AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Physical Chemistry of Biological Particles in Amazonia
SWARUP CHINA, Bingbing Wang, Johannes Weis, Libor Kovarik, Luciana Rizzo, Glauber Cirino, Paulo Artaxo, Mary Gilles, Alexander Laskin, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Abstract Number: 414 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract The Amazon basin, a biogeochemical reactor also known as “green ocean” due to similarities in particle concentration and cloud condensation nuclei concentration of Amazon area with remote oceanic region. Biological particles, the most abundant in the supermicrometer particles in the Amazonia- influences the cloud dynamics and hydrological cycles of Amazon basin. Physical chemistry of biological particles in the Amazon basin are still poorly understood. Measurements for this study were conducted during wet season of 2015 at the ZF2 Tower, a pristine rainforest site in the central Amazonia. The ZF2 site is located at 80 km North of Manaus. Using an array of micro-spectroscopic techniques, we investigate the chemical composition and hygroscopicity of biological Particles in Amazonia. Furthermore, we find that biological spores can rupture and release loads of fragments under high humid conditions, such as in the Amazon basin. Further investigation reveals that fragments are hygroscopic and can potentially influence cloud properties. Our findings underscore the climatic impacts of biological particles under high humidity.