Coral Mortality and African Dust

Conclusions

Dust transported across oceans may be one of the factors driving declines (mortality of coral reef organisms, increases in macroalgae) on coral reefs throughout the Caribbean. Our group is working to identify and quantify the living microorganisms, heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants transported in Saharan/Sahelian dust air masses thousands of kilometers to the Americas and exploring how these chemical and microbial contaminants may be adversely affecting coral reefs and human health. We are also trying to determine the how much dust was deposited on coral reefs in the past, by looking closely at the elemental record locked in the fine structures of the coral skeleton.

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