Florida’s waterways were contaminated after Ian, causing environmental and health risks.

“What’s in the water is terrible. Our beers now look like root beer,” Tomasco said. “It smells terrible.”

Hurricane Ian, which initially made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, left scars not only on land but also on water. The storm’s winds and heavy rains wash leaves, organic matter and contaminants into streams and beaches, signaling the onset of potentially serious environmental impacts. Researchers say that the degradation of water quality can affect aquatic ecosystems for weeks, months and longer, and pose a threat to human health in the short term. Images and videos from space captured the extent of the spill.

Hurricane Ian is the most powerful: No

Since Iain’s landfall a week ago, Tomasco said he’s received dozens of emails about leaks at wastewater treatment plants along Florida’s west coast, from Palmetto to Fort Myers. Orlando from Tuesday asked the residents of the city. To determine how often you flush toilets, shower, wash dishes, and wash up because of dirty sewers.

Satellite images from Oct. 1 to six days before Ian hit show an increase in the flow of some of this material, soil and runoff into the ocean. A major color change in nearshore waters indicates a change in water clarity or turbidity.

The brown water seen in the pictures has a substance called tannin dissolved in it, and organic matter floating near the top of the water makes it look like tea or coffee. Some of the water’s turquoise color may be due to organic matter and sediment blown up by storms.

“What you can see from satellites is the amount of fresh water coming off the surface,” said Todd Osborne, a biogeochemist at the University of Florida. It’s just that the excess rain is dumping that material into the coastal waters… and the storms are flooding the landscape, moving a lot of sediment back into the ocean.

The volume of water created by Ian is “much bigger than anything we’ve seen before,” he said.

Hurricane Ian may have left a trail of environmental hazards.

Osborne said emptying freshwater streams into the ocean is a natural process and not necessarily harmful Occurrence in small amounts. Organic materials can really serve Food for microbial populations that are eaten by other animals higher in the food web.

But hurricanes can overload such systems. Too much floating organic matter blocks sunlight from reaching plants deep in the ocean, reducing their ability to make food through photosynthesis and ultimately killing plant life. Microorganisms that break down organic matter increase activity, consuming large amounts of oxygen that would otherwise be available to others; Such oxygen-free water makes it difficult for plants and fish to survive.

Researchers are particularly concerned about the region’s seagrass, which needs a lot of light and helps protect the local ecosystem. They help prevent soil erosion, trap sediment and particles with their leaves to keep water clean, and provide food for animals and economically important fish. Poor water quality destroys part of the local seagrass population.

“Time will tell how it shakes out, but depending on ocean currents and things, that’s a big threat from an environmental standpoint,” Osborne said. “It takes longer [the water] For settlement, it describes the impact on our nearshore seagrass habitats.

In addition, the storm may have washed pesticides and herbicides from farms and gardens, as well as waste water products into water bodies, which are dangerous to human health if exposed.

“Unless you’re absolutely in the water, it’s not a good time to be out there,” he said.

Such anthropogenic wastes and nutrients can trigger harmful algal blooms that are dangerous to animals and humans, says marine and environmental scientist Hans Payer. Harmful algal blooms, also known as red tides, are particularly common along Florida’s west coast and can harm key fish that are important to the state’s economy.

“The story is not over when the storm is over. In fact, it kind of started from an environmental perspective,” said Pearl, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “With all that runoff, we’re getting a lot of nutrients coming out of the ground, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, which add to harmful algae blooms.”

Pearl says there is climate change. Increase in rainfall From the storm, he has Significant changes have been observed in water quality And so did the fishing grounds in his study area in North Carolina.

Climate change is rapidly fueling superstorms.

Researchers aren’t sure how long the water quality issues will last. Flooding continues in parts of central Florida, raising river levels, causing more destruction and complicating cleanup efforts. Loss of property is anticipated by More than 60 billion dollars In Florida, According to the industry trade group.

Tomasco said Ian’s impact on water quality was among the worst in the state’s recent history. Hurricane Charley of 2004 was the last major Category 4 hurricane to make landfall on Florida’s west coast. After Charlie was transferred, it took weeks to make improvements in areas north of Fort Myers, such as Charlotte Harbor, in the same location as Ian. The nearby Peace River was weak for two to three months.

“Worse than Charley, it’s the worst hurricane impact on a lot of our state,” Tomasco said of Ian. “That’s a lot because Charley was so bad for so long.”