO有关的病原体和营养物质。这一项目将使人们更好地了解极端洪灾带来的风险。受洪灾影响的当地社区将通过确定采样点和传播研究结果来参与这项研究。结果将产生更广泛的影响，通过确定可以修改的废物管理操作，以防止未来洪水事件中的此类排放。这项工作的中心目标是评估由飓风佛罗伦萨洪水造成的牲畜和工业作业洪水附近环境的微生物和化学污染。第二个目标是了解不同的土地使用和禽畜废物管理做法对污染物负荷的相对影响。为实现这些目标，本研究项目有以下目标：(1)收集样本以量化微生物污染(即人类、家禽和猪特定粪便微生物来源跟踪目标和抗菌剂抗性基因)、营养物质(N和P)、重金属和新出现的化学污染物的分子目标的时空变异性；(2)利用卫星图像和机器学习技术确定污染、洪水范围、土地利用(例如CAFO密度、工业场地、城市地区)和粪便管理实践之间的空间关系；(3)评估洪灾后自然环境中生物和化学物种的持久性。为了实现这些目标，研究小组将在飓风佛罗伦萨后发生严重洪灾的多个沿海平原河流流域的50个地点进行采样，以高空间分辨率绘制先进的化学和生物水质指标图。该小组在飓风发生后一周内进行了抽样，然后将在~1个月、~2个月和~6个月后进行抽样。从这项研究中获得的知识将直接为飓风后许多污染源地区的应急管理协议的改进提供参考。这项工作将通过发布废物管理建议产生更广泛的影响，这些建议考虑到随着我们的气候变化，未来发生极端洪水事件的可能性和严重性越来越大。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Hurricane Florence passed through southeast North Carolina in 2018 resulting in widespread flooding. The counties most affected by flooding house thousands of swine and poultry confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). These areas are also home to many low-income, African American, Hispanic, and American Indian communities. The objective of this research is to study the spread of contaminants into the environment caused by Hurricane floodwaters. The pollutants assessed include heavy metals from coal ash, emerging chemical contaminants related to industrial and municipal wastewater, and pathogens and nutrients associated with CAFOs. This project will result in improved understanding of the risks posed by extreme flooding. Local communities affected by the flooding will be engaged in this research through the identification of sampling sites and communication of research results. The results will have broader impact through the identification of waste management operations that can be modified to prevent such releases in future flooding events.The central aim of this work is to assess microbial and chemical contamination of the environment near livestock and industrial operations flooding caused by Hurricane Florence floodwaters. A secondary aim is to understand the relative impacts of different land-usage and livestock waste management practices on contaminant loading. To achieve these aims, this research project has the following objectives: (1) Collect samples to quantify spatiotemporal variability in molecular targets for microbial contamination (i.e., human-, poultry-, and swine-specific fecal microbial source tracking targets and antimicrobial resistance genes), nutrients (N and P), heavy metals, and chemical contaminants of emerging concern; (2) Identify spatial relationships between contamination, flooding extent, land-use (e.g., CAFO densities, industrial sites, urban areas) and manure management practices using satellite imagery and machine learning techniques; (3) Assess persistence of biological and chemical species in the natural environment post-flooding. To achieve these objectives, the research team will sample across 50 sites in multiple coastal plain river basins where intense flooding occurred after Hurricane Florence to map advanced chemical and biological water quality indicators in high spatial resolution. The team sampled within a week after the hurricane, and then will sample after ~1 month, ~2 months, and ~6 months. Knowledge gained from this study will directly inform improvements to emergency management protocols post-hurricane in landscapes with many contaminant sources. The work will have broader impact through the promulgation of waste management recommendations that account for the increasing likelihood and severity of extreme flooding events expected in the future as our climate changes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.