Tools for
Clean Water &
Healthy Coasts
CICEET Contact:
Dolores Leonard
603.862.3685
ciceet.unh.edu
Tools for
Clean Water &
Healthy Coasts
CICEET Contact:
Dolores Leonard
603.862.3685
ciceet.unh.edu
|
2007 Environmental Technology Development and Demonstration Projects November 9, 2007 CICEET has awarded six grants totaling $1.9 million for new tools to manage and protect coastal environments as part of its Environmental Technology Development and Demonstration Program. The projects were selected for their potential to transform research into practical, accessible tools that coastal resource managers need to support their communities and protect the environment. Each project focuses on a priority environmental challenge with a direct impact on the wellbeing of those who live in coastal communities.
Detection: tools to detect pollution and its impacts
Prevention: tools to prevent the future impact of pollution
Recovery: tools to recover healthy habitat and restore water quality
Project Title: Real-time Biosensor to ID PAH Sources in Coastal Environments
Summary: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a ubiquitous pollutant in marine sediments. Not all PAHs, however, are created equal. Those that come from naturally occurring processes are much less bioavailable—and therefore less toxic—than PAHs in unburned petroleum products or those that result from the combustion of fossil fuels. Identifying the sources of PAHs in sediments is necessary to understanding the nature of the threat and to developing an effective plan to manage it. Existing sensors that detect PAHs in the field cannot identify their sources. Traditionally, such identification has taken place in the lab, where it is costly and can take days to complete. With support from CICEET, a team of immunologists and environmental chemists are developing a biosensor that can identify the source of PAHs in the field. Just as your body uses specific antibodies to fight a particular germ, this biosensor will use antibodies that only react to PAHs from specific sources. This work will build on the research team’s previous success in using this method to differentiate TNT from similar compounds in the environment. Their goal is a field-ready instrument that allows for real-time monitoring.
Interested in nutrient monitoring? CICEET has also invested in:
Project Title: New System to Locate and Assess Marine Sediment Pollution
Summary: Hydrophobic Organic Compounds (HOCs) are a pervasive pollutant in marine sediment. HOCs like PAHs and PCBs do not break down over time and are known to bioaccumulate in organisms, where they act as carcinogens and disrupt membrane function. Most communities faced with trying to clean up contaminated sediment choose to dredge and remove the problem, which is expensive and disruptive to the environment. Knowing the boundaries of the contamination and its toxicity can reduce the negative impacts of dredging, yet current methods to define contaminated sites are time consuming, expensive, and somewhat inconclusive. With support from CICEET, this team of researchers will use a two-pronged approach to identify the extent and boundaries of HOC contamination in sediment. This work builds on a previous CICEET project that developed the Sediment Profile Imaging and Microsampling System (SPIMS), a technology that identifies indicators of sediment contamination, such as high biological oxygen demand. In this project, the researchers are developing passive samplers to characterize HOC contamination. Once SPIMS ‘sees’ an area that exhibits signs of contamination, these samplers will identify the concentration, toxicity rate, and chemical activities of the HOCs. The goal is to create a set of tools to better understand the level and extent of sediment contamination in order to support more effective remediation strategies.
Interested in nutrient monitoring? CICEET has also invested in:
Project Title: Method to Measure Dry Deposition of Atmospheric Mercury
Summary: Mercury travels up the food chain, where it can have a negative impact on the health of all that ingest it, from plankton to people. Tracking the source of mercury pollution is key to managing it, and one significant contributor is the atmosphere. In the past, precipitation was considered the primary route by which atmospheric mercury traveled to land. However, more and more data indicates that mercury also reaches land in the absence of rain, via “dry deposition.” Whether such mercury sticks to water and land or bounces back into the sky is determined, in part, by its form. Elemental mercury is less apt to “stick,” while the less prevalent gaseous mercury tends to stay down and enter the food chain. The ability to measure both forms is required to develop effective mercury emissions regulations. Currently, atmospheric mercury concentration can be measured, but determining how much of each form remains on the earth, and how much returns to the atmosphere remains elusive. With support from CICEET, these researchers are modifying a method used to measure the vertical movement of gasses like carbon dioxide at the earth’s surface to measure the flux of elemental and gaseous mercury. Such measurements could be used to extrapolate how much of each form sticks to the ground or water surface. These researchers will work with the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Rhode Island to test this technology.
Project Title: Phosphorous Reduction Process for Septic Systems
Summary: Though essential for life, excess phosphorus in the coastal environment can become pollution that speeds the growth of algal blooms that threaten ecosystem and human health. A common source of phosphorus pollution is private septic systems. In good working order, traditional septic systems do a reasonable job of treating the phosphorus in human waste and household cleaning products. However, as these systems age and go un-maintained, they release more and more phosphorous into the environment. With support from CICEET, a team of researchers is developing a method to dramatically increase a septic system’s ability to treat phosphorous. Their approach is based on a chemical reaction that transforms phosphorous into a harmless compound that settles in a septic tank’s sludge. Researchers aim to adapt this approach for use in new systems, or as a retrofit for existing ones. The team will work with National Estuarine Research Reserve System sites in Ohio and New York to get the word out about the environmental impacts of phosphorous pollution and this innovative approach to reducing it.
Interested in nutrient monitoring? CICEET has also invested in:
Project Title: Watershed Scale Impact of Low Impact Development Stormwater Systems
Summary: What happened to stormwater runoff before natural lands were covered with impervious surfaces like roads, parking lots, and buildings? It didn’t run off—rain filtered directly into the ground. In the built environment, rain becomes runoff that washes over impervious surfaces, picking up pollution on its way to a storm drain, stream, river, or estuary. To improve water quality and reduce the flooding exacerbated by impervious surfaces, stormwater managers are beginning to consider strategies so old, they’re new. Low Impact Development (LID) approaches to stormwater management attempt to mimic the hydrology of an undeveloped landscape. LID systems such as biorention systems, also known as “rain gardens,” treat stormwater close to the source, using design methods that allow runoff to infiltrate, filter, and evaporate. They can be very effective at reducing stormwater volume and improving water quality when distributed over the landscape. Though the popularity of LID systems is growing, there are still significant knowledge gaps related to their design criteria, performance, life span, and groundwater contamination potential. With CICEET’s support, this investigator team is monitoring the performance of different bioretention and bioinfiltration systems at three universities in the Mid-Atlantic region. They will compare performance of these systems, refine system design, and study whether the use of LID systems can help return a site to its pre-development hydrology. Last, they will develop a model to predict the effects of implementing LID systems over a watershed, including how changes in rainfall due to climate change impact system performance.
Interested in nutrient monitoring? CICEET has also invested in:
Project Title: Method to Assess Sediment Nourishment of Submerged Wetlands
Summary: The Mississippi River is a great multi-tasker. While making her way to the ocean, she picks up fresh water from tributaries and deposits sediment along her banks. These deposits create wetland marshes—rich, productive ecosystems that serve as nursery and shelter for many important species and as a buffer for the severe storms that hit the Gulf of Mexico. Now and then, the Mississippi finds a shorter route to the ocean. Each new twist and turn in her path creates new wetlands and deprives old ones of sediment and water. Over the last 50 years, such wetland loss has increased dramatically. Coastal development, dredging, and fuel extraction have all contributed to changes in hydrology and sediment dynamics that starve and submerge wetlands. One increasingly common method to reverse this process is to apply sediments as a means to elevate submerged wetlands and promote the growth of the appropriate vegetation. However, such restoration efforts cannot mimic the natural, incremental deposition of sediments, and there is considerable uncertainty about the rate and degree to which sediment will compact at a given site. With support from CICEET, a team of researchers will investigate the complex relationships that support marsh function, as well as the effectiveness of different levels of sediment application as a restoration method. The goal is to predict the optimum level of sediment application in submerged wetlands, thereby increasing the effectiveness of marsh restoration projects. The field site is Barataria Basin, part of Lousiana’s Barataria-Terrbonne National Estuary Program. Barataria Terrebonne estuaries are losing their wetlands at a rate of 22 square miles per year.
Interested in nutrient monitoring? CICEET has also invested in:
The Cooperative Institute for Coastal & Estuarine Environmental Technology is a partnership of the University of New Hampshire and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. CICEET is dedicated to the development of tools for clean water and healthy coasts nationwide.
|
|
