Wildfires contaminate water quality for nearly a decade after the blaze
A new study has revealed that the legacy of wildfires extends far beyond the immediate devastation, with contaminants from burned forests and watersheds continuing to pollute rivers and streams for up to eight years after the flames are extinguished.The research, published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, is the first large-scale assessment of post-wildfire water quality and analyzed over 1,00,000 water samples from more than 500 watersheds across the region.advertisementLed by scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder, the study based on wildfires in the United States, found significant increases in organic carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment in rivers following the blazes.
These contaminants can degrade water quality, posing challenges for water treatment facilities and threatening the drinking water supply for millions of people in downstream communities.
Researchers have long known that fire ash and soil destruction contribute to degraded water quality. (Photo: AP)
'We were attempting to look at notable trends in post-wildfire water quality across the entire U.S. West, to help inform water management strategies in preparing for wildfire effects,' said Carli Brucker, the study's lead author.advertisementThe results showed that while the most dramatic spikes in contaminants occur in the first one to five years after a fire, elevated nitrogen and sediment levels can persist for up to eight years.The study also found that the impact of wildfires on water quality is highly variable, depending on factors such as the proximity of the fire to rivers, the type of soil and vegetation, and local weather patterns. In some cases, sediment levels in streams were up to 2,000 times higher than before the fire, severely straining water treatment infrastructure.With wildfires increasing in size and frequency due to drought and climate change, the findings underscore the need for long-term planning and resilience in water management.'You can't fund resilience improvements on general concerns alone. Water managers need real numbers for planning, and that's what we're providing,' Brucker said.As the American West faces mounting wildfire risks, researchers hope their data will help communities better prepare for the prolonged environmental impacts that follow in the wake of fire.- EndsMust Watch
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
a day ago
- India Today
Wildfires contaminate water quality for nearly a decade after the blaze
A new study has revealed that the legacy of wildfires extends far beyond the immediate devastation, with contaminants from burned forests and watersheds continuing to pollute rivers and streams for up to eight years after the flames are research, published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, is the first large-scale assessment of post-wildfire water quality and analyzed over 1,00,000 water samples from more than 500 watersheds across the by scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder, the study based on wildfires in the United States, found significant increases in organic carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment in rivers following the blazes. These contaminants can degrade water quality, posing challenges for water treatment facilities and threatening the drinking water supply for millions of people in downstream communities. Researchers have long known that fire ash and soil destruction contribute to degraded water quality. (Photo: AP) 'We were attempting to look at notable trends in post-wildfire water quality across the entire U.S. West, to help inform water management strategies in preparing for wildfire effects,' said Carli Brucker, the study's lead results showed that while the most dramatic spikes in contaminants occur in the first one to five years after a fire, elevated nitrogen and sediment levels can persist for up to eight study also found that the impact of wildfires on water quality is highly variable, depending on factors such as the proximity of the fire to rivers, the type of soil and vegetation, and local weather patterns. In some cases, sediment levels in streams were up to 2,000 times higher than before the fire, severely straining water treatment wildfires increasing in size and frequency due to drought and climate change, the findings underscore the need for long-term planning and resilience in water management.'You can't fund resilience improvements on general concerns alone. Water managers need real numbers for planning, and that's what we're providing,' Brucker the American West faces mounting wildfire risks, researchers hope their data will help communities better prepare for the prolonged environmental impacts that follow in the wake of fire.- EndsMust Watch
The Hindu
14-06-2025
- The Hindu
Researchers from Calicut varsity develop cost-effective nanoclusters
Researchers from the Department of Nanoscience and Technology at the University of Calicut have developed a novel device based on gold–copper alloy nanoclusters, a ground-breaking advancement in next-generation light-emitting diode (LED) technology. E.S. Shibu, Assistant Professor at the Smart Materials Lab attached to the department, and Rival Jose, his PhD student, are behind the initiative. They claim that although invisible to the naked eye, these clusters display exceptional photophysical properties, including strong light emission, excellent photo and thermal stability, and environmental compatibility. These qualities make them ideal for future applications in sustainable lighting, display technologies, and biomedical imaging. According to Mr. Shibu and Mr. Jose, what sets this innovation apart is its fabrication method—a simple, solution-based, environmentally friendly process that avoids the use of toxic or expensive host materials. This makes the technology both sustainable and cost-effective. The core of the invention lies in atomically precise nanoclusters made of just a few metal atoms, they say. The newly developed nanocluster-based LED emits pure red light and achieves an external quantum efficiency of 12.6%. Mr. Shibu says that this is among the highest performances recorded in the category of nanocluster-based, solution-processed, non-doped LEDs with saturated red emission. Their findings were published in Advanced Materials (Wiley), one of the most prestigious journals in the field of materials science, with an impressive impact factor of 27.4. This also marks the first-ever publication from the University of Calicut in such a high-impact journal. The achievement was made possible through national and international collaborations with institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Tampere University, Finland, and Hokkaido University, Japan. The research was primarily supported by funding from the Department of Science and Technology- Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence, with additional support from Science and Engineering Research Board-Startup Research Grant, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment-Science Research Scheme, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Time of India
Emperor penguin population decline in Antarctica signals a climate crisis
Antarctica's emperor penguins might be disappearing even faster than scientists feared. A fresh look at recent satellite images shows their numbers have dropped by a whopping 22% over just 15 years (from 2009 to 2024) in one major region of the continent—which includes the Antarctic Peninsula, the Weddell Sea, and the Bellingshausen Sea. To put that in perspective, an earlier estimate found just a 9.5% drop across all of Antarctica between 2009 and 2018. Now, researchers at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are digging deeper to see if this faster decline is happening all over the continent—or if it's just in this particular zone. 'There's quite a bit of uncertainty in this type of work and what we've seen in this new count isn't necessarily symbolic of the rest of the continent. But if it is – that's worrying because the decline is worse than the worst-case projections we have for emperors this century,' said Dr Peter Fretwell, who studies wildlife from space at BAS. The findings of the study have been published in the journal Nature Communications: Earth & Environment. Why Emperor Penguins are basically antarctica's climate alarm system When you think of Antarctica, chances are a big, fluffy Emperor penguin waddling across the ice pops into your head. And while they're super cute and undeniably iconic, Emperor penguins are also one of the clearest living signals of how climate change is reshaping the southernmost part of our planet. These penguins rely on stable sea ice to survive. They breed, raise their chicks, and find food based on predictable ice conditions. The problem? Antarctica's sea ice is melting faster than ever, and that's throwing their whole lifestyle out of whack. Emperor penguins lay their eggs during the harsh Antarctic winter, balancing them on their feet and covering them with warm flaps of skin. If the ice breaks up too soon or doesn't form in time, their babies don't stand a chance. In some areas, entire colonies have seen chick populations wiped out in a single season due to melting ice. And it's not just about parenting. Less sea ice also means fewer krill—tiny shrimp-like creatures that thrive under the frozen surface and are a major food source for penguins (and a bunch of other marine life). So it's a double whammy: no solid ground to raise chicks and less food to eat. Scientists now consider Emperor penguins to be 'climate-vulnerable,' almost like the polar version of the canary in the coal mine. If they're struggling, it's a big red flag for the rest of the ecosystem. Watching Emperor penguins gives researchers real-time insight into how quickly and dramatically Antarctica is changing. And if the penguins are in trouble, it means the climate is, too.
