Articles | Volume 24, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5181-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5181-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
03 May 2024
Research article |
| 03 May 2024
| 03 May 2024
Bacteria in clouds biodegrade atmospheric formic and acetic acids
Leslie Nuñez López
Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
Pierre Amato
Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Aerosol particles in the atmosphere play a key role in climate change and air pollution. A large number of aerosol particles are formed from the oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs and secondary organic aerosols – SOA). An important field campaign was organized on Réunion in March–April 2019 to understand the formation of SOA in a tropical atmosphere mostly influenced by VOCs emitted by forest and in the presence of clouds. This work synthesizes the results of this campaign.
Amina Khaled, Minghui Zhang, and Barbara Ervens
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Ramon Campos Braga, Barbara Ervens, Daniel Rosenfeld, Meinrat O. Andreae, Jan-David Förster, Daniel Fütterer, Lianet Hernández Pardo, Bruna A. Holanda, Tina Jurkat-Witschas, Ovid O. Krüger, Oliver Lauer, Luiz A. T. Machado, Christopher Pöhlker, Daniel Sauer, Christiane Voigt, Adrian Walser, Manfred Wendisch, Ulrich Pöschl, and Mira L. Pöhlker
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Soleil E. Worthy, Anand Kumar, Yu Xi, Jingwei Yun, Jessie Chen, Cuishan Xu, Victoria E. Irish, Pierre Amato, and Allan K. Bertram
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We studied the effect of (NH4)2SO4 on the immersion freezing of non-mineral dust ice-nucleating substances (INSs) and mineral dusts. (NH4)2SO4 had no effect on the median freezing temperature of 9 of the 10 tested non-mineral dust INSs, slightly decreased that of the other, and increased that of all the mineral dusts. The difference in the response of mineral dust and non-mineral dust INSs to (NH4)2SO4 suggests that they nucleate ice and/or interact with (NH4)2SO4 via different mechanisms.
Ramon Campos Braga, Daniel Rosenfeld, Ovid O. Krüger, Barbara Ervens, Bruna A. Holanda, Manfred Wendisch, Trismono Krisna, Ulrich Pöschl, Meinrat O. Andreae, Christiane Voigt, and Mira L. Pöhlker
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Quantifying the precipitation within clouds is crucial for our understanding of the Earth's hydrological cycle. Using in situ measurements of cloud and rain properties over the Amazon Basin and Atlantic Ocean, we show here a linear relationship between the effective radius (re) and precipitation water content near the tops of convective clouds for different pollution states and temperature levels. Our results emphasize the role of re to determine both initiation and amount of precipitation.
Mira L. Pöhlker, Minghui Zhang, Ramon Campos Braga, Ovid O. Krüger, Ulrich Pöschl, and Barbara Ervens
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11723–11740, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11723-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11723-2021, 2021
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Clouds cool our atmosphere. The role of small aerosol particles in affecting them represents one of the largest uncertainties in current estimates of climate change. Traditionally it is assumed that cloud droplets only form particles of diameters ~ 100 nm (
accumulation mode). Previous studies suggest that this can also occur in smaller particles (
Aitken mode). Our study provides a general framework to estimate under which aerosol and cloud conditions Aitken mode particles affect clouds.
Minghui Zhang, Amina Khaled, Pierre Amato, Anne-Marie Delort, and Barbara Ervens
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Although primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs, bioaerosols) represent a small fraction of total atmospheric aerosol burden, they might affect climate and public health. We summarize which PBAP properties are important to affect their inclusion in clouds and interaction with light and might also affect their residence time and transport in the atmosphere. Our study highlights that not only chemical and physical but also biological processes can modify these physicochemical properties.
Amina Khaled, Minghui Zhang, Pierre Amato, Anne-Marie Delort, and Barbara Ervens
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3123–3141, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3123-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3123-2021, 2021
Saly Jaber, Muriel Joly, Maxence Brissy, Martin Leremboure, Amina Khaled, Barbara Ervens, and Anne-Marie Delort
Biogeosciences, 18, 1067–1080, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1067-2021, 2021
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Our study is of interest to atmospheric scientists and environmental microbiologists, as we show that clouds can be considered a medium where bacteria efficiently degrade and transform amino acids, in competition with chemical processes. As current atmospheric multiphase models are restricted to chemical degradation of organic compounds, our conclusions motivate further model development.
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Short summary
Living bacteria comprise a small particle fraction in the atmosphere. Our model study shows that atmospheric bacteria in clouds may efficiently biodegrade formic and acetic acids that affect the acidity of rain. We conclude that current atmospheric models underestimate losses of these acids as they only consider chemical processes. We suggest that biodegradation can affect atmospheric concentration not only of formic and acetic acids but also of other volatile, moderately soluble organics.
Living bacteria comprise a small particle fraction in the atmosphere. Our model study shows that...
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