Project Number: 1265-12220-004-05
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 15, 2003
End Date: Aug 14, 2008

Objective:
Determine air and surface water concentrations of pesticides and other organic pollutants along with wet deposition fluxes from several stations within the South Florida Basin. Use the results of this study to ascertain the role of atmospheric transport in the environmental fate of pesticides in this unique, intensely agricultural region. The interaction between the shallow groundwater, sandy soils, high temperatures and wet climate will be investigated with respect to enhancing volatilization of pesticides.

Approach:
Establish several sampling stations in the region within the agricultural production area and in more remote areas outside the agricultural zone such as Adam's Key in Florida Bay and the Everglades. Continuously measure air and rain concentrations for pesticides along with periodic surface water concentration measurements for estimating air-water gas exchange fluxes. The importance of specific environmental transport processes controlling the fate of pesticides in this tropical environment are expected to vary substantially from other regions in the U.S. Volatilization of pesticides from the low organic carbon soils in the region may be much more important than in other regions. Frequent, intense rainfall events may result in intense pesticide deposition events during the winter growing season. This work will benefit new modeling efforts to predict the fate of these chemicals under tropical conditions, development of new best management practices, and for risk assessment efforts to protect air and water quality resources.