Science Daily September 28, 2023
Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) play an important role in the climate system, facilitating the formation of ice within clouds, consequently PBAP may be important in understanding the rapidly changing Arctic climate. An international team of researchers (Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Norway) used single-particle fluorescence spectroscopy to identify and quantify PBAP at an Arctic mountain site, with transmission electronic microscopy analysis supporting the presence of PBAP. They found that PBAP concentrations ranged between 10−3–10−1 L−1 and peak in summer. Evidence suggested that the terrestrial Arctic biosphere was an important regional source of PBAP, given the high correlation to air temperature, surface albedo, surface vegetation and PBAP tracers. PBAP clearly correlated with high-temperature ice nucleating particles, of which a high a fraction (>90%) are proteinaceous in summer, implying biological origin. According to the researchers their findings will contribute to an improved understanding of sources and characteristics of Arctic PBAP and their links to INP… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Multi-year trends of ice nucleating particles… Credit: Nature Communications volume 14, Article number: 5997 (2023)