SGER: Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Lake Pontchartrain Ecosystem: Geochemistry, Microbiology, and Potential Human Health Effects

该项目是由探索性研究小额赠款（SGER）资助的几项协调的海洋环境研究之一，用于对卡特里娜飓风造成的新奥尔良洪水这一自然灾害作出快速反应。 这项工作是与夏威夷大学、迈阿密大学和伍兹霍尔海洋研究所的科学家进行的一项更大规模的合作研究的一部分。卡特里娜飓风在墨西哥湾沿岸地区登陆后不久，新奥尔良地区的大范围洪水导致污水溢出和洪水污染。 此后不久，这些洪水未经处理就被不断抽入庞恰特雷恩湖，导致污染物扩散到湖中，最终排入墨西哥湾。 多机构研究小组将合作调查庞恰特雷恩湖及其附近的沃茨受到化学污染物、病原微生物和有害藻华（HAB）生物污染的程度。 这项研究将记录生物和非生物污染物的水平和扩散沿着HAB生物，这些信息将对随后的建模工作非常有用。在这项SGER奖的资助下，位于巴吞鲁日的路易斯安那州立大学的研究人员将调查新奥尔良排水作业对庞恰特雷恩湖生态系统的影响，特别关注与地球化学，微生物学，和潜在的人类健康影响。 路易斯安那州立大学的科学家们将重点研究几个问题：（1）E。 大肠杆菌和肠球菌属细菌在庞恰特雷恩湖，特别是在附近的第17街运河排放，（2）重金属在沉积物和鱼类组织的浓度，特别是要注意甲基汞，（3）的影响，生化需氧量和营养物质在排放的洪水对氧气状况的湖泊，（4）潜在的发展藻类水华，特别注意产生生物毒素的物种，（5）湖中的循环和混合过程及其对排放的洪水对庞恰特雷恩湖生态系统的影响。此外，路易斯安那州立大学将为合作机构的科学家提供后勤支持，并将在任何时候为他们收集和初步处理样本。这项快速反应研究的主要广泛影响是，它将在自然灾害发生后提供急需的信息。 污水释放出的微生物可能会影响包括庞恰特雷恩湖在内的大片地区，并随后影响墨西哥湾。 在这两个地区有大量的人口和渔业，现在和将来可能会因接触这些化学品、微生物和有害藻华生物而患上急性和慢性疾病。 从基础科学和公共卫生的角度来看，调查这些污染物迁移的机制和程度非常重要。

ABSTRACTOCE-0554674This project is one of several coordinated marine environmental studies funded through a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) for rapid response to a natural disaster: the flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. The effort is part of a larger collaborative study with scientists at the NSF-NIEHS Centers for Oceans and Human Health at the University of Hawaii, the University of Miami, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.Shortly after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Coast Region, widespread flooding in the New Orleans area resulted in sewage overflows and contamination of floodwaters. Shortly thereafter, these floodwaters were pumped continuously into Lake Pontchartrain without treatment, resulting in the spread of contaminants into the Lake, which ultimately discharges towards the Gulf of Mexico. Working collaboratively, the multi-institutional research team will investigate the extent to which the waters in Lake Pontchartrain and vicinity have been contaminated with chemical contaminants, pathogenic microbes, and harmful algal bloom (HAB) organisms. The study will document the levels and spread of biotic and abiotic contaminants along with HAB organisms, information which will be useful for subsequent modeling efforts.With funds from this SGER award, researchers at the Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge will investigate the impact of the New Orleans dewatering operation on the Lake Pontchartrain ecosystem, with a particular focus on issues related to geochemistry, microbiology, and potential human health effects. LSU scientists will focus on several issues: (1) concentrations of E. coli and Enterococcus bacteria in Lake Pontchartrain, particularly in the vicinity of the 17th Street Canal discharge, (2) concentrations of heavy metals in sediments and fish tissue, with particular attention being given to methyl mercury, (3) the influence of the BOD and nutrients in the discharged floodwaters on the oxygen regime in the lake, (4) potential development of algal blooms, with particular attention being given to species that produce biotoxins, (5) circulation and mixing processes in the lake and their influence on the impact of the discharged floodwaters on the Lake Pontchartrain ecosystemIn addition, LSU will provide logistical support for scientists from collaborating institutions and will collect and initially process samples for them whenever necessary.The primary broader impact of this rapid-response study is that it will provide much needed information in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The microbes released by the sewage can potentially impact a large area including Lake Pontchartrain, and subsequently the Gulf of Mexico. There are significant human populations and fisheries in both these areas that can experience acute and chronic disease from these chemical, microbial, and HAB organism exposures now and in the future. From a basic science and public health perspective, it is important to investigate the mechanisms by which and the extent to which these contaminants have migrated.