NSF Award
2503077
Wildfire can catastrophically affect natural resources, causing profound environmental, societal, and economic impacts. In 2024, the Park Fire burned 429,603 acres of land, making it the largest fire in California in 2024 and the fourth largest fire in California history. Fire changes the speciation of metal(loid)s in vegetation and soils through thermal alteration of native materials, yet many of these transformations remain unknown. Additionally, fires can lead to downstream water resource contamination, negatively impacting environmental and human health. The overall aim of this rapid grant is to collect and archive perishable samples and data that can be used in future research to determine the environmental impact of the Park Fire, including among others, the alteration of metal(loid) speciation in fire ash and soil collected within the Park Fire area and the concentration and speciation of metal(loid)s in surface waters receiving runoff from the Big Chico Creek watershed located within the Park Fire perimeter. Collecting and archiving perishable samples and from the Park Fire can be used to: 1) identify novel research questions to guide fundamental research in the area of fire-borne environmental contamination, 2) compare and validate results obtained from laboratory based simulation to those obtained on field-collected samples, 3) protect human health through a better understanding of the mobilization of redox-sensitive metal(loid)s to surface waters as a result of wildfires, 4) generate datasets useful to other fields, such as public health, to better understand diseases linked to exposure fire-emitted contaminants, and 5) provide open-source data sets that can be used by public utilities and water managers to ensure safe drinking water treatment and continued ecosystem services.<br/><br/>The Park Fire ranks as the largest fire in California in 2024 and the fourth largest fire in California history, which consumed 429,603 acres of land with different vegetation and soil types and fire severities in Butte and Tehama counties. The concentrations of the redox sensitive metal(loid)s such as chromium and arsenic in soils within the Park Fire perimeter are among the highest in soils across the United States. Many redox sensitive metal(loid)s undergo transformations due to heating and interactions with carbon and reducing compounds such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen released by the combustion of organic matter. Fire induced redox transformations are likely to increase the mobility of redox sensitive metal(loid)s from fire ashes and soils to receiving surface water bodies. Therefore, the overall aim of this proposal is to collect and archive perishable samples and data that can be used in future research to determine the impact of the Park Fire on redox sensitive metal(loid) speciation in fire ash and soil collected within the Park Fire permitter and on their levels in surface waters receiving runoff from the Big Chico Creek watershed located in the burned area. The specific objectives are to: 1) Collect, process, and archive time sensitive samples, including fire ash and impacted soil cores from the Park Fire area, 2) Collect, isolate, and archive redox sensitive metal(loid)s such as As, and Cr from surface water samples from Big Chico Creek, and 3) Monitor water quality parameters in the Big Chico Creek, including pH, redox potential, ionic strength, and concentration of dissolved organic matter, nutrients, and suspended solids in surface waters draining burned areas and compare those to pre-fire levels.<br/><br/>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.
