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The Influence of Humidity, Precipitation, and Temperature on Mosquito-borne Vectors in the United States

Student(s):Benjamin Folk, Dori Stein, Mia Obid, Sidha Kunada
Grade Level:Secondary School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
GLOBE Educator(s):Cassie Soeffing
Contributors:Dr. Rusty Low, IGES, scientist Peder Nelson, OSU, sme Dr. Erika Podest, NASA JPL, scientist Andrew Clark, IGES, EO Researcher and Data Analyst
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report, Mission Mosquito Report
Protocols:Earth As a System, Mosquitoes
Presentation Video: View Video
Presentation Poster: View Document
Language(s):English
Date Submitted:01/25/2023
Mosquitoes are the primary insect vector of dangerous pathogens, specifically dengue fever and the West Nile virus. The potential risk of a mosquito-borne epidemic can be correlated with many environment-specific variables that affect mosquito oviposition, activity, and feeding habitats. We sought to draw connections between environmental variables such as precipitation, humidity, and temperature to the risk of mosquito-borne diseases. Before examining potential data, we hypothesized that the outcome of our study would show a direct positive correlation between mosquito-borne disease transmission and precipitation, temperature, and humidity. This was primarily because the presence of these conditions would create more natural mosquito breeding habitats and make diseases more easily transferable through more suitable conditions. We used data from the Center of Disease Control's (CDC’s) National Arbovirus Surveillance System (ArboNET) to analyze the vector transmission of the West Nile virus and dengue fever. The GLOBE Observer Mosquito Project Advanced Data Access Tool (ADAT) was another source of our data that examined submissions from separate institutions in five major cities on the East Coast (Denver, NC, Tallahassee, FL, Hays, KS, Norfork, AR, and Northville, NY). Records from these sites enabled us to evaluate environmental data, including daily air temperature. Additionally, NASA’s Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (POWER) Data Access Viewer was utilized to obtain the relative humidity percentage statistics at the above sites. Precipitation statistics via rain depth were found using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate at a Glance County Mapping tool (NOAA). Ultimately, our study found that humidity and the spread of mosquito-borne diseases are not directly related, while increased temperature appears to be directly related to both West Nile virus and dengue fever. Finally, West Nile virus cases were found to positively correlate with precipitation, while dengue fever cases were found to be inversely associated with rainfall levels. Keywords: Baxter county, CDC, dengue fever, Ellis county, Fulton county, GLOBE, humidity, Leon county, Lincoln county, mosquitoes, NASA, NOAA, precipitation, temperature, West Nile



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