Long-Term Seasonal Trends in Sources and Pathways of Trans-Atlantic Dust Plumes and their Implications for Transport of Microorganisms
Ali Hossein Mardi, Virginia Tech, alihmardi@vt.edu
Miguel Hilario, University of Arizona, hilario@uits.arizona.edu
Regina Hanlon, Virginia Tech, rhanlon@vt.edu
Cristina Gonzalez-Martin, Universidad de La Laguna, cristina.bio.ull@gmail.com
David Schmale, Virginia Tech, dschmale@vt.edu
Armin Sorooshian, University of Arizona, armin@arizona.edu
Hosein Foroutan, Virginia Tech, hosein@vt.edu (Presenter)
Dust plumes play an important role in the transport of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, archaea, and viruses, over long distances. Studies have shown that diverse microbial communities, some that include known pathogens, can survive long-range atmospheric transport in Saharan and Sahel dust clouds. However, the microbial biodiversity of dust plumes and how it changes over time and distance from the source is not well understood. Thus, there is a need for new information about the sources and pathways of trans-Atlantic dust plumes and their implications for microorganisms' long-distance transport and survivability. Forward trajectories of trans-Atlantic dust plumes over a 14-year period (2008 - 2021) were studied (n =>500,000 trajectories), revealing two major dust transport patterns. The first pattern involves summer trajectories (June - August) that arrive in southeastern regions of the United States and the Caribbean basin, traveling above the marine boundary layer at an average altitude of 1,600 m. The second pattern involves winter trajectories (December - February) that arrive in the Amazon basin, traveling within the boundary layer at an average altitude of 660 m. Ambient meteorological conditions, such as solar radiation and relative humidity along dust trajectories, suggest more favorable conditions for the survivability of microorganisms reaching the Amazon during the winter due to a lower mean solar radiation flux and higher mean relative humidity levels. Nevertheless, 14% of winter trajectories reaching the Amazon basin experience intense precipitation and are potentially removed compared to 8% of trajectories intruding the Caribbean basin during the summer. Overall, these findings have significant implications for microorganisms' survivability in trans-Atlantic dust plumes and their potential for major incursion events at receptor regions.
Associated Project(s):
Poster Location ID: 1-43
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Poster Session 1
Session Date: Tue (May 9) 5:00-7:00 PM
CCE Program: BDEC