Rapid Collaborative Proposal: Characterization, Quantification, and Transport of Incidental Nanomaterials from Wildland-Urban Fires in Surface Waters

火灾是世界上许多生态系统中的自然过程，但它也是一个严重的环境问题，影响人类和环境健康。由于气候和社会变化，预计全球火灾活动和相关的环境影响将增加。2020年8月15日，一场大雷暴席卷美国西部，引发了许多野火。这些大火烧毁了12个州的800多万英亩土地和1万多座城市建筑，加州受影响最大。火灾释放了储存在植物、土壤和结构材料中的金属，可能以偶然的纳米材料的形式存在。这个快速反应研究（Rapid）合作项目将收集与2020年火灾季节相关的时间敏感样本和数据。位于加州奇科的加州州立大学的研究人员将收集灰烬和水样，并进行水分析。南卡罗来纳大学哥伦比亚分校的研究人员将进行偶然的纳米材料分析。本研究将研究火灾产生的纳米材料的组成、性质、转化和动员，这些纳米材料在地表水中接收来自烧伤地区的径流。本项目将资助培养一名博士后。本项目产生的方法、数据和工具将被整合到南卡罗来纳大学和加州州立大学现有的本科和研究生课程中。提高对荒地-城市火灾产生的污染物及其对水资源的潜在影响的了解，将对社会产生更广泛的影响。这些信息可导致在荒地-城市火灾期间和之后制定更好的水资源管理战略，以保护环境和人类健康。2020年的火灾季节是美国西部有记录以来最严重的火灾季节之一，影响了800多万英亩的土地，摧毁了1万多座城市建筑。在荒地-城市界面中，植被和结构材料的燃烧释放出储存在这些材料中的金属，可能以残留和运输的火灾灰烬中附带纳米材料的形式存在。陆地径流将这些偶然的纳米材料动员到下游地表水中，造成环境和人类健康问题。这个快速反应研究（Rapid）合作项目将收集与2020年火灾季节相关的时间敏感样本和数据。加州州立大学的研究人员将收集火山灰和水样，并进行水分析。南卡罗来纳大学的研究人员将进行附带的纳米材料分析。本研究旨在回答以下基本问题：1)由于不同森林和结构的燃烧，形成了哪些金属基附带纳米材料？2)偶然的纳米材料在降雨事件后会发生什么变化？3)偶然的纳米材料是否会在环境中持续存在？该研究将通过生成关于偶然纳米材料尺寸、形状、组成和相的补充数据，提供对火灾形成的偶然纳米材料的全面了解。这些数据将通过采用最先进的多方法方法来表征附带纳米材料的特性，包括单粒子电感耦合等离子体飞行时间质谱、高分辨率透射电子显微镜、x射线衍射、x射线吸收光谱和Mössbauer光谱。建议研究的更广泛影响包括：1)确定荒地-城市火源污染领域的新研究问题；2)向公共卫生等其他领域提供数据，以提高对与火灾事故中纳米材料接触有关的疾病的了解；3)提供可用于开发和验证偶然纳米材料命运模型的数据；4)向公共设施（如饮用水处理厂）提供数据，以改进其处理设计，以确保安全的饮用水处理；5)将本提议研究中产生的方法、数据和工具整合到南卡罗来纳大学和加州州立大学现有的本科和研究生课程中。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Fire is a natural process in many ecosystems worldwide, however it is also a serious environmental concern with implications human and environmental health. Fire activity and associated environmental impacts are projected to increase globally as a result of climate and societal changes. On August 15th, 2020, a large lightning storm moved across the western United States igniting many wildfires. These fires have burned more than 8 million acres of land and more than 10,000 urban structures in 12 states with California being the most impacted. Fire liberates metals stored in plants, soils, and structural materials, likely in the form of incidental nanomaterials. This Rapid Response Research (RAPID) Collaborative project will collect time-sensitive samples and data related to the 2020 fire season. Researchers at California State University, Chico, California will collect ash and water samples and will perform water analysis. Researchers at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina will perform incidental nanomaterial analysis. This research will examine the composition, properties, transformations, and mobilization of fire-generated incidental nanomaterials in surface water receiving runoff from burned areas. This project will support the training of a postdoctoral fellow. Methods, data, and tools generated in this project will be integrated into existing undergraduate and graduate curricula at the University of South Carolina and California State University. Broader impacts to society will result from an improved understanding of pollutants generated by wildland-urban fires and their potential impacts on water resources. Such information can lead to better management strategies of water resources during and after wildland-urban fires to protect environmental and human health.The 2020 fire season is one of the worst on record in the western United States, affecting more than 8 million acres of land and destroying more than 10,000 urban structures. The combustion of vegetation and structural materials in the wildland-urban interface liberates metals stored in these materials, likely in the form of incidental nanomaterials in residual and transported fire ash. Overland runoff mobilizes these incidental nanomaterials to downstream surface waters, causing environmental and human health concerns. This Rapid Response Research (RAPID) Collaborative project will collect time-sensitive samples and data related to the 2020 fire season. Researchers at the California State University will collect ash and water samples and will perform water analysis. Researchers at the University of South Carolina will perform incidental nanomaterial analysis. This research seeks to answer the following fundamental questions: 1) what metal-based incidental nanomaterials are formed due to the burning of different forests and structures? 2) what transformations do incidental nanomaterials undergo following rainfall events? and 3) will incidental nanomaterials persist in the environment? The proposed research will provide a comprehensive understanding of fire-formed incidental nanomaterials by generating complementary data on incidental nanomaterial size, shape, composition, and phase. These data will be generated by adopting a state-of-the-art multi-method approach to characterize the properties of incidental nanomaterials including single particle–inductively coupled plasma–time of flight–mass spectroscopy, high resolution-transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The broader impacts of the proposed research include: 1) identifying novel research questions in the area of wildland-urban fire-borne contamination; 2) providing data to other fields such as public health to improve understanding of diseases linked to fire incidental nanomaterial exposure; 3) providing data that can be used to develop and validate incidental nanomaterials fate models; 4) providing data to public utilities such as drinking water treatment plants to improve their treatment design to ensure safe drinking water treatment, and 5) integrating the methods, data, and tools generated in this proposed research into existing undergraduate and graduate curricula at the University of South Carolina and California State University.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.