Characterization of culturable airborne microorganisms in the Yucatan Peninsula

Rodríguez-Gómez, Camila; Ramírez-Romero, Carolina; Córdoba, Fernanda; Raga, Graciela B.; Salinas, Eva; Martínez, Leticia; Rosas, Irma; Quintana, Erika T.; Maldonado, Luis A.; Rosas, Daniel; Amador, Talib; Alvarez, Harry; Ladino, Luis A.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.117183

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…The high levels of S can be associated with local anthropogenic activities such as vehicular, ship, and industrial emissions (e.g., Corbett and Fischbeck, 1997;Cerón-Bretón et al, 2018). Additionally, given the short distance between Mérida and the GoM, it is possible that dimethylsulfide (DMS) production from plankton in the GoM could be a natural source of S, as has been shown in other studies (e.g., Rosinski et al, 1988;Kloster et al, 2006;Vallina and Simó, 2007). Finally, the presence of Ca could be related to the limestone soil prevalent on the Yucatán Peninsula and the resuspension of road dust (Plasencia, 1998;Querol et al, 2019).…”

Section: Local Evidencementioning

confidence: 85%

“…Although the African dust intrusions caused an increase in particulate matter in Mérida (Mexico), this increase is lower than those reported in other places closer to the Sahara, such as Barbados and the Mediterranean. In addition to the impacts on air quality, African dust particles can also be a serious health threat as they serve as a carrier of biological material originating in Africa, as reported by Rodriguez-Gomez et al (2020). If the foreign biological particles are opportunistic pathogens, they can cause a variety of diseases in the receptor regions, such as the Yucatán Peninsula.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, it is important to note that Al, Si, K, and Fe are common oxides found in African dust composed of minerals and clays such as quartz (Goudie and Middleton, 2006;Linke et al, 2006;Broadley et al, 2012;Querol et al, 2019). Rosinski et al (1988) reported that up to 90 % of the collected airborne particles in the presence of dust events in the GoM contained Al, Fe, and Si. In Puerto Rico, Reid et al (2003b) found that the concentrations of Si and Al on aerosol particles (> 0.74 µm) were above 10 and 5 µg m −3 , respectively, during dust events that reached the island.…”

Section: Local Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most abundant minerals present in these particles are silicates (quartz), clay minerals (kaolinite, illite, chlorite, palygorskite), feldspars (albite, anorthite), and carbonates (calcite) (Goudie and Middleton, 2006;Querol et al, 2019;Broadley et al, 2012 (Goudie and Middleton, 2006;Linke et al, 2006). Several studies in the Caribbean have identified high levels of Fe and Al in dust events (Prospero et al, 2001;Rosinski et al, 1988). Additionally, Rosinski et al (1988) reported high percentages of Si and Mg in particles collected in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) during July.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies in the Caribbean have identified high levels of Fe and Al in dust events (Prospero et al, 2001;Rosinski et al, 1988). Additionally, Rosinski et al (1988) reported high percentages of Si and Mg in particles collected in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) during July.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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African dust particles over the western Caribbean – Part I: Impact on air quality over the Yucatán Peninsula

Ramírez-Romero

Jaramillo

Córdoba³

et al. 2021

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. On a global scale, African dust is known to be one of the major sources of mineral dust particles, as these particles can be efficiently transported to different parts of the planet. Several studies have suggested that the Yucatán Peninsula could be influenced by such particles, especially in July, associated with the strengthening of the Caribbean low-level jet. Although these particles have the potential to significantly impact the local air quality, as shown elsewhere (especially with respect to particulate matter, PM), the arrival and impact of African dust in Mexican territory has not been quantitatively reported to date. Two short-term field campaigns were conducted to confirm the arrival of African dust on the Yucatán Peninsula in July 2017 and July 2018 at the Mérida atmospheric observatory (20.98∘ N, 89.64∘ W). Aerosol particles were monitored at ground level using different online and off-line sensors. Several PM2.5 and PM10 peaks were observed during both sampling periods, with a relative increase in the PM levels ranging between 200 % and 500 % with respect to the normal background conditions. Given that these peaks were found to be highly correlated with supermicron particles and chemical elements typically found in mineral dust particles, such as Al, Fe, Si, and K, they are linked with African dust. This conclusion is supported by combining back trajectories with vertical profiles from radiosondes, reanalysis, and satellite images to show that the origin of the air masses arriving at Mérida was the Saharan Air Layer (SAL). The good agreement found between the measured PM10 concentrations and the estimated dust mixing ratio content from MERRA-2 (Version 2 of the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications) corroborates the conclusion that the degradation of the local (and likely regional) air quality in Mérida is a result of the arrival of African dust.

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