Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

Scavenging of Sub-Micron to Micron-Sized Microbial Aerosols during Simulated Rainfall

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dc.contributor Civil and Environmental Engineering
dc.contributor School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
dc.creator Moore, Rachel A.
dc.creator Hanlon, Regina
dc.creator Powers, Craig W.
dc.creator Schmale, David G. III
dc.creator Christner, Brent C.
dc.date 2020-01-10T14:37:02Z
dc.date 2020-01-10T14:37:02Z
dc.date 2020-01-09
dc.date 2020-01-10T09:03:10Z
dc.date.accessioned 2023-03-01T18:53:25Z
dc.date.available 2023-03-01T18:53:25Z
dc.identifier Moore, R.A.; Hanlon, R.; Powers, C.; Schmale, D.G., III; Christner, B.C. Scavenging of Sub-Micron to Micron-Sized Microbial Aerosols during Simulated Rainfall. Atmosphere 2020, 11, 80.
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10919/96376
dc.identifier https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11010080
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/281724
dc.description The processes removing aerosols from the atmosphere during rainfall are generically referred to as scavenging. Scavenging influences aerosol distributions in the atmosphere, with consequent effects on cloud properties, radiative forcing, and human health. In this study, we investigated the below-cloud scavenging process, specifically focusing on the scavenging of 0.2 to 2 µm-sized microbial aerosols by populations of water drops with average diameters of 3.0 and 3.6 mm. Rainfall was simulated in convective boundary layer air masses by dispensing the water drops from a 55 m bridge and collecting them at ground level. Particles and microbial cells scavenged by the water drops were visualized, enumerated, and sized using scanning electron and epifluorescence microscopy. Aerosolized particles and DNA-containing microbial cells of 2 µm diameter were scavenged at efficiencies similar to those reported previously in empirical studies; however, the efficiencies derived for smaller aerosols were significantly higher (one to three orders of magnitude) than those predicted by microphysical modeling. Application of the derived scavenging efficiencies to cell data from rainfall implies that, on average, approximately 50 to 70% of the 1 µm microbial cells in the precipitation originated from within the cloud. Further study of submicron to micron-sized aerosol scavenging over a broader raindrop size distribution would improve fundamental understanding of the scavenging process and the capacity to estimate (bio)aerosol abundances in the source cloud through analysis of rainfall.
dc.description Published version
dc.format application/pdf
dc.format application/pdf
dc.language en
dc.publisher MDPI
dc.rights Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
dc.rights http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject rain scavenging
dc.subject aerosols
dc.subject bioaerosols
dc.subject wet deposition
dc.title Scavenging of Sub-Micron to Micron-Sized Microbial Aerosols during Simulated Rainfall
dc.title Atmosphere
dc.type Article - Refereed
dc.type Text


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