In Charleston, when the sun, earth and moon align, normal tides turn into what\u2019s known as a king tide, a tide that reaches 8 feet or more. In low-lying areas, king tides cause flooding and road closures. Campus employees know the corner of Hagood and Fishburne becomes impassable and plan alternate routes to work. But for pedestrians, taking another route isn\u2019t always an option\u2014that\u2019s when tidal flooding, as associate biology professor Claudia Rocha, Ph.D., discovered, becomes more than an inconvenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith climate change, temperatures are going up and there\u2019s more water in the ocean. When the ice melts, sea levels rise and tides push more water inland. That\u2019s exactly what happens in Charleston,\u201d said Rocha. \u201cEven if it doesn\u2019t rain, a king tide can flood parts of the peninsula and can affect people\u2019s daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rocha became concerned about what\u2019s lurking in the water. \u201cThis water comes from the ,sea, from rivers and creeks,\u201d she said. \u201cObviously, there has to be bacteria in there. We weren\u2019t expecting something sterile, but we wanted to know which bacteria were present. Could something in the water be affecting people?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, with a grant from The Citadel\u2019s Near Center for Climate Studies, Rocha and a handful of students began collecting samples of water during king tides. According to public health standards, groundwater should contain only small amounts of bacteria. When levels climb, infection is more likely. Rocha and her students found evidence of fecal contamination\u2014E. coli<\/em> and Enterococci<\/em>. They also discovered the presence of Vibrio species, including Vibrio vulnificus<\/em> and Vibrio parahaemolyticus<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the research is complete, Rocha plans to publish the results and present them at the American Society for Microbiology. For her students, the experience is proof that science isn\u2019t just about whiteboards and formulas\u2014it has real-world applications that make a difference in people\u2019s lives and communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In Charleston, when the sun, earth and moon align, normal tides turn into what\u2019s known as a king tide, a tide that reaches 8 feet or more. In low-lying areas, king tides cause flooding and road closures. Campus employees know the corner of Hagood and Fishburne becomes impassable and plan alternate routes to work. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":694,"featured_media":951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n