Increased Transnational Sea Ice Transport Between Neighboring Arctic States in the 21st Century

The Arctic is undergoing a rapid transition toward a seasonal ice regime, with widespread implications for the polar ecosystem, human activities, as well as the global climate. Here we focus on how the changing ice cover impacts transborder exchange of sea ice between the exclusive economic zones of the Arctic states. We use the Sea Ice Tracking Utility, which follows ice floes from formation to melt, in conjunction with output diagnostics from two ensembles of the Community Earth System Model that follow different future emissions scenarios. The Community Earth System Model projects that by midcentury, transnational ice exchange will more than triple, with the largest increase in the amount of transnational ice originating from Russia and the Central Arctic. However, long‐distance ice transport pathways are predicted to diminish in favor of ice exchanged between neighboring countries. By the end of the 21st century, we see a large difference between the two future emissions scenarios considered: Consistent nearly ice‐free summers under the high emissions scenario act to reduce the total fraction of transnational ice exchange compared to midcentury, whereas the low emissions scenario continues to see an increase in the proportion of transnational ice. Under both scenarios, transit times are predicted to decrease to less than 2 yr by 2100, compared to a maximum of 6 yr under present‐day conditions and 2.5 yr by midcentury. These significant changes in ice exchange and transit time raise important concerns regarding risks associated with ice‐rafted contaminants.</p

Early Events in Macrophage Killing of Aspergillus fumigatus Conidia: New Flow Cytometric Viability Assay

Detailed investigations of macrophage phagocytosis and killing of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia have been limited by technical difficulties in quantifying fungal uptake and viability. In order to study early events in cell pathogen ingestion and killing, we developed a new flow cytometry assay that utilizes the fungus-specific viability dye FUN-1. Metabolically active A. fumigatus conidia accumulate orange fluorescence in vacuoles, while dormant or dead conidia stain green. After incubation within THP-1 cells, recovered conidia are costained with propidium iodide (PI) to discriminate between dormant and dead cells. Flow cytometric measurements of FUN-1 metabolism and PI uptake provide indicators of conidial viability, dormancy, and death. Conidial phagocytosis and killing are also assessed by measurement of green and orange FUN-1 fluorescence within the THP-1 cell population. Compared to previously described methods, this assay has less error introduced by membrane permeability changes and serial dilution of filamentous fungal forms. Results suggest that the THP-1 cells kill conidia rapidly (within 6 h) after exposure. Conidia that are preexposed to human serum are ingested and killed more quickly than are nonopsonized conidia