Coral Mortality and African Dust

Project Publications

• Garrison V.H., E.A. Shinn, W.T. Foreman, D.W. Griffin, C.W. Holmes, C.A. Kellogg, M.S. Majewski, L.L. Richardson, K.B. Ritchie, G.W. Smith. 2003. African and Asian dust: From desert soils to coral reefs. BioScience 53 (5):469-480. [available online]
  
  
• Griffin, D.W. 2004. Terrestrial Microorganisms at 20,000 Meters in Earth's Atmosphere. Aerobiologia. 20: 135-140. [available online]
  
  
• Griffin, D.W., V.H. Garrison, C. Kellogg, E.A. Shinn. 2001. African desert dust in the Caribbean atmosphere: Microbiology and public health. Aerobiologia 17: 203-213. [available online]
  
  
• Griffin, D.W. and C.A. Kellogg. 2004. Dust storms and their impact on ocean and human health: Dust in Earth's atmosphere. EcoHealth 1: 284-295.
  
  
• Griffin, D.W., C.A. Kellogg, V.H. Garrison, C. Holmes, E.A. Shinn. 2002. The movement of soil and sediment in Earth's atmosphere: Microbiology and Ecosystem Health. Epidemio-Ecology News 1(2):1-3. [available online]
  
  
• Griffin, D.W., C.A. Kellogg, V.H. Garrison, J.T. Lisle, T.C. Borden and E.A. Shinn. 2003. Atmospheric microbiology in the northern Caribbean during African dust events. Aerobiologia 19: 143-157. [available online]
  
  
• Griffin, D.W., C.A. Kellogg, V.H. Garrison and E.A. Shinn. 2002. Transoceanic transport of airborne sediments: Research and global health issues. American Scientist 90:228-235. [available online]
  
  
• Griffin, D.W., C.A. Kellogg, K.K. Peak, and E.A. Shinn. 2002. A rapid and efficient assay for extracting DNA from fungi. Letters in Applied Microbiology 34: 1-5. [available online]
  
  
• Griffin, D.W., C.A. Kellogg and E.A. Shinn. 2001. Dust in the wind: Long range transport of dust in the atmosphere and its implications for global public and ecosystem health. Global Change & Human Health 2: 2-15. [available online]
  
  
• Holmes, C.W. and R. Miller. 2004. Atmospherically transported elements and deposition in the Southeastern United States: local or transoceanic? Applied Geochemistry 19 (2004): 1189-1200. [available online]
  
  
• Kellogg, C.A., D.W. Griffin, V.H. Garrison, K.K. Peak, N. Royall, R.R. Smith, E.A. Shinn. 2004. Characterization of aerosolized bacteria and fungi from desert dust events in Mali, West Africa. Aerobiologia 20:99-110. [available online]
  
  
• Mohammed, A., J. Agard, M. Monteil, V. Garrison. 2003. Potential Impact of Saharan Dust within the Caribbean region. Report to UNEP Millenium Commission. Pp. 17.
  
  
• Shinn, E.A., D.W. Griffin, and D.B. Seba. 2003. Atmospheric Transport of Mold Spores in Clouds of Desert Dust. Archives of Environmental Health 58 (8): 498-504. [available online]
  
  
• Shinn, E.A., G.W. Smith, J.M. Prospero, P. Betzer, M.L. Hayes, V. Garrison and R.T. Barber. 2000. African dust and the demise of Caribbean coral reefs. Geophysical Research Letters 27:3029-3032. [available online]
  
  
• Weir-Brush, J.R., V.H. Garrison, G.W. Smith and E.A. Shinn. 2004. The relationship between Gorgonian coral (Cnidaria: Gorgonacea) diseases and African dust storms. Aerobiologia 20: 119-126 [available online].

Articles

• Griffin, D.W. and E.A. Shinn. 2001. Microbes in African Dust Clouds Pose Potential Health Risks. People, Land and Water. 8(4):36.
  
  
• Griffin, D.W. and E.A. Shinn. 2004. Out of Africa: Airborne Dust Carries Microbes to Florida, Southeast. People, Land and Water. 10(4):38
  
  
• Kellogg, C.A., and D.W. Griffin. 2003. African Dust Carries Microbes Across the Ocean: Are They Affecting Human and Ecosystem Health? USGS Open-File Report 03-028. [Publications Warehouse citation] [available online]
  
  
• Shinn, E. A. 2001. African dust causes widespread environmental distress. USGS Open-File Report 01-0246. [Publications Warehouse citation] [available online]

Posters

• Garrison, V.H., R.S. Carr, W.T. Foreman, M. Gray, D.W. Griffin, C.A. Kellogg, M.S. Majewski, A. Mohammed, M. Monteil, M. Nipper, C. Orazio, A. Ramsubhad, E.A. Shinn, S.A. Simonich, and G.W. Smith. Synthetic Organic Chemicals, Microorganisms, African and Asian Dust and Coral Reefs. [available online]

Media coverage

• Alan Alda's Scientific American Frontiers (a Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) television program first shown Jan. 1999). Garrison, Shinn and Smith
• Wildlife Detectives Series on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet (show title: "Coral Killer", a 30 minute documentary first shown Jan. 2001; title referred to unknown factors causing mortality on reefs and not the scientists studying the reefs); Garrison and Shinn.
• Radio Canada/Television Productions (dubbed in French, shown early 2004).
• The "One degree" episode in a four hour National Geographic series "Strange Days on Planet Earth," (shown 20 April 2005; series won awards; website; exhibit in Maryland Science Museum); Garrison.
• Nationally televised (Cape Verde) interview along with Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics President Jose Pimenta Lima at sampling site on Sal Island Cabo Verde National Television News May 2005; Garrison.
• Interviewed by Channel 13 FOX News, Channel 10 (CBS), Channel 28, Channel 8 (NBC) regarding dust in Florida. 25 July 2005; Griffin, Kellogg, and Shinn. [available online]

• National Public Radio (KQED Forum, San Francisco, 1 hour interview/call-in program, Jan 2002); Garrison and Shinn and author Sarah Andrews.
• "Analysis: Health dangers that may face the US from dust carried by trade winds from Africa and Asia" All Things Considered (NPR). April 26, 2002.
• Deutschlandfunk (German public radio). Nov. 2004; Kellogg.
• "African Microbes Go On Caribbean Vacation" KGNU Boulder, CO. Nov. 23, 2004; Kellogg. [available online]

• What's in the wind? Sept. 05, 2000 (St. Petersburg Times) [available online]
• Florida scientists say African dust might carry sickness. Sept. 07, 2000 (The Daily News, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands)
• African dust may bring illness. Sept. 07, 2000 (The News-Journal, Daytona Beach, FL)
• Reefs Plagued by African Dust. October 02, 2000 (Washington Post)
• Rex Dalton. 2001. Riders on the storm provoke studies of Atlantic dust. Nature. 412: 754. [available online]
• African dust fuels S. Texas air woes. June 27, 2001 (San Antonio Express-News)
• Harmful germs hitching a ride across Atlantic. July 2, 2001 (The Tampa Tribune)
• John C. Ryan 2002. Dust in the Wind. World Watch. Jan./Feb. 2002: 32-35.
• David A Taylor 2002. Dust in the wind. Environmental Health Perspectives 110(2):A80-A87 [available online]
• Uffe Wilken 2002. Saharas stov truer Caribiens koraller. Science Digest Denmark 14: 44-47.
• Hannah Hoag (June 2003, journal Nature);
• Otto Pohl. 2003. Scientific American article.
• Microbes latest members of the mile-high club. April 08, 2003 (The Boston Globe)
• Manuel Roig-Franzia. Jan. 2004. What's killing the coral reefs? Maverick unravels whodunit. Washington Post 21 Jan. 2004. [available online]
• It's an ill wind. Dec. 02, 2004 (The London Guardian) [available online]
• Aerial Migration. March 14, 2005 (The Tampa Tribune)
• Diseases spread by dust clouds. June 01, 2005 (The Hindu) [available online]
• Carolyn Korman. July 2005. Riders of the Dust Storm. St. John (USVI) Sun Times 13 July 2005.
• Patrick Joy - July 2005. Daily News (Virgin Islands).

• Hannah Holmes for background on her book The Secret Life of Dust;
• Sarah Andrews for background for her mystery novel Killer Dust.

• Laurie Schmidt 2001. NASA's Earth Observatory web site (URL: http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov), and the 2000/2001 NASA DAAC Yearbook.
• African dust storms send germs to America URL: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/06/18/dust.microbes/index.html
• Mobile Homes For Microbes [NASA] URL: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast18jun_1.htm