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Dust Collecting in the Caribbean
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Dust in the Air: A clear day (July 31, 2001—top photograph) versus a dust day (August 8, 2001—
bottom photograph) at Sapphire Bay in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
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Every year several hundred million tons of dust blow across the Atlantic Ocean from the Sahara and Sahel
regions of Africa. Our group (The Dustbusters), in collaboration with NASA, began a study to identify dust-borne
microbes and pesticides that could be affecting human and ecosystem health in both the Caribbean and Eastern
United States. Of special interest is asthma, which has been increasing in the Caribbean, particularly in children.
As part of this study, I spent two weeks this summer in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands (USVI). My job
was twofold:
- collect air samples containing African dust and
- investigate links between dust and asthma.
The first part proved easy. We had a series of clear days, followed by a large dust event (see photographs at
right). Samples were taken by pumping a set amount of air through a sterile filter (see below). The filters were
brought back to the CMGP lab in St. Petersburg for cultivation (actually growing viable bacteria and fungi) or
extraction (retrieving DNA to identify organisms without the selective pressure of the growth media).
The Sampler: The Griffin-Shinn 2000 Air Sampler collecting a dust sample at Deck Point, St. Thomas,
U.S. Virgin Islands.
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I also spent many days at the one hospital on the island—in their Medical Records Department. With their
cooperation, I was able to compile three years of daily emergency room visit data pertaining to respiratory
distress (asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, etc.), migraines, and cardiovascular problems (angina, heart attack).
This information will allow us to graph the number of patients versus dust days (based on satellite photos
and/or archived dust monitoring by the National Park Service on St. John (USVI).
In addition, I was able to
obtain prescription data from the island's main pharmacy so we can see if there is any correlation between
inhaler refills and dust events, considering that people capable of self-medication will not go to the hospital.
Analysis of these types of data should help determine if there are any trends that can directly link medical
problems to the African dust.
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October 2001
in this issue:
cover story:
Sea-Level Rise in Nat'l Parks
Collecting Caribbean Dust
Florida Beach Health
Lake Michigan Trout
Watershed Initiative
Blacks in Gov't 2001
Coastal Change Issues
Pacific Congress Service Award—Mike Field
WHFC Employees in 10K
Educating the Public About Coastal Hazards
Author of Organic Geochemistry Novel Visits
October Publications List
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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