RCMI@Morgan: Center for Urban Health Disparities Research and Innovation

项目简介：黄金潮是海洋中大量漂浮的褐藻堆积而成， 2011年开始影响加勒比海、美洲和非洲海岸的马尾藻属。 观察和模型得出的结论是，这些事件主要是由广泛的 气候导致大西洋的富营养化和海洋表面温度升高 变化一次金色的潮汐可以在每公里的海岸线上搁浅多达96，000立方米的藻类 并影响大面积的海岸线，往往与沿海地区的位置相吻合， 社区和频繁的旅游目的地。可能导致各种健康危害 直接或间接地从这种藻类生物量的积累，包括增加的风险， 溺水，接触海藻垫引起的皮肤刺激， 搁浅的藻类生物量，以及藻类分解产生的有害气体。这些 危险不成比例地影响西班牙裔和非洲裔加勒比社区， 这是对健康差异研究最少的领域之一。这项研究将侧重于气体排放 从分解的藻类积累，目的是量化风险的接触， 在美属维尔京群岛的这些事件中产生的硫化氢。该研究将使用 测量硫化物气体产生的分解室实验的组合， 对受影响地区的气体进行直接实地测量。它还将比较两个可用的 测量H2S的技术，以探索可采用的更方便用户的技术 来监控潜在的风险

Project summary: Golden tides are massive accumulations of floating brown seaweed in the genus Sargassum that began affecting Caribbean, American, and African coasts in 2011. Observations and models have concluded that these events are mainly driven by widespread eutrophication and warmer sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic resulting from climate change. A single golden tide can strand as much as 96,000 m3 of algae per Km of coastline and affect large expanses of shoreline, often coinciding with the location of coastal communities and highly frequented tourist destinations. Various health hazards may result directly or indirectly from the accumulation of this algal biomass, including increased risk of drowning, skin irritations from contact with algal mats, proliferation of biting flies from beached algal biomass, and the production of harmful gases from algal decomposition. These hazards disproportionately affect Hispanic- and Afro-Caribbean communities, representing one of the least studied areas of health disparities. This research will focus on gas emissions from decomposing algal accumulations, with the aim of quantifying risk of exposure to hydrogen sulfide produced during these events in the US Virgin Islands. The study will use a combination of decomposition chamber experiments to measure sulfide gas production and direct field measurements of the gas in affected areas. It will also compare two available techniques for measuring H2S to explore more user-friendly technologies that can be adopted by Sargassum cleanup crews to monitor potential risks.