The concentration, size distribution and dry deposition flux of microbes in atmospheric aerosols over the marginal seas and Northwest Pacific Ocean

• Published in: Atmospheric research 2022-01, Vol.265, p.105906, Article 105906
• Main Authors: Qi, Jianhua, Yin, Yidan, Zhang, Daizhou, Li, Hongtao, Dong, Lijie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerosols; Flux; Microbes; Ocean; Size distribution
• ISSN: 0169-8095; 1873-2895
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2021.105906

The concentration and flux of biological aerosol particles over oceans are important for understanding the ecological implications of airborne microbes in marine ecosystems. Airborne microbes over oceans remain uncharacterized, especially the difference between those over the marginal seas and those over the open oceans. Atmospheric aerosol samples were collected over Qingdao (QD), the Yellow and Bohai Seas (YBS) and the Northwest Pacific Ocean (NWPO) during three cruises in the spring of 2014 and 2016. The total airborne microbes (TAM) in the samples were assessed based on microscope counts. The TAM concentration was (4.07 ± 1.42) × 105 cells·m−3 and (2.75 ± 0.91) × 105 cells·m−3 over the NWPO in 2014 and 2016, respectively, significantly lower than that over QD ((8.02 ± 4.04) × 105 cells·m−3 and (14.04 ± 23.95) × 105 cells·m−3 in 2014 and 2016, respectively) due to the continental source of microbes, but the TAM concentration over the NWPO in 2014 was significantly higher than that over the YBS (p