How hurricane attributes determine the extent of environmental effects: Multiple hurricanes and different coastal systems |
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| Authors: | Michael A Mallin Catherine A Corbett |
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| Institution: | 1. Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 28409, Wilmington, North Carolina
2. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, 1926 Victoria Avenue, 33901, Fort Myers, Florida
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| Abstract: | The most recent spate of hurricanes to strike the United States and Caribbean (1989 to the present) has occurred when many
of the affected areas had long-term water quality and biological data collection efforts ongoing, as well as special follow-up
studies. These data have allowed researchers to obtain a much clearer picture of how individual characteristics of hurricanes
interact with human land use to lead to various types and degrees of environmental effects. Common deleterious water quality
effects associated with hurricanes include excessive nutrient loading, algal blooms, elevated biochemical oxygen demand and
subsequent hypoxia and anoxia, fish and invertebrate kills, aquatic animal displacements, large scale releases of chemical
pollutants and debris from damaged human structures, exacerbated spread of exotic species and pathogens, and pollution of
water with fecal microbial pathogens. These and other effects may or may not occur, or occur to varying degrees, depending
upon individual hurricane characteristics including category, point of landfall, wind speed, amount of rainfall, and path
after landfall. Landfall in a populous area, a post-landfall trajectory upriver toward a headwater region, passage along a
floodplain containing pollution sources (such as wastewater treatment plants, concentrated animal feeding operations, and
septic systems), and intensity sufficient to damage power generation will all lead to increased environmental damage. We suggest
a number of recommendations for post-hurricane water sampling parameters and techniques, and provide several management-oriented
recommendations for better coastal and floodplain land use aimed at lessening the water quality effects of hurricanes. |
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