Tracking Forever Chemicals (PFAS) with GIS Technology featuring Katrina Schweikert | GEOTalks Ep. 2

About this Episode

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of chemicals defined by carbon-fluorine bonds that make them resistant to fire, water, and oil. When PFAS were discovered in our farmlands and waterways, studies indicated that these chemicals have adverse, long-term effects on our environment and bioaccumulative effects in humans and other organisms.

A team from the University of Maine at Orono, led by Dr. Torsten Hahmann, is developing a solution to track nationwide PFAS contamination. Katrina Schweikert joins us on this month’s episode to share her work on the Safe Agricultural Products and Water Graph (SAWGraph). This geospatial knowledge graph will be used in efforts to understand and mitigate the PFAS contamination in our agricultural products and waterways.

YouTube: https://ow.ly/QK3y50SCpE8
Spotify: https://ow.ly/V9OC50SCpE5
Apple: https://ow.ly/kRsK50SCpEa

Tune in to learn about what sets it apart as a state-of-the-art tool for tracking PFAS.

Topics

[00:00] – Introduction
[01:46] – PFAS Contamination
[04:07] – Bioaccumulation
[04:24] – Safe Agricultural Products and Water Graph (SAWGraph)
[05:20] – Katrina’s role on SAWGraph
[05:56] – Research and data in SAWGraph
[07:12] – Integrating spatial data
[08:13] – Geospatial knowledge graph
[09:42] – Prototype Open Knowledge Network (Proto-OKN)
[11:49] – Linked open data (LOD)
[13:37] – Use of SAWGraph
[15:06] – Additional PFAS research
[19:07] – Connect with Katrina
[19:57] – Wrap-up

Resources

Katrina’s profile on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katrina-schweikert-8139a616
SAWGraph: https://sawgraph.github.io/
University of Maine at Orono – Article: https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2023/10/10/umaine-leading-development-of-new-state-of-the-art-tool-for-tracking-pfas-nationwide/
About Proto-OKN: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/building-prototype-open-knowledge-network-proto
National Science Foundation Award: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2333782
More about PFAS from the Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/pfas

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GeoTalks is a Blue Marble Geographics® podcast. Blue Marble Geographics is a leader in GIS software development, providing professional-grade tools to users at every level. Blue Marble’s expertise spans the geospatial technology sector, focusing on coordinate conversion and management, lidar and photogrammetric point cloud processing, and user-driven product development.

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