Land use, water management, population growth and human consumption along with climate disturbances are all playing combined roles in driving how contaminants are transported and transformed across our shared environments. The eventual fate and environmental impact of pollutants is primarily dictated by biogeochemical processes. We are aiming to better understand the changes and impacts of pollutants across three major land-use boundaries in South Florida: our natural, agricultural and urban zones.
We will establish research transects to assess the interaction of contaminants between our agriculture, urban and natural landscapes. The information derived from these transects will provide a research platform for students and faculty to apply the detection methodologies developed in Research Focus Area 1, and use state-of-the-art modeling techniques developed in collaboration with Research Focus Area 3 to ultimately visualize the transport and fate of pollutants across our aquatic environments.
Our faculty are using new sensing techniques to help determine biogeochemical cycles, including contaminant sources, storage, transport and transformations. We are quantifying how contaminants move and change across South Florida's natural, agricultural and human/urban landscapes.
John Kominoski, Lead: Biological Sciences
Elizabeth Anderson: Earth and Environment
Henry Briceño: Institute of Environment
Ligia Collado-Vides: Biological Sciences
James Fourqurean: Biological Sciences
Evelyn Gaiser: Earth and Environment
Arturo Leon: Civil & Environmental Engineering
René Price: Earth and Environment
Jennifer Rehage: Earth and Environment
Michael Ross: Earth and Environment
Leonard Scinto: Earth and Environment
Joel Trexler: Biological Sciences
Tiffany Troxler: Biological Sciences