AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Fluctuation of Viable and Non-viable Bacterial Concentration in the Air Associated with Weather Changes: Observations on the Southwestern Coast of Japan
KOTARO MURATA, Daizhou Zhang, Prefectural University of Kumamoto
Abstract Number: 125 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Our group is trying to reveal the dynamics of airborne bacteria over East Asia. Air masses in East Asia are quickly replaced by thermodynamically different air due to moving cyclones and anticyclones in the Northern Hemisphere Mid-latitude westerly winds, which results in the worldwide transport of desert dust particles and air pollutants from upwind areas to downwind areas. In a previous study, we had developed a method to investigate the evolution of the concentration of viable and non-viable bacteria during air mass changes, using LIVE/DEAD BacLight Bacterial Viability Kit and fluorescence microscopy. We conducted a series of short-term observations to address the evolution of bacterial concentration and viability (the ratio of viable ones) in thermodynamically different air masses at two sites on the southwestern coast of Japan. The results showed that (1) the sum of viable and non-viable bacterial concentrations in the air ranged on the order of 10$^5 cells m$^(-3); (2) the highest median of the concentration and the lowest median of the viability (the ratio of viable ones) were observed after the passage of cyclones, i.e. when particle-loading cold air arrived from the Asian continent; (3) at the seaside site the viable one momentarily increased when airflow shifted between land and sea breezes under anticyclones. Our results showed comparably the low viability of bacterial cells via aerial transport and suggested the necessity of the careful consideration of synoptic weather changes as well as local weather conditions for further researches on bioaerosol dynamics.