This project is one of several coordinated marine environmental studies funded through a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) for rapid response to a natural disaster: the flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. This effort by scientists at the NSF-NIEHS Center for Ocean and Human Health (COHH) at the University of Miami is part of a larger collaborative study with Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, and with the NSF-NIEHS Centers for Oceans and Human Health at the University of Hawaii and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Coast Region, widespread flooding in the New Orleans area resulted in sewage overflows and contamination of floodwaters. Shortly thereafter, these floodwaters were pumped continuously into Lake Pontchartrain without treatment, resulting in the spread of contaminants into the Lake, which ultimately discharges towards the Gulf of Mexico. Working collaboratively, the multi-institutional research team will investigate the extent to which the waters in Lake Pontchartrain and vicinity have been contaminated with chemical contaminants, pathogenic microbes, and harmful algal bloom (HAB) organisms. The study will document the levels and spread of biotic and abiotic contaminants along with HAB organisms, information which will be useful for subsequent modeling efforts.
With SGER funding under this award, University of Miami investigators will focus specifically on the collection of samples, extraction of microbial RNA and DNA from water samples, and analysis of samples for viral pathogens (enterovirus and Norovirus) and protozoan pathogens (Cryptosporidium and Giardia). In addition, samples will be collected for analysis of HAB organisms and their toxins as part of the NSF NIEHS funded Oceans and Human Health "Toxic HABs" Research Project at the University of Miami. The planned sampling program, as identified in complimentary proposals from LSU and UH, will be augmented with remote sensing technology available through the University of Miami CSTARS Center and Louisiana State University (LSU).
This part of the study will provide data concerning the distribution of viruses, protozoans and HAB organisms. Along with funding from LSU and UH, these distributions can be compared with the distribution of indicator microbes to evaluate whether or not the "indicators" are true indicators of microbes of known public health concern. This is of significance as correlations have not been observed in warm humid climates not impacted by sewage. In this case, the site has been highly impacted by sewage, and it would be important to document if, in fact, strong correlations exist between the indicators and the pathogenic microbes. The samples collected through this study will be used to document the HAB organisms which emerge as a result of widespread pollution.
The primary broader impact of this rapid-response study is that it will provide much needed information in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The microbes released by the sewage can potentially impact a large area including Lake Pontchartrain, and subsequently the Gulf of Mexico. There are significant human populations and fisheries in both these areas that can experience acute and chronic disease from these chemical, microbial, and HAB organism exposures now and in the future. From a basic science and public health perspective, it is important to investigate the mechanisms by which and the extent to which these contaminants have migrated.
