AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
A Global Overview of Measurements of Fluorescent Biological Particles Using Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS) and Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS)
KYLE PIERCE, Niall Robinson, Ian Crawford, Martin Gallagher, David Healy, David O'Connor, John Sodeau, Miia Hiltunin, Markku Kulmala, Warren Stanley, Paul Kaye, Carolyn J. Schumacher, Paulo Artaxo, Meinrat O Andreae, J. Alex Huffman, University of Denver
Abstract Number: 591 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Biogenic and biological aerosols are ubiquitous in the Earth’s atmosphere, influencing atmospheric chemistry and physics, the biosphere, climate, and public health. Systematic global measurements of airborne bioaerosols have been relatively rare, however, contributing significant uncertainty to our understanding of their properties and effects. The recent development of instruments capable of detecting biological aerosols in real-time have enabled detailed ambient observations.
The ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer (UV-APS) and wideband integrated bioaerosol sensor (WIBS) were deployed at a variety of measurement sites on five continents over the last decade to observe trends in fluorescent biological aerosol particles (FBAP) in a host of different environments. Most studies showed exhibited average peaks at ~3 micro-meter in size and diurnally in the early morning, with an average mass concentration on the order of 1 microgram m$^3 . This continuity suggests that the number concentration of bioparticles over vegetated regions may be dominated by fungal spores or agglomerated bacteria within a relatively narrow size range. A analysis of these global measurements and trends will be shown.