AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
The Spatial and Temporal Variability in Bioaerosol Community Struture in Urban and Rural Colorado
Robert Bowers, NICHOLAS CLEMENTS, Allison Moore, Michael Hannigan, Christine Wiedinmyer, Noah Fierer, University of Colorado at Boulder
Abstract Number: 365 Working Group: Carbonaceous Aerosols in the Atmosphere
Abstract The Colorado Coarse Rural-Urban Sources and Health (CCRUSH) study is investigating the health impacts of PM$_(10-2.5) in arid rural and urban environments. To compliment the health study, one year of sixth-day 24-hour filter samples were collected with a dichotomous (PM$_(2.5) and PM$_(10-2.5)) medium-flow sampler at four locations in Colorado. Two sites are located in urban Denver, CO and are characterized as industrial-residential and urban-residential. One site, Alsup Elementary, is near the intersection of 4 major roadways and adjacent to a gravel pit operations. The other two sites are located 50 km northeast of Denver in Greeley, CO, a rural city near major agricultural operations, including animal feeding operations. Greeley sites are classified as rural-residential. Quartz samples were analyzed for microbial community composition using a high-throughput bacteria specific barcoded illumina sequencing procedure, and a multi-domain (bacteria, fungi and other microbial eukaryotes) barcoded pyrosequencing procedure. With such a massive microbial community dataset measured in parallel with particulate speciation and meteorological variables, we can begin to unravel the physical parameters that structure the airborne microbial communities, which will ultimately increase our understanding of the potential health risks, and quite possibly, the health benefits that the airborne microbial community may provide. Airborne communities are also compared to known communities of potential sources, such as leaves and soil.