AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Constraining the Impact of Microorganisms on Atmospheric Aerosol and Cloud Chemistry
ALISON FANKHAUSER, Dexter D. Antonio, Asher M. Krell, Simone J. Alston, Scott Banta, V. Faye McNeill, Columbia University
Abstract Number: 207 Working Group: Aerosol Chemistry
Abstract We use a modeling approach to evaluate the potential impact of microbial metabolism on the organic composition of cloud droplets and atmospheric aerosols. Microbial consumption rates for small organic molecules typically found in cloud and aerosol water were incorporated in to a 0-D multiphase photochemical atmospheric chemistry model. We then use the model to simulate the evolution of the organic content of individual cloud and aerosol particles, along with the atmospheric gas phase, under typical conditions. We find that metabolically active microorganisms may significantly impact the composition of the individual aerosols and cloud droplets in which they reside. However, due to the low density of metabolically active cells in the atmosphere, the impact of these processes on the chemical composition of the overall population of cloud droplets of aerosols, or on gas phase chemistry, is likely negligible.