RAPID Collaborative Proposal: Characterization of upland watershed contamination from wildland-urban burning

RAPID 合作提案：荒地-城市燃烧造成的高地流域污染特征

• 批准号: 1917156
• 负责人: Martin Tsui
• 金额: $ 1.4万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina Greensboro
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-05-01 至 2021-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1917156&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Collaborative; Proposal; Characterization; upland

The multi-institutional team will characterize the effects of the Camp fire on watershed water quality. This was the most destructive wildfire in California history, resulting in 15,000 structures burnt. The extensive number of structures and vehicles that burnt has resulted in concerns that the ash can transport toxic metals and organic contaminants into the surrounding waterways. The upland watershed drains directly into Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir in the California State Water Project. This reservoir provides drinking and irrigation water to millions of users. The potential for mobilization is strong because precipitation occurred prior to emergency clean up and erosion mobilized fire debris into downstream creeks and reservoirs. This research will help understand the concentrations and persistence of contaminants in the watershed post-fire. Such information is necessary to identify potential threats to human and ecological health. Broader impacts to society result from an increased understanding of upland fire impacts on water supplies. Such information can lead to better management strategies to protect water quality.The Camp Fire in November 2018 was the most destructive fire in California history, resulting in 15,000 structures and thousands of vehicles being burnt. There is concern that overland flow of ash and debris from burned structures, cars, and other buildings may transport toxic metals such as arsenic, copper, cadmium, mercury, lead, as well as toxic organic chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, brominated fire retardants, dioxins and other contaminants into the surrounding waterways. This is particularly important given that the watershed drains directly into Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir in the California State Water Project that provides drinking and irrigation water to millions of users. In addition to the threats to Lake Oroville, Butte Creek hosts the last stable Chinook spring run Salmon population in all of California. The potential for contaminant mobilization following the Camp Fire is strong because precipitation occurred prior to emergency clean up, and erosion mobilized fire debris into downstream creeks and reservoirs. To better characterize these potential threats, a multi-institutional team with complimentary expertise in environmental chemistry and transport will assess the concentrations of these and many other heavy metal and organic pollutants in the Camp Fire watershed for 12 months post-fire. The research team will use this information to evaluate the fate and transport of contaminants from the burn area. Specific research will seek to understand 1) how does burning, ash deposition, and rainfall influence contaminant mobilization within the urban area and in downstream waters, 2) how long will contaminants persist in the watershed post-fire, and 3) what are the acute and chronic threats to human and aquatic health associated with contaminant mobilization into surrounding surface waters. The results of this research will improve our understanding of contaminant fate, persistence, and transport following burning. This information will help urban/rural planners, as well as forest and watershed managers to better identify, mitigate, and reduce threats to water quality resulting from forest fires.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.

多机构小组将描述坎普大火对流域水质的影响。这是加州历史上最具破坏性的野火，导致15,000座建筑物被烧毁。大量的建筑物和车辆被烧毁，人们担心灰烬会将有毒金属和有机污染物带入周围的水道。高地流域直接排入奥罗维尔湖，这是加州水利工程中最大的水库。这个水库为数百万用户提供饮用水和灌溉用水。动员的可能性很大，因为在紧急清理之前就发生了降水，侵蚀使火灾碎片进入下游的小溪和水库。这项研究将有助于了解火灾后流域污染物的浓度和持久性。这些信息对于确定对人类和生态健康的潜在威胁是必要的。对旱地火灾对水供应的影响有了更多的了解，对社会产生了更广泛的影响。这些信息可以导致更好的管理战略，以保护水质。2018年11月的坎普大火是加州历史上最具破坏性的火灾，导致1.5万幢建筑和数千辆汽车被烧毁。令人担忧的是，燃烧的建筑物、汽车和其他建筑物的灰烬和碎片在陆地上的流动可能会将砷、铜、镉、汞、铅等有毒金属，以及多环芳烃、多氯联苯、溴化阻燃剂、二恶英和其他污染物等有毒有机化学品输送到周围的水道中。考虑到该流域直接流入奥罗维尔湖，这一点尤为重要。奥罗维尔湖是加州供水项目中最大的水库，为数百万用户提供饮用水和灌溉用水。除了对奥罗维尔湖的威胁外，巴特溪还拥有全加州最后一个稳定的奇努克春季鲑鱼种群。由于在紧急清理之前发生了降水，并且侵蚀作用将火灾碎片转移到下游的小溪和水库中，因此Camp Fire之后污染物动员的可能性很大。为了更好地描述这些潜在的威胁，一个拥有环境化学和运输专业知识的多机构团队将在火灾后的12个月内评估这些以及许多其他重金属和有机污染物在坎普大火流域的浓度。研究小组将利用这些信息来评估烧伤区域污染物的命运和运输。具体的研究将寻求了解1)燃烧、灰烬沉积和降雨如何影响城市地区和下游水域的污染物动员，2)火灾后污染物在流域中持续多久，以及3)污染物动员到周围地表水中对人类和水生健康的急性和慢性威胁是什么。这项研究的结果将提高我们对燃烧后污染物的命运、持久性和运输的理解。这些信息将有助于城市/农村规划者以及森林和流域管理者更好地识别、减轻和减少森林火灾对水质造成的威胁。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。