Dale Griffin, Ph.D. (Former Employee)

Airborne viruses and their relation to dust storms, as a possible route for dispersion, have not been widely investigated. There are, however, studies that have described the airborne dispersal of pathogenic viruses and their potential impact on public and agronomical health. Atmospheric samples were collected in an urban area of Tenerife during 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 and screened for...

Vibrio is a cosmopolitan genus of marine bacteria, highly investigated in coastal and estuarine environments. Vibrio have also been isolated from pelagic waters, yet very little is known about the ecology of these oligotrophic species. In this study we examined the relative change in bacterial abundance and more specifically the dynamics of Vibrio in the tropical North Atlantic in...

With continued population growth and increasing use of fresh groundwater resources, protection of this valuable resource is critical. A cost effective means to assess risk of groundwater contamination potential will provide a useful tool to protect these resources. Integrating geospatial methods offers a means to quantify the risk of contaminant potential in cost effective and spatially...

This chapter addresses long-range dispersion and the survival of microorganisms across a wide range of altitudes in Earth's atmosphere. Topics include mechanisms of dispersion, survivability of microorganisms known to be associated with long-range transport, natural and artificial sources of bioaerosols, residence time estimation through the use of proxy aerosols, transport and emission...

This protocol describes the processing steps for 45 g and 9 g soil samples potentially contaminated with Bacillus anthracis spores. The protocol is designed to separate and concentrate the spores from bulk soil down to a pellet that can be used for further analysis. Soil extraction solution and mechanical shaking are used to disrupt soil particle aggregates and to aid in the separation...

Following a release of Bacillus anthracis spores into the environment, there is a potential for lasting environmental contamination in soils. There is a need for detection protocols for B. anthracis in environmental matrices. However, identification of B. anthracis within a soil is a difficult task. Processing soil samples helps to remove debris, chemical components, and biological...