C2H2 EAGER: Harmful Algal Blooms in Greenland Waters: Impacts on Human Health in Ilulissat/Disko Bay

About This Grant

Arctic regions are experiencing warming air, rising ocean temperatures, and reduced sea ice cover. This increases the occurrence of harmful algal blooms in northern latitudes. These blooms consist of high concentrations of toxic algae in coastal marine waters that poison marine life and pose significant threats to human health. The toxins can cause stomach pain, headache, and rashes as well as more serious problems like liver damage, seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, and death. Knowledge of the impact of harmful algal blooms on Arctic populations and marine ecosystems is limited. Once relatively immune to such blooms, Arctic coastal waters are becoming increasingly susceptible to their presence. This research undertakes exploratory research to investigate impacts of harmful algal blooms on Arctic peoples and marine ecosystems. Western Greenland was chosen for the pilot due to its seasonal sea ice cover and the calving of ice bergs from continental glaciers, both of which can host toxic algae. Here local populations subsist primarily on marine mammals and sea life (i.e., seals, whales, fish, and shellfish), all of which, under the right environmental conditions, can contain algal bloom toxins. The project team is composed of scientists who are experts in Arctic environmental science, social scientists, and medical professionals who are well acquainted with Greenland health issues and the associated data. It also includes significant interaction with the local communities to learn from their experience. Broader impacts of the work include an improved understanding of the impacts of toxic algae on northern populations, critical fisheries, other marine food sources. There is also the likelihood that results of the work can be translated to other populations in the northern latitudes. This project advances knowledge across the fields of environmental science and human health in northern latitudes. It draws on data as diverse as indigenous knowledge, coupled natural/human systems, eco-dynamics, historical ecology, food security and resilience theory. The work involves data and statistical analysis of environmental condition records from the present back to 1777; data from satellite remote sensing and ocean hydrographic, salinity, and temperature data; marine ecosystem and biology data and extensive stakeholder engagement; state-of-the-art gridded ocean data sets and local health and hospitalization records. It involves scenario-building for identifying the impacts of harmful algal blooms in northern latitudes. This approach will improve understanding of how different environmental factors work together to trigger algal toxin-related health problems and perhaps help devise mitigations to reduce human health risks in rapidly evolving northern climates and the associated marine ecosystem responses. The work falls withing the context of the One Arctic One Health initiative, initiated during the U.S. Chairmanship (2015–2017) of the Arctic Council which was designed to strengthen regional knowledge sharing and establish knowledge hubs and coordination for health concerns in the Arctic member states. Project tasks involve (1) establishing baselines for algal bloom environmental factors; (2) generating a detailed analysis of potential occurrences of north latitude harmful algal blooms from the past to present; (3) identifying health issues that can be traced to the presence of algal neurotoxins and the consumption of different marine species (fish/marine mammals). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.