Monitoring microbial fate and transport in subsurface hydrologic systems

这项研究计划旨在改进地下微生物的检测和测量方法，以改善对水源的保护。病原微生物对水资源的污染是一个主要的健康风险，但在加拿大，地下水污染的程度和风险在很大程度上是未知的。如果不能保护浅层、脆弱的地下水源的质量，可能会产生严重后果(例如，沃克顿地下水悲剧)。微生物和其他颗粒，称为胶体，可以从地表向下移动，穿过土壤剖面，到达地下水。微生物胶体在土壤中的移动非常复杂，人们对它们移动的速度或距离知之甚少。这在一定程度上是由于缺乏监测土壤区内胶体浓度的适当技术。最近的研究还表明，水媒疾病暴发与大降水事件之间存在联系，然而，在这些情况下，传统的地下水采样方法不能可靠地进行微生物检测。这项研究的目标有两个：(1)全面测试和改进监测地下微生物浓度的方法，以及(2)使用这些改进的方法，以便更好地了解微生物在野外的运动和生存。将进行实验室实验，以评估不同技术的适用性，包括创新的被动和基于生物的新方法，以监测土壤和地下水中的微生物。然后，将在加拿大的多个实地地点进行一系列试点研究，应用现有的最佳监测技术。这项研究将产生监测水质的有价值的新方法，并对地下微生物的传输有深入的了解，从而改善水资源保护，减少对人类健康的风险。

This research program is aimed at improving methods for detecting and measuring microscopic organisms in the subsurface in order to improve source water protection. Contamination of water resources by pathogenic microorganisms is a major health risk, yet the extent and risks of groundwater contamination are largely unknown in Canada. Failure to protect the quality of shallow, vulnerable groundwater sources, in particular, can have serious consequences (e.g., the Walkerton groundwater tragedy). Microscopic organisms and other particles, referred to as colloids, can move from the land surface down through the soil profile and reach groundwater. The movement of microbial colloids through soil is very complex and relatively little is known about how quickly or how far they will move. This is due, in part, to the lack of suitable techniques for monitoring colloid concentrations within the soil zone. Recent studies have also shown linkages between waterborne disease outbreaks and large precipitation events, yet traditional methods of groundwater sampling are not reliable for microbial detection in these instances. The goals of this research are twofold: (1) to comprehensively test and improve methods for monitoring microbial concentrations in the subsurface, and (2) to employ these improved methods in order to better understand the movement and survival of microbes in the field. Laboratory experiments will be conducted to evaluate the suitability of different techniques, including innovative new passive and biologically-based approaches, for monitoring microbes in soil and groundwater. The best available monitoring techniques will then be applied in a series of pilot studies at multiple field sites in Canada. The research will generate valuable new methodologies for monitoring water quality and yield insights into subsurface microbial transport, thereby leading to improved water resource protection and a reduction in the risks to human health.