Session: 16-01-01: Government Agency Student Poster Competition

Paper Number: 150990

150990 - Impact of Hurricane Idalia on Coastal Water and Sediment Quality: Focus on Microplastics, Organic Carbon, and Heavy Metals 

Hurricanes can lead to significant service disruptions and extensive damage to infrastructure and buildings. They also have a significant potential to alter the dynamics of water and sediment quality within coastal regions, resulting in abnormal conditions. Despite the critical importance of these alterations on aquatic ecosystems and water safety, the understanding of short-term and long-term consequences of hurricanes on coastal sediment and water quality is limited. Specifically, there is a lack of studies on the resuspension of emerging contaminants, such as microplastics within coastal sediments and their reintroduction into coastal waters following hurricanes. On August 30th, 2023, Idalia, a Category 3 hurricane with maximum winds of approximately 200 km/h and 250 mm of rainfall at landfall, created a unique opportunity to explore these impacts. Although the hurricane has ended, its indirect effects through the deterioration of water and sediment quality could continue to influence human health and ecosystem safety. Thus, this study was conducted to examine the spatial and temporal variation in water and sediment quality in Apalachicola Bay for nine consecutive months starting immediately after the occurrence of Hurricane Idalia. For this purpose, water samples were collected from five different sites located at variable distances from the shore, and sediment samples were collected from five different zones located in the tidal and subtidal regions. Heavy metals, including Pb, Cu, Zn, and Fe, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and microplastics were analyzed from the water samples. However, sediment samples were analyzed for microplastics, soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and particle size distribution (PSD). The water samples [40-50 L] for microplastics analysis were collected using a customized in-lined filtration apparatus. Sediment samples were collected from intertidal and subtidal locations as grab and core samples. The microplastics extraction from water samples was conducted through filtration and H₂O₂ digestion, while in addition to these processes, gravity separation was conducted to separate the microplastics from soil samples. For quantification of shape, abundance, size distribution, and type of microplastics in the extracted samples, optical microscopy and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) were applied. While heavy metal concentrations in collected water samples were lower during the earlier months following the hurricane, an increase in their concentrations was observed at the end period of monitoring. Concentrations of Pb and Cu in water were negligible, while Zn content was relatively higher, and Fe content was noticeably higher. Similar to HMs, DOC concentrations were also lower in all five locations during the early period, whereas considerably higher DOC concentrations started to occur in the bay water from the fifth month after the hurricane. Visual analysis indicated the presence of a variety of shapes of MPs in both water and sediment, including fragments, films, fibers, beads, pellets, and particles. Accumulation of microplastics appeared to be more pronounced in the sediment samples compared to the water samples. Most of the microplastics were smaller than 50 mm, limiting their visual identification. Thus, Py-GC-MS analysis was conducted, which showed the presence of various plastic types, such as tire wear particles, nylon, and polyethylene in sediment samples. Furthermore, sediment PSD and SOC data accompanied by microplastics abundance results will be analyzed to better elucidate the transport mechanism of MPs through the sediment layers in the surroundings of Apalachicola Bay. This is an ongoing project, with data analysis and interpretation expected to be completed by October 2024.

Presenting Author: Dibya Kanti Datta University of Missouri-Columbia

Presenting Author Biography: Dibya Kanti Datta is a PhD student and Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Missouri-Columbia. His research field is Environmental Engineering, specifically focusing on water quality.

Authors:

Dibya Kanti Datta University of Missouri-Columbia
Alexander Ccanccapa University of Missouri-Columbia
Xiuming Sun FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Zhengxiao Yan FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Sumon Hossain Rabby FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Ebrahim Ahmadisharaf FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Nasrin Alamdari FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Maryam Salehi University of Missouri-Columbia