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Airborne microorganisms in the African desert dust corridor over the mid-Atlantic ridge, Ocean Drilling Program, Leg 209

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to enhance our understanding of the fate and trans-Atlantic transport of dustborne microorganisms from Northern Africa to the Caribbean and Americas, and more specifically to determine if culturable populations could be detected at a mid-ocean site, closer to the source of dust relative to land-based Caribbean sites, during the early summer months of May and June. Between the dates of 22 May and 30 June 2003, daily air samples were collected and evaluated for the presence of culturable bacterial and fungal colony-forming units (CFU). Here we report a statistically significant correlation between daily atmospheric CFU counts at a mid-ocean research site (∼15°N, 45°W) and daily desert dust concentrations as determined by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System (NAAPS) Global Aerosol Model (Honrath et al. (2004). Journal of Geophysical Research, 109; Johnson et al. (2003). Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 17, 1063; Reid et al. (2004). Geophysical Research Letters, 31; Schollaert, Yoder, Westphal, & O’Reilly (2003). Journal of Geophysical Research, 108, 3191).

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey (2090-OJ503) and the Ocean Drilling Program. Thanks to Norman Kuring and Gene Feldman of NASA’s SeaWiFS Project for providing daily satellite imagery while aboard ship, and Cindy Morris of INRA Avignon, Montfavet, France for several thorough edits and suggestions. Also, special thanks to ODP Leg 209 shipboard scientific party and crew. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Geological Survey, 600 4th St. South, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701, USA

    Dale W. Griffin & Michael A. Gray

  2. Naval Research Laboratory, Aerosol and Radiation Modeling Section, 7 Grace Hopper Avenue, Stop 2, Monterey, CA, 93943, USA

    Douglas L. Westphal

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  1. Dale W. Griffin
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Correspondence to Dale W. Griffin.

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Griffin, D.W., Westphal, D.L. & Gray, M.A. Airborne microorganisms in the African desert dust corridor over the mid-Atlantic ridge, Ocean Drilling Program, Leg 209. Aerobiologia 22, 211–226 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-006-9033-z

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