Modelling the impact of fungal spore ice nuclei on clouds and precipitation

Sesartić, Ana; Lohmann, Ulrike; Storelvmo, Trude

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014029

Cited by 68 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 60 publications

(70 reference statements)

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“…In autumn the relative amount of biomass in PM was estimated to be around ∼ 10 % (Supplement). Modelling studies have suggested that microorganisms may play an important role in the hydrological cycle in the boreal region (Sesartic et al, 2012(Sesartic et al, , 2013. However, the magnitude of upward lifting of microorganisms remains to be solved, and thus our results are preliminary in nature and need to be confirmed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Characterization of free amino acids, bacteria and fungi in size-segregated atmospheric aerosols in boreal forest: seasonal patterns, abundances and size distributions

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and constitute ∼ 30 % of atmospheric aerosol particle mass in sizes > 1 µm. PBAP components, such as bacteria, fungi and pollen, may affect the climate by acting as cloud-active particles, thus having an effect on cloud and precipitation formation processes. In this study, size-segregated aerosol samples (< 1.0, 1-2.5, 2.5-10 and > 10 µm) were collected in boreal forest (Hyytiälä, Finland) during a 9-month period covering all seasons and analysed for free amino acids (FAAs), DNA concentration and microorganism (bacteria, Pseudomonas and fungi). Measurements were performed using tandem mass spectrometry, spectrophotometry and qPCR, respectively. Meteorological parameters and statistical analysis were used to study their atmospheric implication for results. Distinct annual patterns of PBAP components were observed, late spring and autumn being seasons of dominant occurrence. Elevated abundances of FAAs and bacteria were observed during the local pollen season, whereas fungi were observed at the highest level during autumn. Meteorological parameters such as air and soil temperature, radiation and rainfall were observed to possess a close relationship with PBAP abundances on an annual scale.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Characterization of free amino acids, bacteria and fungi in size-segregated atmospheric aerosols in boreal forest: seasonal patterns, abundances and size distributions

et al. 2017

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“…One of the first improvements that would benefit the PLAnET model would be validation on microbial fluxes that are not based solely on cultivated microorganisms. The ratio of culturable microorganisms to total microorganisms may range from 0.01 to 75 % and is generally below 10 % (see Burrows et al, 2009b, and references therein), meaning that PLAnET output needs scaling to be compared with the work, for example, of Burrows et al (2009a), Sesartic et al (2012) and Sesartic et al (2013). A simple comparison can be made between PLAnET simulated fluxes and fluxes reported in Burrows et al (2009a) using the scaling factor for the ratio of culturable to total bacteria for grasslands (302, Burrows et al, 2009b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The larger-scale model would then be able to simulate the dispersion of the PBAs across the simulation domain, giving new insight in the potential of PBAs to impact precipitation, as well as exploring different scenarios about the potential pathways of transport of plant pathogens from the phyllosphere. In fact, given that some of the aforementioned models are able to simulate both gas-phase and aerosol chemistry, it would be possible to follow up the pioneering work of Burrows et al (2009a) and Sesartic et al (2013) on different spatiotemporal scales and investigate the changes in the outputs due to the insertion of a realistic PBA emission module.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurements and modeling of surface–atmosphere exchange of microorganisms in Mediterranean grassland

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Microbial aerosols (mainly composed of bacterial and fungal cells) may constitute up to 74 % of the total aerosol volume. These biological aerosols are not only relevant to the dispersion of pathogens, but they also have geochemical implications. Some bacteria and fungi may, in fact, serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, potentially affecting cloud formation and precipitation and are active at higher temperatures compared to their inorganic counterparts. Simulations of the impact of microbial aerosols on climate are still hindered by the lack of information regarding their emissions from ground sources. This present work tackles this knowledge gap by (i) applying a rigorous micrometeorological approach to the estimation of microbial net fluxes above a Mediterranean grassland and (ii) developing a deterministic model (the PLAnET model) to estimate these emissions on the basis of a few meteorological parameters that are easy to obtain. The grassland is characterized by an abundance of positive net microbial fluxes and the model proves to be a promising tool capable of capturing the day-to-day variability in microbial fluxes with a relatively small bias and sufficient accuracy. PLAnET is still in its infancy and will benefit from future campaigns extending the available training dataset as well as the inclusion of ever more complex and critical phenomena triggering the emission of microbial aerosol (such as rainfall). The model itself is also adaptable as an emission module for dispersion and chemical transport models, allowing further exploration of the impact of landcover-driven microbial aerosols on the atmosphere and climate.

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“…Observed correlations between PBAP and IN concentrations during rain events over the continental United States further suggest an important role for PBAPs in the hydrological cycle Prenni et al, 2013). In contrast, recent modelling studies have found that PBAPs make little contribution to global ice nucleation (Hoose et al, 2010a, b;Sesartic et al, 2013). For example, Hoose et al (2010b) simulated that PBAPs contribute less than 0.6 % to the global average ice nucleation rate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The contribution of fungal spores and bacteria to regional and global aerosol number and ice nucleation immersion freezing rates

Spracklen

Heald

2014

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) may play an important role in aerosol-climate interactions, in particular by affecting ice formation in mixed phase clouds. However, the role of PBAPs is poorly understood because the sources and distribution of PBAPs in the atmosphere are not well quantified. Here we include emissions of fungal spores and bacteria in a global aerosol microphysics model and explore their contribution to concentrations of supermicron particle number, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and immersion freezing rates. Simulated surface annual mean concentrations of fungal spores are ∼ 2.5 × 10 4 m −3 over continental midlatitudes and 1 × 10 5 m −3 over tropical forests. Simulated surface concentrations of bacteria are 2.5 × 10 4 m −3 over most continental regions and 5 × 10 4 m −3 over grasslands of central Asia and North America. These simulated surface number concentrations of fungal spores and bacteria are broadly in agreement with the limited available observations. We find that fungal spores and bacteria contribute 8 and 5 % respectively to simulated continental surface mean supermicron number concentrations, but have very limited impact on CCN concentrations, altering regional concentrations by less than 1 %. In agreement with previous global modelling studies, we find that fungal spores and bacteria contribute very little (3 × 10 −3 %, even when we assume upper limits for ice nucleation activity) to global average immersion freezing ice nucleation rates, which are dominated by soot and dust. However, at lower altitudes (400 to 600 hPa), where warmer temperatures mean that soot and dust may not nucleate ice, we find that PBAP controls the immersion freezing ice nucleation rate. This demonstrates that PBAPs can be of regional importance for IN formation, in agreement with case study observations.

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Modelling the impact of fungal spore ice nuclei on clouds and precipitation

Cited by 68 publications

References 60 publications

Characterization of free amino acids, bacteria and fungi in size-segregated atmospheric aerosols in boreal forest: seasonal patterns, abundances and size distributions

Characterization of free amino acids, bacteria and fungi in size-segregated atmospheric aerosols in boreal forest: seasonal patterns, abundances and size distributions

Measurements and modeling of surface–atmosphere exchange of microorganisms in Mediterranean grassland

The contribution of fungal spores and bacteria to regional and global aerosol number and ice nucleation immersion freezing rates

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