Browsing by Author "Figueira, Celso"
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- Madeira 2010 – Aftermath of flashfloods and mudslides on bathing water quality indicators and on sand microbial levelsPublication . Romão, Daniela; Abreu, Roberto; Calado, Graça; Freitas, Fabíola; Rodrigues, Paulo; Ferreira, Carmen; Campos, Ana; Temtem, Rita; Freitas, Conceição; Andrade, César; Prada, Susana; Figueira, Celso; Brandão, JoãoRecent and past studies indicate that infectious disease outbreaks often take place after extreme weather events, as microbes, vectors and reservoir animal hosts are able to exploit the disrupted environmental conditions (1). Beaches, due to their proximity to oceans and cities, are often setting of such events affecting microbial communities, both in sand and bathing water (1 and 2). On 20th of February 2010, a series of storms, caused by an active cold front combined with Atlantic low-pressure and temperature differences of the sea surface across the Atlantic Ocean with unusually warm waters from West Africa, affected several countries, such as Portugal, Spain, Morocco and the Canary Islands, causing flooding, rain and strong winds. Madeira, an island with different types of beaches within a small coastline was severely affected. Between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m., 108 mm of rain were recorded at Funchal weather station and 165 mm at Pico do Areeiro (1818m of altitude). The entire February’s month average rainfall in Funchal is 88.0 mm. The South of the island was severely affected by flashfloods, originating mudslides that tore down everything along the way. The degree of devastation was highly substantial and costly, both in lives and economically. The areas affected the most were Funchal, Ribeira Brava, Câmara de Lobos and Santa Cruz. The impact of this event in microbiological communities caused a notorious peak of Enterococcus spp., E. coli and sporulating fungi, both in sand and water until September of the same year. Bathing water and sand quality monitoring months later revealed thus that both water and sand profiles were profoundly altered for months to follow. Contaminated sand is a known source of coastal water pollution, due to tides in the swash zone and run-offs. Our analysis shows the disruptive effect of the storm on beach sand quality, as published in 2016 (2), combined with a comparison of the subsequent expected effect on bathing waters for the island of Madeira for 2010 and 2011
- Microbiological and mycological beach sand quality in a volcanic environment: Madeira archipelago, PortugalPublication . Pereira, Elisabete; Figueira, Celso; Aguiar, Nuno; Vasconcelos, Rita; Vasconcelos, Sílvia; Calado, Graça; Brandão, João; Prada, SusanaMadeira forms a mid-Atlantic volcanic archipelago, whose economy is largely dependent on tourism. There, one can encounter different types of sand beach: natural basaltic, natural calcareous and artificial calcareous. Microbiological and mycological quality of the sand was analyzed in two different years. Bacterial indicators were detected in higher number in 2010 (36.7% of the samples) than in 2011 (9.1%). Mycological indicators were detected in a similar percentage of samples in 2010 (68.3%) and 2011 (75%), even though the total number of colonies detected in 2010 was much higher (827 in 41 samples) than in 2011 (427 in 66 samples). Enterococci and potentially pathogenic and allergenic fungi (particularly Penicillium sp.) were the most common indicators detected in both years. Candida sp. yeast was also commonly detected in the samples. The analysis of the 3rd quartile and maximum numbers of all indicators in samples showed that artificial beaches tend to be more contaminated than the natural ones. However, a significant difference between the variables was lacking. More monitoring data (number of bathers, sea birds, radiation intensity variation, and a greater number of samples) should be collected in order to confirm if these differences are significant. In general, the sand quality in the archipelago's beaches was good. As the sand may be a vector of diseases, an international common set of indicators and values and a compatible methodologies for assessing sand contamination, should be defined, in order to provide the bather's with an indication of beach sand quality, rather than only the water.
- Sediment characteristics and microbiological contamination of beach sand – A case–study in the archipelago of MadeiraPublication . Abreu, Roberto; Figueira, Celso; Romão, Daniela; Brandão, João; Freitas, M. Conceição; Andrade, César; Calado, Graça; Ferreira, Carmen; Campos, Ana; Prada, SusanaBeach sand can harbour pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms, as well as faecal indicator bacteria that influence directly the bathing water quality. Pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms often raise concern of exposure during beach related recreational activities. In this work, three different types of sandy beaches (natural basaltic, natural calcareous and artificial calcareous) of the Archipelago of Madeira (Portugal) were sampled for bacterial and fungal contaminants and grain size distribution, during four years (2010 − 2013). Following an extreme weather event in 2010, the faecal indicator bacteria levels spiked, returning to base levels shortly thereafter. The same phenomenon occurred with fungi, where potentially pathogenic fungi were the dominant group. Yeast-like fungi and dermatophytes were, however, mainly associated to months of higher usage by recreational users. Statistical analysis showed higher contamination of sediment in artificial beaches compared to natural beaches and granulometry and chemical composition of sand did not influence in the microbial loads. Instead, bather density and the influence of coastal protection structures needed to maintain the volume of artificial beach sand regarding the removal potential of wave induced currents are obvious influencing factors.
- Sediment characteristics and microbiological contamination of beach sand: a case–study in the archipelago of MadeiraPublication . Abreu, Roberto; Figueira, Celso; Romão, Daniela; Brandão, João; Freitas, Maria da Conceição; Andrade, César; Calado, Graça; Ferreira, Carmen; Campos, Ana; Prada, SusanaBeach sand can harbour pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms, as well as faecal indicator bacteria that influence directly the bathing water quality. Pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms often raise concern of exposure during beach related recreational activities. In this work, three different types of sandy beaches (natural basaltic, natural calcareous and artificial calcareous) of the Archipelago of Madeira (Portugal) were sampled for bacterial and fungal contaminants and grain size distribution, during four years (2010-2013). Following an extreme weather event in 2010, the faecal indicator bacteria levels spiked, returning to base levels shortly thereafter. The same phenomenon occurred with fungi, where potentially pathogenic fungi were the dominant group. Yeast-like fungi and dermatophytes were, however, mainly associated to months of higher usage by recreational users. Statistical analysis showed higher contamination of sediment in artificial beaches compared to natural beaches and granulometry and chemical composition of sand did not influence in the microbial loads. Instead, bather density and the influence of coastal protection structures needed to maintain the volume of artificial beach sand regarding the removal potential of wave induced currents are obvious influencing factors.