RAPID: Assessing Thermal and Chemical Response of Hot-springs to Puerto Rico’s Continuing 2020 Seismic Sequence

波多黎各Coamo温泉的温度和流量因持续的地震活动而迅速变化。地下水系统经常受到地震的影响，因为在地面运动期间，裂隙网络可能会打开、关闭或重新排列。了解地震活动和地下水变化之间的任何联系，对于管理水资源、废水储存/注入和评估洪水危害越来越重要。该项目将支持2-3名本科生和1名研究生持续监测现场并收集日常水样进行化学分析。这些学生还将有机会在全国会议上展示他们的发现。这项研究的结果，结合当地地质的信息，也将被用来制作教育宣传材料，在温泉向公众提供。该项目将使用地震记录、温度、水化学和流量的组合数据集，以更好地了解Coamo温泉的水文变化，以响应附近但独立的断层系统上正在进行的地震序列。为此，PI将生成持续一年的温泉温度、流量和水化学(阳离子、阴离子、痕量金属、δD和δ18O)的连续数据集，在正在进行的地震序列中。温度测量将每分钟记录一次，水样将每天采集，流量将每天测量。这些数据将与同期的地震数据一起用于探索地震活动的短期和长期水文响应。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。

The temperature and discharge of the Coamo hot springs in Puerto Rico have rapidly changed in response to ongoing seismic activity. Groundwater systems are often affected by earthquakes as networks of fractures can be opened, closed, or rearranged during ground motion. Understanding any links between seismic activity and changes to groundwater is increasingly important for managing water resources, wastewater storage/injection, and assessing flooding hazards. This project will support 2-3 undergraduate students and one graduate student to continuously monitor the site and collect daily water samples for chemical analyses. These students will also be provided the opportunity to present their findings at a national conference. The results of this study, combined with information about the local geology, will also be used to create educational outreach materials to be provided to the public at the hot springs. This project will use a combined dataset of seismic records, temperature, water chemistry, and discharge to better understand the hydrologic changes to the Coamo hot springs in response to an ongoing seismic sequence on a nearby but separate fault system. To do this, the PIs will generate a year-long continuous dataset of temperature, discharge, and water chemistry (cations, anions, trace metals, δD, and δ18O) of the hot springs during the ongoing seismic sequence. Temperature measurements will be recorded every minute, water samples will be collected daily, and discharge will be measured daily. These data will be used with contemporaneous seismic data to explore both the short- and long-term hydrologic response to seismic activity.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.