Convective storms alter bioaerosol populations through cold pools and precipitation.

ABSTRACT: Meteorology can alter bioaerosol properties, potentially enhancing their impact on public health and cloud microphysics. The BioAerosols and Convective Storms (BACS) study was conducted over May-June 2022 and 2023 in Northern Colorado and examines how convective storm processes such as precipitation and cold pools affect bioaerosol concentrations and properties, including pollen, fungal spores and bacterial endotoxin. The two seasons were vastly different climatologically, with drought-like conditions and greater endotoxin concentrations during 2022 and near record rainfall with higher fungal spore concentrations during 2023. Online (fluorescence) and offline (chemical tracer) measurements were used to characterize bioaerosols, alongside collocated measurements of ice-nucleating particles

SUBMITTER: Feldman TK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12863125 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature