RAPID Collaborative Proposal: Characterization of upland watershed contamination from wildland-urban burning

RAPID 合作提案：荒地-城市燃烧造成的高地流域污染特征

• 批准号: 1917140
• 负责人: Edward Kolodziej
• 金额: $ 1.4万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-05-01 至 2021-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1917140&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Collaborative; Proposal; Characterization; upland

The multi-institutional team will characterize the effects of the Camp fire on watershed water quality. This was the most destructive wildfire in California history, resulting in 15,000 structures burnt. The extensive number of structures and vehicles that burnt has resulted in concerns that the ash can transport toxic metals and organic contaminants into the surrounding waterways. The upland watershed drains directly into Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir in the California State Water Project. This reservoir provides drinking and irrigation water to millions of users. The potential for mobilization is strong because precipitation occurred prior to emergency clean up and erosion mobilized fire debris into downstream creeks and reservoirs. This research will help understand the concentrations and persistence of contaminants in the watershed post-fire. Such information is necessary to identify potential threats to human and ecological health. Broader impacts to society result from an increased understanding of upland fire impacts on water supplies. Such information can lead to better management strategies to protect water quality.The Camp Fire in November 2018 was the most destructive fire in California history, resulting in 15,000 structures and thousands of vehicles being burnt. There is concern that overland flow of ash and debris from burned structures, cars, and other buildings may transport toxic metals such as arsenic, copper, cadmium, mercury, lead, as well as toxic organic chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, brominated fire retardants, dioxins and other contaminants into the surrounding waterways. This is particularly important given that the watershed drains directly into Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir in the California State Water Project that provides drinking and irrigation water to millions of users. In addition to the threats to Lake Oroville, Butte Creek hosts the last stable Chinook spring run Salmon population in all of California. The potential for contaminant mobilization following the Camp Fire is strong because precipitation occurred prior to emergency clean up, and erosion mobilized fire debris into downstream creeks and reservoirs. To better characterize these potential threats, a multi-institutional team with complimentary expertise in environmental chemistry and transport will assess the concentrations of these and many other heavy metal and organic pollutants in the Camp Fire watershed for 12 months post-fire. The research team will use this information to evaluate the fate and transport of contaminants from the burn area. Specific research will seek to understand 1) how does burning, ash deposition, and rainfall influence contaminant mobilization within the urban area and in downstream waters, 2) how long will contaminants persist in the watershed post-fire, and 3) what are the acute and chronic threats to human and aquatic health associated with contaminant mobilization into surrounding surface waters. The results of this research will improve our understanding of contaminant fate, persistence, and transport following burning. This information will help urban/rural planners, as well as forest and watershed managers to better identify, mitigate, and reduce threats to water quality resulting from forest fires.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.

多机构团队将描述坎普火灾对流域水质的影响。这是加州历史上最具破坏性的野火，导致 15,000 座建筑物被烧毁。大量的建筑物和车辆被烧毁，人们担心火山灰会将有毒金属和有机污染物输送到周围的水道中。高地流域直接流入加州水工程最大的水库奥罗维尔湖。该水库为数百万用户提供饮用水和灌溉水。动员的潜力很大，因为在紧急清理之前发生了降水，并且侵蚀将火残骸动员到下游的小溪和水库中。这项研究将有助于了解火灾后流域污染物的浓度和持久性。这些信息对于识别对人类和生态健康的潜在威胁是必要的。人们越来越了解高地火灾对供水的影响，从而对社会产生更广泛的影响。这些信息可以制定更好的管理策略来保护水质。2018 年 11 月的坎普火灾是加州历史上最具破坏性的火灾，导致 15,000 座建筑物和数千辆车辆被烧毁。人们担心，燃烧的建筑物、汽车和其他建筑物产生的灰烬和残骸流过陆地，可能会携带有毒金属，如砷、铜、镉、汞、铅，以及有毒有机化学品，如多环芳烃、多氯联苯、溴化阻燃剂、二恶英和其他污染物进入周围水道。鉴于流域直接排入奥罗维尔湖，这一点尤其重要，而奥罗维尔湖是加州水项目中最大的水库，为数百万用户提供饮用水和灌溉水。除了对奥罗维尔湖的威胁之外，巴特溪还栖息着全加州最后一批稳定的奇努克春游鲑鱼种群。营地火灾后污染物迁移的可能性很大，因为在紧急清理之前发生了降水，并且侵蚀将火灾残骸迁移到下游的小溪和水库中。为了更好地描述这些潜在威胁，一个在环境化学和运输方面具有互补专业知识的多机构团队将评估火灾后 12 个月内坎普火灾流域中这些污染物以及许多其他重金属和有机污染物的浓度。研究小组将利用这些信息来评估烧伤区域污染物的命运和迁移。具体研究将寻求了解 1) 燃烧、灰烬沉积和降雨如何影响城市地区和下游水域中污染物的迁移，2) 火灾后污染物将在流域中持续存在多长时间，以及 3) 哪些是急性的与污染物迁移到周围地表水中有关的对人类和水生健康的长期威胁。这项研究的结果将提高我们对燃烧后污染物的归宿、持久性和迁移的理解。这些信息将帮助城市/乡村规划者以及森林和流域管理者更好地识别、减轻和减少森林火灾对水质造成的威胁。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。