Microbiome of the upper troposphere: species composition and prevalence, effects of tropical storms, and atmospheric implications.

ABSTRACT: The composition and prevalence of microorganisms in the middle-to-upper troposphere (8-15 km altitude) and their role in aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions represent important, unresolved questions for biological and atmospheric science. In particular, airborne microorganisms above the oceans remain essentially uncharacterized, as most work to date is restricted to samples taken near the Earth's surface. Here we report on the microbiome of low- and high-altitude air masses sampled onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration DC-8 platform during the 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes campaign in the Caribbean Sea. The samples were collected in cloudy and cloud-free air masses before, during, and after two major tropical hurricanes, Earl and Karl. Quantitati

SUBMITTER: DeLeon-Rodriguez N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3574924 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature