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More surprises in the global greenhouse: Human health impacts from recent toxic marine aerosol formations, due to centennial alterations of world-wide coastal food webs
Walsh, J.J.; Lenes, J.M.; Weisberg, R.H.; Zheng, L.; Hu, C.; Fanning, K.A.; Snyder, R.; Smith, J. (2017). More surprises in the global greenhouse: Human health impacts from recent toxic marine aerosol formations, due to centennial alterations of world-wide coastal food webs. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 116(1-2): 9-40. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.12.053
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. Macmillan: London. ISSN 0025-326X; e-ISSN 1879-3363, more
Related to:
Murray, S.A.; Ajani, P.; Kretzschmar, A.L.; Verma, A. (2017). Response to "More surprises in the global greenhouse: Human health impacts form recent toxic marine aerosol formulations, due to centennial alterations or world-wide coastal food webs". Mar. Pollut. Bull. 123(1-2): 415-417. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.05.035, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keyword
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    Aerosols Biogeochemical cycles Marine systems Health impacts

Authors  Top 
  • Walsh, J.J.
  • Lenes, J.M.
  • Weisberg, R.H.
  • Zheng, L.
  • Hu, C.
  • Fanning, K.A.
  • Snyder, R.
  • Smith, J.

Abstract
    Reductions of zooplankton biomasses and grazing pressures were observed during overfishing-induced trophic cascades and concurrent oil spills at global scales. Recent phytoplankton increments followed, once Fe-, P-, and N-nutrient limitations of commensal diazotrophs and dinoflagellates were also eliminated by respective human desertification, deforestation, and eutrophication during climate changes. Si-limitation of diatoms instead ensued during these last anthropogenic perturbations of agricultural effluents and sewage loadings. Consequently, ~ 15% of total world-wide annual asthma trigger responses, i.e. amounting to ~ 45 million adjacent humans during 2004, resulted from brevetoxin and palytoxin poisons in aerosol forms of western boundary current origins. They were denoted by greater global harmful algal bloom [HAB] abundances and breathing attacks among sea-side children during prior decadal surveys of asthma prevalence, compiled here in ten paired shelf ecosystems of western and eutrophied boundary currents. Since 1965, such inferred onshore fluxes of aerosolized DOC poisons of HABs may have served as additional wind-borne organic carriers of toxic marine MeHg, phthalate, and DDT/DDE vectors, traced by radio-iodine isotopes to potentially elicit carcinomas. During these exchanges, as much as 40% of mercury poisonings may instead have been effected by inhalation of collateral HAB-carried marine neurotoxic aerosols of MeHg, not just from eating marine fish. Health impacts in some areas were additional asthma and pneumonia episodes, as well as endocrine disruptions among the same adjacent humans, with known large local rates of thyroid cancers, physician-diagnosed pulmonary problems, and ubiquitous high indices of mercury in hair, pesticides in breast milk, and phthalates in urine.

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