Warming Oceans, Phytoplankton, and River Discharge: Implications for Cholera Outbreaks

Antarpreet S. Jutla Water and Environmental Research, Education and Actionable Solutions Network (WE REASoN), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Global Health, Public Health and Professional Degree Programs, Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, School of Engineering, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Search for other papers by Antarpreet S. Jutla in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Ali S. Akanda Water and Environmental Research, Education and Actionable Solutions Network (WE REASoN), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Global Health, Public Health and Professional Degree Programs, Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, School of Engineering, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Search for other papers by Ali S. Akanda in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Jeffrey K. Griffiths Water and Environmental Research, Education and Actionable Solutions Network (WE REASoN), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Global Health, Public Health and Professional Degree Programs, Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, School of Engineering, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Search for other papers by Jeffrey K. Griffiths in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
Rita Colwell Water and Environmental Research, Education and Actionable Solutions Network (WE REASoN), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Global Health, Public Health and Professional Degree Programs, Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, School of Engineering, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Search for other papers by Rita Colwell in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
, and
Shafiqul Islam Water and Environmental Research, Education and Actionable Solutions Network (WE REASoN), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Global Health, Public Health and Professional Degree Programs, Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, School of Engineering, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Search for other papers by Shafiqul Islam in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2011.11-0181
Volume/Issue:
Volume 85: Issue 2
Page(s):
303–308
Restricted access
Get Permissions

Phytoplankton abundance is inversely related to sea surface temperature (SST). However, a positive relationship is observed between SST and phytoplankton abundance in coastal waters of Bay of Bengal. This has led to an assertion that in a warming climate, rise in SST may increase phytoplankton blooms and, therefore, cholera outbreaks. Here, we explain why a positive SST-phytoplankton relationship exists in the Bay of Bengal and the implications of such a relationship on cholera dynamics. We found clear evidence of two independent physical drivers for phytoplankton abundance. The first one is the widely accepted phytoplankton blooming produced by the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich deep ocean waters. The second, which explains the Bay of Bengal findings, is coastal phytoplankton blooming during high river discharges with terrestrial nutrients. Causal mechanisms should be understood when associating SST with phytoplankton and subsequent cholera outbreaks in regions where freshwater discharge are a predominant mechanism for phytoplankton production.

Author Notes

*Address correspondence to Shafiqul Islam, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155. E-mail: Shafiqul.islam@tufts.edu

Authors' addresses: Antarpreet S. Jutla, Water and Environmental Research, Education and Actionable Solutions Network (WE REASoN), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, E-mail: antarpreet.jutla@tufts.edu. Ali S. Akanda, Water and Environmental Research, Education and Actionable Solutions Network (WE REASoN), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, E-mail: ali.akanda@tufts.edu. Jeffrey K. Griffiths, Director, Global Health, Public Health and Professional Degree Programs, Tufts University School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Public Health and of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Adjunct Associate Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Engineering, Adjunct Associate Professor, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, Medford, MA, E-mail: jeffrey.griffiths@tufts.edu. Rita Colwell, Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, E-mail: rcolwell@umiacs.umd.edu. Shafiqul Islam, Water and Environmental Research, Education and Actionable Solutions Network (WE REASoN), The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, E-mail: Shafiqul.islam@tufts.edu.

Copyright:
©The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2011
Received:
28 Mar 2011
|
Accepted:
15 Apr 2011
|
Published Online:
01 Aug 2011
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
  • 1.

    Colwell RR, Huq A, 2001. Marine ecosystems and cholera. Hydrobiologia 460: 141–145.

  • 2.

    Reidl J, Klose KE, 2002. Vibrio cholerae and cholera: out of the water and into the host. FEMS Microbiol Rev 26: 125–139.

  • 3.

    Lobitz BM, Beck LR, Huq A, Wood B, Fuchs G, Faruque ASG, Colwell RR, 2000. Climate and infectious disease: use of remote sensing for detection of Vibrio cholerae by indirect measurement. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97: 1438–1443.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 4.

    Jutla AS, Akanda AS, Islam S, 2010. Tracking cholera in coastal regions using satellite observations. J Am Water Resour Assoc 46: 651–662.

  • 5.

    Solanki HU, Dwivedi RM, Nayark SR, 2001. Synergistic analysis of SeaWiFS chlorophyll concentration and NOAA-AVHRR SST feature for exploring marine living resources. Int J Remote Sens 22: 3877–3882.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 6.

    Davenport R, Neuer S, Helmke P, Perez-Marrero J, Linas O, 2002. Primary productivity in the northern Canary Islands region as inferred from SeaWiFS imagery. Deep-Sea Res 49: 3481–3496.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 7.

    Acha EM, Mianzan HW, Guerrero RA, Favero M, Bava J, 2004. Marine fronts at the continental shelves of austral South America: physical and ecological processes. J Mar Syst 44: 83–105.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 8.

    Legaard KL, Thomas AC, 2006. Spatial patterns in seasonal and interannual variability of chlorophyll and sea surface temperature in the California Current. J Geophys Res 111: C06032.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 9.

    Perez V, Fernandez E, Maranon E, Serret P, Garcia-Soto C, 2005. Seasonal and interannual variability of chlorophyll a and primary production in the Equatorial Atlantic: in situ and remote sensing observations. J Plankton Res 27: 189–197.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 10.

    Jolliff JK, Kindle JC, Penta B, Helber R, Lee Z, Shulman I, Arnone R, Rowley CD, 2008. On the relationship between satellite-estimated bio-optical and thermal properties in the Gulf of Mexico. J Geol Res 113: G01024.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 11.

    Smyth TJ, Miller PI, Groom SB, Lavender SJ, 2001. Remote sensing of sea surface temperature and chlorophyll during Lagrangian experiments at the Iberian margin. Prog Oceanogr 51: 269–281.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 12.

    Shen S, Leptoukh GG, Acker JG, Yu Z, Kempler SJ, 2008. Seasonal variations of chlorophyll a concentration in the northern South China Sea. IEEE Geosci Remote Sens Lett 5: 315–319.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 13.

    Emch M, Feldacker C, Yunus M, Streatfield PK, Thiem V, Canh D, Mohammad A, 2008. Local environmental predictors of cholera in Bangladesh and Vietnam. Am J Trop Med Hyg 78: 823–832.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 14.

    Magny G, Murtugudde R, Sapianob M, Nizam A, Brown C, Busalacchi A, Yunus M, Nair G, Gil A, Calkins J, Manna B, Rajendran K, Bhattacharya M, Huq A, Sack B, Colwell RR, 2008. Environmental signatures associated with cholera epidemics. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105: 17676–17681.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 15.

    Colwell RR, 1996. Global climate and infectious disease: the cholera paradigm. Science 274: 2025–2031.

  • 16.

    Chaturvedi N, 2005. Variability of chlorophyll concentration in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal as observed from SeaWiFS data from 1997–2000 and its interrelationship with Sea Surface Temperature (SST) derived from NOAA AVHRR. Int J Remote Sens 26: 3695–3706.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 17.

    Kumari B, Babu KN, 2009. Provincial nature of chlorophyll and sea surface temperature observed by satellite. Int J Remote Sens 30: 1091–1097.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 18.

    Dai A, Trenberth KE, 2002. Estimates of freshwater discharge from continents: latitudinal and seasonal variations. J Hydrometeorol 3: 660–687.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 19.

    Smith WO Jr, Demaster DJ, 1996. Phytoplankton biomass and productivity in the Amazon river plume: correlation with seasonal river discharge. Cont Shelf Res 16: 291–319.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 20.

    Acker J.G., Harding L.W., Leptoukh G., Zhu T., Shen S. 2005 Remotely-sensed chl a at the Chesapeake Bay mouth is correlated with annual freshwater flow to Chesapeake Bay. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32: L05601.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 21.

    Pennock JR, Sharp JH, 1985. Phytoplankton production in the Delaware Estuary: temporal and spatial variability. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 21: 711–725.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 22.

    Revelante N, Gilmartin M, 1976. The effect of Po River discharge on phytoplankton dynamics in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Mar Biol 34: 259–271.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 23.

    Bidigare RR, Ondrusek M, Brooks J, 1993. Influence of the Orinoco river outflow on distributions of algal pigments in the Caribbean Sea. J Geophys Res 98: 2259–2269.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 24.

    Lohrenz SE, Dagg MJ, Whitledge TE, 1990. Enhanced primary production at the plume/oceanic interface of the Mississippi River. Cont Shelf Res 10: 639–664.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 25.

    Barua DK, Kuehl SA, Miller RL, Moore WS, 1994. Suspended sediment distribution and residual transport in the coastal ocean off of the Ganges Brahmaputra river mouth. Mar Geol 120: 41–61.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 26.

    Martin S, 2004. An Introduction to Ocean Remote Sensing. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

  • 27.

    Uz BM, Yoder JA, 2004. High frequency and mesoscale variability in SeaWiFS chlorophyll imagery and its relation to other remotely sensed oceanographic variables. Deep Sea Res Part II Top Stud Oceanogr 51: 1001–1071.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 28.

    McClain CR, Cleave ML, Feldman GC, Gregg WW, Hooker SB, Kurin N, 1998. Science quality SeaWiFS data for global biosphere research. Sea Technol 39: 10–16.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 29.

    O'Reilly JE, Maritorena S, Siegel DA, O'Brien MC, Toole D, Chavez FP, Strutton P, Cota GF, Hooker SB, McClain CR, Carder KL, Muller-Karger F, Harding L, Magnuson A, Phinney D, Moore GF, Aiken J, Arrigo KR, Letelier R, Culver M, 2000. Ocean chlorophyll a algorithms for SeaWiFS, OC2, and OC4: Version 4. O'Reilly J.E., and 24 Coauthors. SeaWiFS Postlaunch Calibration and Validation Analyses, Part 3, NASA Tech. Memo. 2000-206892. Volume 11, 9–19.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 30.

    Gregg WW, Casey NW, 2004. Global and regional evaluation of the SeaWiFS chlorophyll data set. Remote Sens Environ 93: 463–479.

  • 31.

    Reynolds RW, Smith TM, 1994. Improved global sea surface temperature analyses using optimum interpolation. J Clim 7: 929–948.

  • 32.

    Longini IM Jr, Yunus M, Zaman K, Siddique AK, Sack RB, Nizam A, 2002. Epidemic and endemic cholera trends over a 33-year period in Bangladesh. J Infect Dis 186: 246–251.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 33.

    Najafi B, Aminian K, Paraschiv-Ionescu A, Loew F, Büla CJ, Robert P, 2003. Ambulatory system for human motion analysis using a kinematic sensor: monitoring of daily physical activity in the elderly. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 50: 711–723.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 34.

    Akanda AS, Jutla AS, Siddique AK, Alam M, Sack R, Huq A, Colwell R, Islam S, 2011. Hydroclimatic influences on seasonal and spatial cholera transmission cycles: implications for public health intervention in the Bengal Delta, Water Resources Research 47: W00H07. doi:10.1029/2010WR009914.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 35.

    Akanda AS, Jutla AS, Islam S, 2009. Dual peak cholera transmission in Bengal Delta: a hydroclimatological explanation. Geophys Res Lett 36: L19401.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 36.

    Nezlin NP, Li BL, 2003. Time-series analysis of remote-sensed chlorophyll and environmental factors in the Santa Monica-San Pedro Basin off Southern California. J Mar Syst 39: 185–202.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 37.

    Navarro G, Ruiz J, 2006. Spatial and temporal variability of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Cadiz through remote sensing images. Deep Sea Res Part II Top Stud Oceanogr 53: 1241–1260.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
Past two years Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 117 117 27
Full Text Views 1067 248 2
PDF Downloads 522 96 0
 
Membership Banner
 
 
 
Affiliate Membership Banner
 
 
Research for Health Information Banner
 
 
CLOCKSS
 
 
 
Society Publishers Coalition Banner
Save