Atmospheric Process of Microcystins in Airborne Cyanobacterial Aerosol

空气中蓝藻气溶胶中微囊藻毒素的大气过程

• 批准号: 2044921
• 负责人: Myoseon Jang
• 金额: $ 33万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2044921&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Atmospheric; Process; Microcystins; Airborne; Cyanobacterial

Suspensions of very small particles are called ‘aerosols’. Aerosols are commonly produced above bodies of water by breaking waves and burst bubbles at the water surface. Such aerosols can travel great distances from the point of origin. Cyanobacteria are a type of photosynthetic algae that grow in surface waters that can produce compounds known as ‘cyanotoxins.’ Many cyanotoxins are toxic to humans, and are of great concern to those people living, working, or recreating near water bodies during cyanobacterial blooms. Such events are called harmful algal blooms (HABs). While the public health threats of HABs are well recognized, there are numerous gaps in our knowledge about how cyanotoxins move in the environment, particularly through aerosolization. The goal of this research is to address this gap through the development of a model for predicting the aerosol transport of cyanotoxin produced during HABs. This goal will be achieved through three specific research objectives to: i) characterize the properties of cyanobacterial aerosols using a novel photochemical reactor to simulate atmospheric aging, ii) develop a computational model to predict the atmospheric transport of aerosolized cyanotoxins using data from laboratory study, and iii) assess the model using measurements of cyanotoxins in field samples collected during HAB events in Florida. Successful development of the model will allow accurate projections of public health risk due to HAB events. Such information would facilitate the use of proactive measures to lessen risk by public health professionals. Additional benefits to society result from increasing the Nation’s STEM workforce through the training of undergraduate and graduate student researchers.The potential for exposure to aerosolized cyanotoxins during HABs is not well studied. The goal of this multi-phase research project is to advance knowledge through the development of a mechanistic model for predicting atmospheric fate and transport of the key cyanotoxin microcystin. The project will have three specific objectives. In Objective 1, the chemical and hygroscopic properties of atmospherically aged cyanobacterial aerosols in a novel outdoor photochemical chamber will be characterized by using state-of-the-science analytical methods. In Objective 2, the Harmful Algae Atmospheric Reaction (HAAR) model will be developed to predict the atmospheric oxidation of aerosolized microcystin using chemical reaction kinetic rate constants and aerosol characteristics obtained from chamber data. In Objective 3, field data will be collected from lakes and estuaries during HAB events in Florida to evaluate atmospheric aging of aerosolized cyanotoxins. The experiments will employ the UF‐APHOR dual chambers, which allow for the quantification of atmospheric aging of complex cyanobacterial toxins and reactive chemical species under natural sunlight. The proposed HAAR model will vastly improve our ability to predict the influence of environmental factors on the fate and transport of aerosolized microcystins. Successful completion of this research will answer fundamental questions concerning the longevity of aerosolized cyanotoxins in ambient air, key information to advance the science of aerosol transport. Society will benefit from this through improved ability to predict the risk of harmful cyanobacterial aerosols in coastal and lakeside communities.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.

非常小的悬浮颗粒被称为“气溶胶”。气溶胶通常是通过在水面上破碎波浪和破裂气泡而在水体上方产生的。这种气溶胶可以从源头传播很远。蓝细菌是一种生长在表面沃茨的光合藻类，可以产生被称为“蓝藻毒素”的化合物。许多蓝藻毒素对人类有毒，并且在蓝藻水华期间对那些在水体附近生活，工作或娱乐的人非常关注。这些事件被称为有害藻华（HABs）。虽然有害藻华对公共卫生的威胁已得到充分认识，但我们对蓝藻毒素如何在环境中移动，特别是通过雾化移动的了解仍存在许多空白。本研究的目标是通过开发一个模型来预测赤潮期间产生的蓝藻毒素的气溶胶运输，以解决这一差距。 这一目标将通过三个具体的研究目标来实现：i）使用一种新的光化学反应器来模拟大气老化，描述蓝藻气溶胶的特性，ii）开发一个计算模型，使用实验室研究的数据来预测气溶胶化的蓝藻毒素的大气传输，以及iii）使用佛罗里达赤潮事件期间收集的现场样本中的蓝藻毒素测量值来评估模型。该模型的成功开发将使由于赤潮事件的公共卫生风险的准确预测。这些信息将有助于公共卫生专业人员采取积极措施减少风险。通过培训本科生和研究生研究人员，增加国家的STEM劳动力，给社会带来了额外的好处。这一多阶段研究项目的目标是通过开发一个预测关键的蓝藻毒素微囊藻毒素在大气中的归宿和迁移的机制模型来增进知识。该项目将有三个具体目标。在目标1中，大气老化的蓝藻气溶胶在一个新的室外光化学室的化学和吸湿性能的特点是使用国家的科学分析方法。 在目标2中，有害藻类大气反应（HAAR）模型将被开发来预测气溶胶微囊藻毒素的大气氧化使用化学反应动力学速率常数和气溶胶特性从室数据。 在目标3中，将在佛罗里达的赤潮事件期间从湖泊和河口收集现场数据，以评估气溶胶化的蓝藻毒素的大气老化。 实验将采用UF‐APHOR双室，允许在自然阳光下定量复杂蓝藻毒素和活性化学物质的大气老化。HAAR模型的提出将大大提高我们的能力来预测环境因素对气溶胶微囊藻毒素的命运和运输的影响。这项研究的成功完成将回答有关环境空气中雾化蓝藻毒素寿命的基本问题，这是推进气溶胶运输科学的关键信息。通过提高预测沿海和湖滨社区有害蓝藻气溶胶风险的能力，社会将从中受益。该奖项反映了NSF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。

项目成果

Modeling of the Atmospheric Process of Cyanobacterial Toxins in Algal Aerosol

• DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00050
• 发表时间: 2023-05
• 期刊: ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: Victoria Zorbas;M. Jang;Baharan Emam;Jiwon Choi

Characterization of Atmospheric Processes of Brevetoxins in Sea Spray Aerosols from Red Tide Events

赤潮事件海浪气溶胶中短尾藻毒素的大气过程特征

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c05740
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Environmental Science & Technology
• 影响因子: 11.4
• 作者: Sem, Karen;Jang, Myoseon;Pierce, Richard;Blum, Patricia;Yu, Zechen
• 通讯作者: Yu, Zechen