Measurements and comparison of primary biological aerosol above and below a tropical forest canopy using a dual channel fluorescence spectrometer

Original article can be found at: http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/issue10.html Copyright - the authors. Authors grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its original authors and citation details are identified. The article and any associated published material is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.Aerosol particle size distributions were measured below and above a tropical rainforest canopy in Borneo, Malaysia, in June/July 2008 using the WIBS-3: a single particle dual channel fluorescence spectrometer. Material in the size range 0.8–20 μm was characterized according to optical equivalent diameter (DP), morphology and fluorescence at 310–400 nm and 400–600 nm following excitation at 280 nm and 370 nm respectively. Particles fluorescent after both excitations are likely to be fluorescent primary biological aerosol particles (FBAP). Measured FBAP number concentration (NFBAP) at both sites exhibited clear diurnal cycles. The largest variability was observed in the understorey, where NFBAP reached a minimum of 50–100 L−1 in late morning. In mid afternoon it exhibited strong transient fluctuations as large as 4000 L−1 that were followed by sustained concentrations of 1000–2500 L−1 that reduced steadily between midnight and sunrise. Above the canopy FBAP number ranged from 50–100 L−1 during the daytime to 200–400 L−1 at night but did not exhibit the transient enhancements seen in the understorey. The strong FBAP fluctuations were attributed to the release of fungal spores below the canopy and appeared to be linked to elevated relative humidity. The mean FBAP number fraction in the size range 0.8 μm<DP<20 μm was 55% in the understorey and 28% above canopy. A size mode at 2 μm<DP<4 μm appears at both sites and is primarily FBAP, which dominated the coarse (DP≥2.5 μm) number concentration at both sites, accounting for 75% in the understorey and 57% above the canopy. In contrast, the concentration of non-fluorescent particles (NNON) at both sites was typically 200–500 L−1, the majority of which occupied a size mode at 0.8<DP<1.5 μm. Enhanced understorey NNON was observed daily in mid-afternoon and also at midday on three occasions: the former coincided with the FBAP enhancements and measured approximately 10% of their magnitude; the latter occurred independently of the NFBAP diurnal cycle and comprised particles smaller than 2 μm. Particle diameter of 3–5 μm is consistent with smaller fungal spores, though absolute identification of biological species is not possible with the UV-LIF technique. Based on the measured FBAP and non-fluorescent particle abundances and their observed recovery times following rain showers, FBAP originated beneath the canopy while the non-fluorescent material was transported from further away. It is concluded that these separate sources contributed the majority of the aerosol measured by the WIBS-3 at both sites.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of the Surface Urban Energy and Water balance Scheme (SUEWS) at a dense urban site in Shanghai: sensitivity to anthropogenic heat and irrigation

The Surface Urban Energy and Water balance Scheme (SUEWS) is used to investigate the impact of anthropogenic heat flux (QF) and irrigation on surface energy balance partitioning in a central business district of Shanghai. Diurnal profiles of QF are carefully derived based on city-specific hourly electricity consumption data, hourly traffic data and dynamic population density. QF is estimated to be largest in summer (mean daily peak 236 W m-2). When QF is omitted, the SUEWS sensible heat flux (QH) reproduces the observed diurnal pattern generally well, but the magnitude is underestimated compared to observations for all seasons. When QF is included, the QH estimates are improved in spring, summer and autumn, but poorer in winter indicating winter QF is overestimated. Inclusion of QF has little influence on the simulated latent heat flux (QE), but improves the storage heat flux estimates except in winter. Irrigation, both amount and frequency, has a large impact on QE. When irrigation is not considered, the simulated QE is underestimated for all seasons. The mean summer daytime QE is largely overestimated compared to observations under continuous irrigation conditions. Model results are improved when irrigation occurs with a 3-day frequency, especially in summer. Results are consistent with observed monthly out-door water use. This study highlights the importance of appropriately including the QF and irrigation in urban land surface models - terms not generally considered in many previous studies

Statistical characterisation of bio-aerosol background in an urban environment

In this paper we statistically characterise the bio-aerosol background in an urban environment. To do this we measure concentration levels of naturally occurring microbiological material in the atmosphere over a two month period. Naturally occurring bioaerosols can be considered as noise, as they mask the presence of signals coming from biological material of interest (such as an intentionally released biological agent). Analysis of this 'biobackground' was undertaken in the 1-10 um size range and a 3-9% contribution was found to be biological in origin - values which are in good agreement with other studies reported in the literature. A model based on the physics of turbulent mixing and dispersion was developed and validated against this analysis. The Gamma distribution (the basis of our model) is shown to comply with the scaling laws of the concentration moments of our data, which enables us to universally characterise both biological and non-biological material in the atmosphere. An application of this model is proposed to build a framework for the development of novel algorithms for bio-aerosol detection and rapid characterisation.Comment: 14 Pages, 8 Figure

Anthropogenic heat flux: advisable spatial resolutions when input data are scarce

Anthropogenic heat flux (QF) may be significant in cities, especially under low solar irradiance and at night. It is of interest to many practitioners including meteorologists, city planners and climatologists. QF estimates at fine temporal and spatial resolution can be derived from models that use varying amounts of empirical data. This study compares simple and detailed models in a European megacity (London) at 500 m spatial resolution. The simple model (LQF) uses spatially resolved population data and national energy statistics. The detailed model (GQF) additionally uses local energy, road network and workday population data. The Fractions Skill Score (FSS) and bias are used to rate the skill with which the simple model reproduces the spatial patterns and magnitudes of QF, and its sub-components, from the detailed model. LQF skill was consistently good across 90% of the city, away from the centre and major roads. The remaining 10% contained elevated emissions and B hot spots ^ representing 30 – 40% of the total city-wide energy. This structure was lost because it requires workday population, spatially resolved building energy consumption and/or road network data. Daily total building and traffic energy consumption estimates from national data were within ± 40% of local values. Progressively coarser spatial resolutions to 5 km improved skill for total Q F , but important features (hot spots, transport network) were lost at all resolutions when residential population controlled spatial variations. The results demonstrate that simple QF models should be applied with conservative spatial resolution in cities that, like London, exhibit time-varying energy use patterns

Urban signals in high-resolution weather and climate simulations: role of urban land-surface characterisation

Two urban schemes within the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) are evaluated offline against multi-year flux observations in the densely built-up city centre of London and in suburban Swindon (UK): (i) the 1-tile slab model, used in climate simulations, (ii) the 2-tile canopy model MORUSES (Met Office–Reading Urban Surface Exchange Scheme), used for numerical weather pre- diction over the UK. Offline, both models perform better at the suburban site, where differences between the urban schemes are less pronounced due to larger vegetation fractions. At both sites, the outgoing short- and longwave radiation is more accurately represented than the turbulent heat fluxes. The seasonal varia- tions of model skill are large in London, where the sensible heat flux in autumn and winter is strongly under-predicted if the large city-centre magnitudes of anthro- pogenic heat emissions are not represented. The delayed timing of the sensible heat flux in the 1-tile model in London results in large negative bias in the morning. The partitioning of the urban surface into canyon and roof in MORUSES improves this as the roof-tile is modelled with a very low thermal inertia, but phase and amplitude of the gridbox-averaged flux critically depend on accurate knowledge of the plan-area fractions of streets and buildings. Not representing non-urban land- cover (e.g. vegetation, inland water) in London results in severely under-predicted latent heat fluxes. Control runs demonstrate that the skill of both models can be greatly improved by providing accurate land-cover and morphology information and using representative anthropogenic heat emissions, which is essential if the model output is intended to inform integrated urban services

The fluorescence properties of aerosol larger than 0.8 μm in an urban and a PBA-dominated location

Original article can be found at: www.atmospheric-chemistry-and-physics.net Copyright Copernicus Publications. Released under Creative Commons license http://creative.commons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Dual-wavelength Ultraviolet light-induced fluorescence (UV-LIF) measurements were performed on ambient environmental aerosol in Manchester, UK (urban city centre, winter) and Borneo, Malaysia (remote, tropical), which are taken to represent environments with negligible and significant primary biological aerosol (PBA) influences, respectively. Single-particle fluorescence intensity and optical equivalent diameter were measured with a Wide Issue Bioaerosol Sensor, version 3 (WIBS3) in the diameter range 0.8 μm≤DP≤20 μm for 2–3 weeks and filters were analysed using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, which revealed mostly non-PBA dominated particle sizes larger than 1 μm in Manchester. The WIBS3 features three fluorescence channels: Fluorescence excited at 280 nm is recorded at 310–400 nm and 400–600 nm and fluorescence excited at 370 nm is detected at 400–600 nm. In Manchester the primary size mode of fluorescent and non-fluorescent material was at 1.2 μm. In Borneo non-fluorescent material peaked at 1.2 μm and fluorescent at 3–4 μm. The fluorescence intensity at 400–600 nm generally increased with DP at both sites, as did the 310–400 nm intensity in Borneo. In Manchester the 310–400 m fluorescence decreased at DP>4 μm, suggesting this channel offers additional discrimination between fluorescent particle types. Finally, the ratio of fluorescence intensity in two pairs of channels was investigated as a function of particle diameter and this varied significantly between the two environments, demonstrating that the fluorescent aerosol in each can in principle be distinguished using a combination of fluorescence and elastic scattering measurements.Peer reviewe

Continuous bio-aerosol monitoring in a tropical environment using a UV fluorescence and light scattering instrument

This paper describes an instrument designed to achieve the continuous monitoring of ambient bio-aerosol concentrations. The instrument is a compact, relatively low-cost, UV aerosol spectrometer that monitors and classifies the ambient aerosol by simultaneously recording from individual airborne particles both a 2×2 fluorescence excitation-emission matrix and multi-angle spatial elastic scattering data. The former can indicate the possible presence of specific biological fluorophores within the particle whilst the latter provides an assessment of particle size and shape. Taken together, these parameters can facilitate discrimination between biological and non-biological particles and potentially allow classification of biological particle types. Example measurements are given illustrating magnitude and temporal fluctuations in the biological fraction of aerosol within the Borneo tropical rain forest

Observations of fluorescent and biological aerosol at a high-altitude site in Central France

© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 LicenseTotal bacteria, fungal spore and yeast counts were compared with UV Light-Induced Fluorescence (UV-LIF) measurements of ambient aerosol at the summit of the Puy de Dˆome (pdD) mountain in Central France (1465 ma.s.l), which represents a background elevated site. Bacteria, fungal spores and yeast were enumerated by epifluorescence microscopy (EFM) and found to number 2.2 to 23 L−1 and 0.8 to 2 L−1, respectively. Bacteria counts on two successive nights were an order of magnitude larger than in the intervening day. A Wide Issue Bioaerosol Spectrometer, version 3 (WIBS-3) was used to perform UV-LIF measurements on ambient aerosol sized 0.8 to 20 µm. Mean total number concentration was 270 L−1 (σ = 66 L−1) found predominantly in a size mode at 2 µm for most of the campaign. Total concentration (fluorescent + non-fluorescent aerosol) peaked at 500 L−1 with a size mode at 1 µm because of a change in air mass origin lasting around 48 h. The WIBS-3 features two excitation and fluorescence detection wavelengths corresponding to di ff erent biological molecules. The mean fluorescent particle concentration after short-wave (280 nm; Tryptophan) excitation was 12 L−1 (σ = 6 L−1), and did not vary much through the campaign. In contrast the mean concentration of particles fluorescent after long-wave (370 nm; NADH) excitation was 95 L−1(σ = 25 L−1), and a nightly rise and subsequent fall of up to 100 L−1 formed a strong diurnal cycle in the latter. The fluorescent populations exhibited size modes at 3 µm and 2 to 3 µm, respectively. A hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis algorithm was applied to the data and used to extract di ff erent particle factors. A cluster concentration time series representative of bacteria was identified. This was found to exhibit a diurnal cycle with a maximum peak appearing during the day. Analysis of organic mass spectra recorded using an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer 25 (AMS; Aerodyne Inc.) suggests that aerosol reaching the site at night was more aged than that during the day, indicative of sampling the residual layer at night. Supplementary meteorological data and previous work also show that pdD lies in the residual layer/free troposphere at night, and this is thought to cause the observed diurnal cycles in organic-type and fluorescent aerosol particles. Based on the observed disparity between bacteria and fluorescent particle concentrations, fluorescent non-PBA is likely to be important in the WIBS-3 data and the surprisingly high fluorescent concentration in the residual layer/free troposphere raises questions about a ubiquitous background in continental air during the summer.Peer reviewe

Continuous bioaerosol monitoring in a tropical environment using a UV fluorescence particle spectrometer

Original article can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ Copyright Royal Meteorological Society [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]An instrument designed to continuously monitor ambient bioaerosol concentrations is presented. The instrument is a compact, relatively low-cost, UV aerosol spectrometer that monitors and classifies individual airborne particles by simultaneously recording both fluorescence excitation-emission data and multi-angle spatial elastic scattering data from each particle. The former can indicate the possible presence of specific biological fluorophores within the particle while the latter provides an assessment of particle size and shape. These parameters can facilitate discrimination between biological and nonbiological particles and potentially allow classification of biological particle types. Example measurements are given, illustrating data from the Borneo rain forest. Copyright 2011 Royal Meteorological SocietyPeer reviewe

Observations of fluorescent and biological aerosol at a high-altitude site in central France

Total bacteria, fungal spore and yeast counts were compared with ultraviolet-light-induced fluorescence (UV-LIF) measurements of ambient aerosol at the summit of the Puy de Dôme (PdD) mountain in central France (1465 m a.s.l), which represents a background elevated site. Bacteria, fungal spores and yeast were enumerated by epifluorescence microscopy (EFM) and found to number 2.2 to 23 L−1 and 0.8 to 2 L−1, respectively. Bacteria counts on two successive nights were an order of magnitude larger than in the intervening day. A wide issue bioaerosol spectrometer, version 3 (WIBS-3) was used to perform UV-LIF measurements on ambient aerosol sized 0.8 to 20 μm. Mean total number concentration was 270 L−1 (&sigma; = 66 L−1), found predominantly in a size mode at 2 μm for most of the campaign. Total concentration (fluorescent + non-fluorescent aerosol) peaked at 500 L−1 with a size mode at 1 μm because of a change in air mass origin lasting around 48 h. The WIBS-3 features two excitation and fluorescence detection wavelengths corresponding to different biological molecules, although non-biological interferents also contribute. The mean fluorescent particle concentration after short-wave (280 nm; associated with tryptophan) excitation was 12 L−1 (&sigma; = 6 L−1), and did not vary much throughout the campaign. In contrast, the mean concentration of particles fluorescent after long-wave (370 nm; associated with NADH) excitation was 95 L−1 (&sigma; = 25 L−1), and a nightly rise and subsequent fall of up to 100 L−1 formed a strong diurnal cycle in the latter. The two fluorescent populations exhibited size modes at 3 μm and 2 to 3 μm, respectively. A hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis algorithm was applied to the data and used to extract different particle factors. A cluster concentration time series representative of bacteria was identified. This was found to exhibit a diurnal cycle with a maximum peak appearing during the day. Analysis of organic mass spectra recorded using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS; Aerodyne Inc.) suggests that aerosol reaching the site at night was more aged than that during the day, indicative of sampling the residual layer at night. Supplementary meteorological data and previous work also show that PdD lies in the residual layer/free troposphere at night, and this is thought to cause the observed diurnal cycles in organic-type and fluorescent aerosol particles. Based on the observed disparity between bacteria and fluorescent particle concentrations, fluorescent non-PBA is likely to be important in the WIBS-3 data and the surprisingly high fluorescent concentration in the residual layer/free troposphere raises questions about a ubiquitous background in continental air during the summer