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Bioaerosol generation by raindrops on soil

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  • Young Soo Joung

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
    Sookmyung Women's University, 100, Cheongpa-ro 47-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea)

  • Zhifei Ge

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA)

  • Cullen R. Buie

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA)

Abstract

Aerosolized microorganisms may play an important role in climate change, disease transmission, water and soil contaminants, and geographic migration of microbes. While it is known that bioaerosols are generated when bubbles break on the surface of water containing microbes, it is largely unclear how viable soil-based microbes are transferred to the atmosphere. Here we report a previously unknown mechanism by which rain disperses soil bacteria into the air. Bubbles, tens of micrometres in size, formed inside the raindrops disperse micro-droplets containing soil bacteria during raindrop impingement. A single raindrop can transfer 0.01% of bacteria on the soil surface and the bacteria can survive more than one hour after the aerosol generation process. This work further reveals that bacteria transfer by rain is highly dependent on the regional soil profile and climate conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Young Soo Joung & Zhifei Ge & Cullen R. Buie, 2017. "Bioaerosol generation by raindrops on soil," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms14668
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14668
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