Unveiling Toxic Heavy Metals in South Florida Ecosystems Using LIBS

Due to its toxicity and persistence, the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the environment poses a significant threat to marine ecosystems and public health. In decomposing sargassum, toxic gasses produced by heavy metals, like arsenic, can cause detrimental effects on human health including respiratory and neurocognitive issues. Organisms who feed on sargassum can absorb these metals, leading to DNA damage and malignancies. Crops grown on sargassum-enriched soil contain high concentrations of these contaminants, which can be carried through the food chain and infect entire ecosystems. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is an atomic emission spectroscopy technique that analyzes specific elemental compositions of materials. LIBS utilizes short laser pulses to erode the sample surfaces, allowing the laser to determine elemental composition. This study focuses on using LIBS to determine the heavy metal composition of sargassum and soil in order to recognize the harmful impacts it has on the environment. Our research covers methods of sample preparation of sargassum and soil for optical analysis in the LIBS set up, and also presents the spectra data we have obtained from these samples. This work is a part of a larger study focused on the South Florida marine ecosystem.