mercy borbor-cordova
Mercy Borbor-Cordova (left) and Monica Riofrio (Instituto Antartico Ecuatoriano) during the on-site review at Admiral Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. Mercy J. Borbor-Cordova (ASP/IAI postdoctoral fellow in ISSE) has been involved in various projects in very different ecosystems. Mercy has been the principal investigator of an Ecohealth pilot project in Guayaquil, Ecuador. This project investigates the effects of particulate matter within the vicinity of Power Plants and Port facilities in two impoverished community in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The study area is exposed to high levels of air pollution that may affect and exacerbate cardio respiratory illness, chronic pulmonary diseases especially in vulnerable population such as children, pregnant women and elders. This project has been funded by the International Development Research Center of Canada, Fiocruz foundation from Brazil and the support of the ASP/IAI. This is a trans-disciplinary project in which environmental, medical, epidemiological and social scientists work together with members of the affected community to find social solutions within social equity. The Ecuadorian institutions part of this research include: Municipality of Guayaquil, Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, and the Instituto Nacional de Hidrologia y Meteorologia.
This project includes: a) an emissions inventory, air dispersion model, and the monitoring of fine and coarse particulate matter, b) epidemiological studies: historical cohort study and a case-control study of acute respiratory illness ( ARI ) in children; and c) a stakeholders participatory process to identify the alternatives for air quality management.
Mercy also has been collaborating in the Environmental Management Program of Admiralty Bay( ASMA 1), King George Island , Antarctica. This is an international project leaded by Brazil and with the participation of Poland , USA , Peru and Ecuador . The objectives of this program are: safeguarding the long-term scientific research in the area while maintaining stewardship of the environment; protecting important physiographic features, and the outstanding biological, ecological, historical and aesthetic values of the Area; improving the understanding of natural processes at work in the Area which in turn will help to protect the environment from unnecessary disturbance; managing potential or actual conflicts of interest between different activities, including science, logistics and tourism; avoiding or minimizing the risk of mutual interference and cumulative impacts on the terrestrial and marine environments; and i mproving the level of mutual assistance and co-operation among Parties operating in the Admiralty Bay.
As part of this Initiative, Mercy participated in an on-site review of the research stations, and the international group exchanged information about what is the status of the research for each party and future plans. This project is supported by the Instituto Antartico Ecuatoriano, Insituto Antartico Peruano, Brazilian Antarctic Program.
Research Interests
Mercy's broad interests for the next few years would include:
• Climate variability and infectious diseases
• Coastal and Land Use change interactions: vulnerability and socio-ecological impacts.
• Urbanization and health issues in Latin America.
Publications
Borbor, M., Boyer E.W., McDowell W.H., Hall A.S. 2006. Nitrogen and Phosphorus Budgets for a Tropical Agricultural Watershed: Guayas, Ecuador. Biogeochemistry Vol 79, pp 135-161.
Borbor et al. in the book edited by Martinelli L. and Robert Howarth (Eds.) Nitrogen Cycling in the Americas : Natural and Anthropogenic Influences and Controls. Springer 2006.
Her research and activities are supported by the National Science Foundation through the Advanced Study Program and the Inter American Institute for Global Change research, unless otherwise noted.