Characterisation of Fluorescent Biological Aerosol Particles during South-West Monsoon from a High Altitude Site in South India

Abstract:

Biological aerosols (Bioaerosols) constitute a wide range of dead and alive biological materials that are suspended in the atmosphere. Though ubiquitous in earth’s atmosphere, bioaerosols are poorly characterized in terms of their atmospheric abundance, sources and physical properties. Here we discuss the number concentration and size distribution of coarse mode (>1µm) biological aerosols measured at a relatively clean high altitude continental site, Munnar (10.09 N, 77.06 E; 1605 m asl) located in the Western Ghats mountain ranges of Southern Tropical India. The fluorescent biological aerosol particles (FBAP) were continuously measured using Ultra Violet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS) from 01 June to 21 August 2014 (South-West Monsoon Period) which showed some interesting patterns. The mean number and mass concentration of coarse FBAP during the campaign was observed to be 1.7 x 10^-2cm^-3 and 0.24µg m^-3 respectively, which corresponds to 2% and 9% of coarse total aerosol particles (TAP) number and mass concentration. FBAP concentration decreased significantly during periods of heavy and continuous rain with constant South-West winds. This may be due to the clean marine influx coming from the ocean and continuous washout. The Relative Humidity (RH) and temperature remained consistent during this period without any strong diurnal pattern. When the wind fluctuated in North-West directions, the FBAP concentration increased to even an order of magnitude higher than the periods of South-West winds which can be attributed to the transported bioaerosols from the nearby vegetated area. In spite of variability in the number concentrations, the size distribution of FBAP exhibited a prominent peak at ~3 µm throughout the campaign, which should be fungal spores. They also exhibited a strong diurnal pattern with high concentrations occuring during the night time which peaks in the early morning hours.Biological aerosols (Bioaerosols) constitute a wide range of dead and alive biological materials that are suspended in the atmosphere. Though ubiquitous in earth’s atmosphere, bioaerosols are poorly characterized in terms of their atmospheric abundance, sources and physical properties. Here we discuss the number concentration and size distribution of coarse mode (>1µm) biological aerosols measured at a relatively clean high altitude continental site, Munnar (10.09 N, 77.06 E; 1605 m asl) located in the Western Ghats mountain ranges of Southern Tropical India. The fluorescent biological aerosol particles (FBAP) were continuously measured using Ultra Violet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS) from 01 June to 21 August 2014 (South-West Monsoon Period) which showed some interesting patterns. The mean number and mass concentration of coarse FBAP during the campaign was observed to be 1.7 x 10^-2cm^-3 and 0.24µg m^-3 respectively, which corresponds to 2% and 9% of coarse total aerosol particles (TAP) number and mass concentration. FBAP concentration decreased significantly during periods of heavy and continuous rain with constant South-West winds. This may be due to the clean marine influx coming from the ocean and continuous washout. The Relative Humidity (RH) and temperature remained consistent during this period without any strong diurnal pattern. When the wind fluctuated in North-West directions, the FBAP concentration increased to even an order of magnitude higher than the periods of South-West winds which can be attributed to the transported bioaerosols from the nearby vegetated area. In spite of variability in the number concentrations, the size distribution of FBAP exhibited a prominent peak at ~3 µm throughout the campaign, which should be fungal spores. They also exhibited a strong diurnal pattern with high concentrations occuring during the night time which peaks in the early morning hours.