Project Grant G23AP00041

PROJECT TITLE TRACING ATMOSPHERICALLY DEPOSITED PFAS FROM SOURCE TO SEDIMENT IN THE GREAT LAKES REGIONPROJECT PERIOD 12 19 2022 THROUGH 12 18 2025PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY PURPOSE WET DEPOSITION OF PER AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS) IS A KNOWN BUT UNCONSTRAINED MECHANISM OF PFAS INTRODUCTION TO HYDROLOGIC SYSTEMS. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE HOW PFAS, KNOWN AS FOREVER CHEMICALS, ARE TRANSPORTED THROUGH THE AIR AND INTO SURFACE WATER IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION AND WILL DEMONSTRATE A FRAMEWORK TO TRACK PFAS FROM SOURCES THROUGH RAIN AND INTO RIVERS AND LAKES. ACTIVITIES PFAS MEASURED IN RAINWATER SAMPLES WILL BE USED TO TRACE PFAS FROM RAIN TO LAKE SEDIMENTS AND RIVER WATERS. ATMOSPHERIC MODELING WILL ALSO TRACE THE TRAJECTORY OF PFAS THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE TO IDENTIFY WHERE IT ORIGINATED. THESE SEEMINGLY EXPANSIVE GOALS WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH CAPITALIZING ON EXISTING DATA AND APPLYING SCALABLE ANALYTICAL APPROACHES. SPECIFICALLY, THIS PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE PFAS PRECIPITATION, SEDIMENT, AND RUNOFF DATA FROM THE NATIONAL ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION PROGRAM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY S GREAT LAKES SEDIMENT SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM, AND THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SUPPORTED SAMPLING EFFORTS. THIS PROJECT ALSO COLLECT AND COMPREHENSIVELY CHARACTERIZE (TOTAL ORGANIC FLUORINE, TARGETED PFAS ANALYSIS, NON TARGETED PFAS ANALYSIS) A SMALLER, NEW PRECIPITATION AND SEDIMENT DATASET. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THESE DATASETS FOR PFAS SPECIES OR FUNCTIONAL CLASSES SUITABLE FOR USE AS TRACERS OF WET DEPOSITED PFAS. THIS PROJECT WILL THEN USE THESE TRACERS TO ESTIMATE WET DEPOSITED PFAS S IMPORTANCE TO PFAS OBSERVED IN SEDIMENT SAMPLES FROM LAKE SUPERIOR AND LAKE HURON AND RUNOFF SAMPLES FROM TRIBUTARIES TO LAKE SUPERIOR. NEXT, THIS PROJECT WILL USE AIRMASS BACK TRAJECTORIES FROM PRECIPITATION SAMPLING SITES IN WI, MN, AND MI TO IDENTIFY PRIMARY SOURCE REGIONS FOR WET DEPOSITED PFAS. LASTLY, POSITIVE MATRIX FACTORIZATION WILL DERIVE CHEMICAL PROFILES OF WET DEPOSITED PFAS SOURCES FROM THE PRECIPITATION DATASETS. OUTCOMES OUTPUTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL INCLUDE 1. TRACERS FOR WET DEPOSITED PFAS 2. ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF WET DEPOSITED PFAS TO SEDIMENT AND RUNOFF POOLS IN SELECT GREAT LAKES 3. SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF POINT AND NON POINT PFAS WET DEPOSITION SOURCES IN THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES AND 4. CHEMICAL PROFILES OF SOURCES CONTRIBUTING TO PFAS WET DEPOSITION. BENEFICIARIES THIS FRAMEWORK WILL LEAD TO BETTER INFORMED DECISION MAKING PROCESSES FOR INTER STATE AND INTER REGION WATER MANAGEMENT. THE APPROACH PROPOSED HERE IS ADAPTABLE AND COULD BE APPLIED TO HELP REGULATORS AND RESOURCE MANAGERS IDENTIFY THE SOURCES AND IMPORTANCE OF WET DEPOSITED PFAS IN REGIONS OUTSIDE OF THE GREAT LAKES.