| NSF Org: |
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | January 11, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | January 11, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1821916 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Michael Sieracki
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | February 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | January 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $109,990.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $109,990.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
3227 CHEADLE HALL SANTA BARBARA CA US 93106-0001 (805)893-4188 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
CA US 93106-6150 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY, Chemical Oceanography |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
Massive wildfires in coastal regions cause ash to fall into the ocean, with unknown impacts. Ash contains chemical elements and materials that can encourage the growth of microscopic organisms in the surface ocean. The Thomas Fire has burned over 240,000 acres in southern California since Dec 4, 2017. The winds have carried a plume of smoke, ash and soot more than 1000 km over the Santa Barbara Channel. The intellectual merit of this RAPID project focuses on the impact of fire ash supply to coastal ocean ecosystems, by studying the 2017 Thomas Fire. This is achieved through a combination of experiments and environmental measurements, including an oceanographic expedition to the affected area aboard the R/V Sally Ride. The broader impacts of this award include the shipboard training of more than twelve graduate students as well as providing insight as to effects of the Thomas Fire on the coastal ocean.
Massive wildfires can couple terrestrial ecosystems to coastal ocean ecosystems through depositional and runoff processes. The Thomas Fire, which began on Dec 4, 2017, has burned over 240,000 acres and the persistent offshore winds created a plume of smoke, ash and soot that extended over 1000 km off shore. This unfortunate circumstance provides an opportunity to investigate the impact of ash deposition on the coastal ocean. This research entails a series of incubation experiments and measurements designed to assess the impact of fire ash deposition on the biogeochemistry of the coastal ocean. Specifically, the research tests the hypothesis that the deposition of wildfire-derived particulate matter to the coastal ocean impacts the planktonic communities of the upper water column, providing nutrients that facilitate blooms of phytoplankton, leaching dissolved organic carbon to surface waters that feeds heterotrophic bacterial populations, and serving as a source of sinking particulate matter that feeds heterotrophic bacterial populations deeper in the water column. These hypotheses are tested through a series of experiments at sea and in the home laboratories, and through shipboard measurements and analysis of samples collected from impacted waters.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The breakout of the Southern California Thomas Fire in early December 2017 provided a unique opportunity to study the impact of dry ash deposition on the coastal ocean ecosystem. By leveraging a pre-planned student-led cruise aboard the RV Sally Ride, this RAPID award enabled an investigation that included measurements and experiments, with a value added tie to public engagement and outreach activities.
The intellectual merit of these activities derived from the lack of understanding as to how ash deposition from wildfire might impact the coastal ocean. Research activities thus focused on identifying ash particles in sea water, surveying the affected waters, and amending surface seawater with ash to assess the impacts on primary production by phytoplankton and on respiration by bacteria. Ash in the coastal ocean exhibited complex behavior that seemingly included floatation, suspension, aggregation and sinking. Ash was also observed to yield a leachate – ash material that would gradually dissolve upon exposure to water. Through experimentation, ash and its leachate were found to have distinctive effects, notably leading to divergent bacterial community responses, providing nutrient available to feed primary production, and serving as a substrate for respiration by bacteria. These findings indicate that fire ash deposition holds the potential to impact base levels of the coastal ocean ecosystem through multiple mechanisms.
The broader impacts of this work focused on enabling teams of graduate students to conduct research on fire ash deposition, providing support for key activities and analyses to enable their scientific development. This research has been translated to the public through a tie-in to a trio of artists who participated on the research expedition for the sole purpose of creating art from science. Products produced by the artists include a documentary, a music album, and numerous renderings that highlight research conducted under this award. The formalization of this integration between artistic and scientific activities is described in a published article.
Last Modified: 05/08/2020
Modified by: David L Valentine
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