Table 1.
Geomean Escherichia coli (E. coli) coliforms found at each Toms River, New Jersey, USA sampling site in the preliminary study (2021–2022).
| Site Name | Island Heights | Money Island | Brown Rec Area | Island Beach | Station Ave East | Pine Beach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Geomean E. coli Coliforms | 1253.0 | <0.1 | 365.0 | 143.1 | 15.8 | <0.1 |
Figure 1.
Six study sites utilized in the preliminary study (2021–2022) that identified bacteria-containing sea foams in the Toms River, NJ (northern Barnegat Bay, Table 1). Mapping was performed using the ArcGIS software.
Figure 2.
(a-b). (a) The five sites utilized for collection that ranged from Lavallette to Seaside Park, New Jersey (Table 2). Mapping was performed using the ArcGIS software. (b) Photographs of the five collection sites and examples of foams collected there.
Figure 3.
(a-e). (a) Illustrated methodological process. (b) Coastal air sample passive culturing of coastal air samples. (c,d) Foam aerosol collection method. (e) Examples of Coliforms grown on foam (top left), foam aerosol (top right), water (bottom left), and coastal air (bottom right) plates.
Table 2.
Locations sampled and field conditions recorded at each site during sampling.
| Site # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site Name | Hancock Ave, Seaside Heights | 13th Ave Pier Seaside Park | Centennial Park, Lavalette | F Street Seaside Park | Brown Ave, Lavalette |
| Site Location Type | Barnegat Bay | Barnegat Bay | Barnegat Bay | Atlantic Ocean | Atlantic Ocean |
| Latitude | 40.025188 N | 39.9267851 N | 39.969393 N | 39.92726 N | 39.979813 N |
| Longitude | −74.0541903 W | −74.1337496 W | −74.073158 W | −74.07693 W | −74.064137 W |
| Salinity (ppt) | 20.0 | 19.8 | 18.8 | 27.8 | 28.9 |
| Water Temp (°C) | 7.5 | 6.4 | 7.6 | 8.8 | 7.8 |
| Air Temp (°C) | 5.0 | 13.3 | 12.8 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| Wind Speed (mph) | 17 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| Wind Direction | WSW | W | W | ENE | ENE |
| Tide | Low | High | High | High | High |
| Pressure (psi) | 30.20 | 30.05 | 30.03 | 30.21 | 30.18 |
| Precipitation | None reported | Previous day | Previous day | Previous night/later that day | Previous night/later that day |
| Time for Foams to Vaporize (min) | 45 | 43 | 50 | 41 | 42 |
Figure 4.
(a,b). (a) Geomean bacterial levels found in all sample types collected from 19 November 2022 to 11 December 2022; foams (X) contained significantly higher amounts of bacteria compared to their aerosol, water, and coastal atmospheric counterparts (P < 0.001, Water: 14.3 ± 16.9; Coastal Air: 5.8 ± 6.3; Foam: 177.7 ± 151.7; Foam Aerosol: 8.4 ± 2.8, ± 0.05, n = 75). (b) Barnegat Bay sites had significantly higher bacterial concentrations in foam aerosols than in their surrounding coastal atmospheres (P = 0.0152, Coastal Air: 3.5 ± 6.8; Foam Aerosol: 15.4 ± 10.8), while Atlantic Ocean sites had higher coastal air Coliform counts than in their respective foam aerosols (P = 0.1915, Coastal Air: 12.2 ± 17.0; Foam Aerosol: 5.8 ± 3.2, ± 0.05, n = 60).
Figure 5.
A significant relationship between bacterial contents (# of Coliforms) in foams and their resulting aerosols; as bacteria levels in the foams increased, bacteria levels in their resulting aerosols also increased (R2 = 0.5996, P = 0.0012, n = 25).
Figure 6.
An analysis of the potential identifications of respiratory harming, pathogenic Staphylococci and Streptococci genera. Respiratory harming bacteria represented themselves in mostly foam samples (86% of all Staphylococci and Streptococci bacteria were found in foams). The remaining 9% occurrence of pathogenic bacteria that were found in aerosols suggest that foams can successfully pass these genera to airborne conditions.
Figure 7.
Quantified colony shapes (circular, irregular, and punctiform) found in all four sample types. Foam samples can be observed to have the most variety of colony morphology, containing all three of the most prevalent bacteria shapes found. Circular colonies were the most common colony shape found across all four sample types (± 0.05, n = 75).