Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Activation of intact bacteria and bacterial fragments mixed with agar as cloud droplets and ice crystals in cloud chamber experiments

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [1]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT) (Germany)
  3. Imre Consulting, Richland, WA (United States)
Biological particles, including bacteria and bacterial fragments, have beenof much interest due to the special ability of some to nucleate ice atmodestly supercooled temperatures. This paper presents results from a recentstudy conducted on two strains of cultivated bacteria which suggest thatbacterial fragments mixed with agar, and not whole bacterial cells, serve ascloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Due to the absence of whole bacteria cellsin droplets, they are unable to serve as ice nucleating particles (INPs) inthe immersion mode under the experimental conditions. Experiments wereconducted at the Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere (AIDA)cloud chamber at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) by injectingbacteria-containing aerosol samples into the cloud chamber and inducing cloudformation by expansion over a temperature range of -5 to -12°C.Cloud droplets and ice crystals were sampled through a pumped counterflowvirtual impactor inlet (PCVI) and their residuals were characterized with asingle particle mass spectrometer (miniSPLAT). The size distribution of theoverall aerosol was bimodal, with a large particle mode composed of intactbacteria and a mode of smaller particles composed of bacterial fragmentsmixed with agar that were present in higher concentrations. Results fromthree expansions with two bacterial strains indicate that the cloud dropletresiduals had virtually the same size distribution as the smaller particlesize mode and had mass spectra that closely matched those of bacterialfragments mixed with agar. The characterization of ice residuals that weresampled through an ice-selecting PCVI (IS-PCVI) also shows that the sameparticles that activate to form cloud droplets, bacteria fragments mixed withagar, were the only particle type observed in ice residuals. These resultsindicate that the unavoidable presence of agar or other growth media inall laboratory studies conducted on cultivated bacteria can greatlyaffect the results and needs to be considered when interpreting CCN and INactivation data.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1496614
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA--131706
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Journal Name: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online) Journal Issue: 23 Vol. 18; ISSN 1680-7324
Publisher:
European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (78)

Characterization of airborne ice-nucleation-active bacteria and bacterial fragments journal May 2015
Stable Isotope Labeling of Entire Bacillus atrophaeus Spores and Vegetative Cells Using Bioaerosol Mass Spectrometry journal February 2005
Design and Performance of a Pumped Counterflow Virtual Impactor journal November 2006
Transmission Efficiency of an Aerodynamic Focusing Lens System: Comparison of Model Calculations and Laboratory Measurements for the Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer journal July 2007
How important is biological ice nucleation in clouds on a global scale? journal April 2010
Dust and Biological Aerosols from the Sahara and Asia Influence Precipitation in the Western U.S. journal February 2013
Cloud Activation Characteristics of Airborne Erwinia carotovora Cells journal October 1998
The adsorption of fungal ice-nucleating proteins on mineral dusts: a terrestrial reservoir of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles journal January 2016
Improved identification of primary biological aerosol particles using single-particle mass spectrometry journal January 2017
Potential impacts from biological aerosols on ensembles of continental clouds simulated numerically journal January 2009
Microbiology and atmospheric processes: the role of biological particles in cloud physics text January 2007
Intercomparing different devices for the investigation of ice nucleating particles using Snomax as test substance text January 2015
The unstable ice nucleation properties of Snomax® bacterial particles: UNSTABLE FREEZING PROPERTIES OF BACTERIA journal October 2016
The unstable ice nucleation properties of Snomax® bacterial particles: UNSTABLE FREEZING PROPERTIES OF BACTERIA journal October 2016
Heterogeneous ice nucleation ability of crystalline sodium chloride dihydrate particles: NaCl · 2H 2 O AS A HETEROGENEOUS ICE NUCLEUS journal May 2013
Characterization of ice-nucleating bacteria using on-line electron impact ionization aerosol mass spectrometry: Bacteria analysis by aerosol mass spectrometry journal March 2015
Microphysics of Clouds and Precipitation book June 2010
Microphysics of Clouds and Precipitation book January 1978
Airborne Single Particle Mass Spectrometers (SPLAT II & miniSPLAT) and New Software for Data Visualization and Analysis in a Geo-Spatial Context journal January 2015
Microphysics of Clouds and Precipitation journal July 1979
Analysis of different approaches for evaluation of surface energy of microbial cells by contact angle goniometry journal August 2002
The ice nucleating ability of pollen journal July 2001
New Directions: Need for defining the numbers and sources of biological aerosols acting as ice nuclei journal May 2010
Clues that decaying leaves enrich Arctic air with ice nucleating particles journal March 2016
SpectraMiner, an interactive data mining and visualization software for single particle mass spectroscopy: A laboratory test case journal December 2006
ClusterSculptor: Software for expert-steered classification of single particle mass spectra journal August 2008
The ice nucleating ability of pollen journal July 2001
Summary for Policymakers book March 2014
Reagentless Detection and Classification of Individual Bioaerosol Particles in Seconds journal January 2004
Comprehensive Assignment of Mass Spectral Signatures from Individual Bacillus a trophaeus Spores in Matrix-Free Laser Desorption/Ionization Bioaerosol Mass Spectrometry journal May 2005
Airborne bacteria as cloud condensation nuclei: BACTERIA AS CLOUD CONDENSATION NUCLEI journal November 2003
Microphysics of Clouds and Precipitation journal March 1980
In situ detection of biological particles in cloud ice-crystals journal May 2009
Ice nucleation by particles immersed in supercooled cloud droplets journal January 2012
Ice nucleation active bacteria and their potential role in precipitation journal December 2004
Identification and purification of a bacterial ice-nucleation protein. journal October 1986
Size of bacterial ice-nucleation sites measured in situ by radiation inactivation analysis journal March 1988
Single Particle Laser Mass Spectrometry Applied to Differential Ice Nucleation Experiments at the AIDA Chamber journal July 2008
SPLAT II: An Aircraft Compatible, Ultra-Sensitive, High Precision Instrument for In-Situ Characterization of the Size and Composition of Fine and Ultrafine Particles journal April 2009
Extending the Capabilities of Single Particle Mass Spectrometry: I. Measurements of Aerosol Number Concentration, Size Distribution, and Asphericity journal January 2011
Extending the Capabilities of Single Particle Mass Spectrometry: II. Measurements of Aerosol Particle Density without DMA journal January 2011
Localization of Ice Nucleation Activity and the iceC Gene Product in Pseudomonas syringae and Escherichia coli journal January 1989
Bacterial Ice Nucleation: A Factor in Frost Injury to Plants journal October 1982
Ice-nucleating bacteria control the order and dynamics of interfacial water journal April 2016
Ice Nucleation Induced by Pseudomonas syringae1 journal January 1974
Three separate classes of bacterial ice nucleation structures. journal January 1990
Components of ice nucleation structures of bacteria. journal October 1991
Three separate classes of bacterial ice nucleation structures. journal January 1990
Components of ice nucleation structures of bacteria. journal October 1991
Biogenic Ice Nuclei. Part II: Bacterial Sources journal August 1976
Biogenic Ice Nuclei. Part II: Bacterial Sources journal August 1976
Production of Ice in Tropospheric Clouds: A Review journal June 2005
Production of Ice in Tropospheric Clouds: A Review journal June 2005
Primary biological aerosol particles in the atmosphere: a review journal January 2012
Immersion freezing of birch pollen washing water other January 2013
The AquaVIT-1 intercomparison of atmospheric water vapor measurement techniques text January 2014
Effects of atmospheric conditions on ice nucleation activity of Pseudomonas journal January 2012
Suspendable macromolecules are responsible for ice nucleation activity of birch and conifer pollen journal January 2012
Immersion freezing of birch pollen washing water journal January 2013
Ice nuclei in marine air: biogenic particles or dust? journal January 2013
Immersion freezing of ice nucleation active protein complexes journal January 2013
Contribution of pollen to atmospheric ice nuclei concentrations journal January 2014
The contribution of fungal spores and bacteria to regional and global aerosol number and ice nucleation immersion freezing rates journal January 2014
Technical Note: A proposal for ice nucleation terminology journal January 2015
Intercomparing different devices for the investigation of ice nucleating particles using Snomax ® as test substance journal January 2015
Survival and ice nucleation activity of bacteria as aerosols in a cloud simulation chamber journal January 2015
Competition for water vapour results in suppression of ice formation in mixed-phase clouds journal January 2018
Experimental investigation of homogeneous freezing of sulphuric acid particles in the aerosol chamber AIDA journal January 2003
Survival and ice nucleation activity of bacteria as aerosols in a cloud simulation chamber journal January 2015
The AquaVIT-1 intercomparison of atmospheric water vapor measurement techniques journal January 2014
Development and characterization of an ice-selecting pumped counterflow virtual impactor (IS-PCVI) to study ice crystal residuals journal January 2016
The AquaVIT-1 intercomparison of atmospheric water vapor measurement techniques journal January 2014
Ice nucleation activity in the widespread soil fungus Mortierella alpina journal January 2015
Microbiology and atmospheric processes: the role of biological particles in cloud physics journal January 2007
Heterogeneous ice nucleation activity of bacteria: new laboratory experiments at simulated cloud conditions journal January 2008
Ice nuclei in marine air: Biogenic particles or dust? text January 2013
The AquaVIT-1 intercomparison of atmospheric water vapor measurement techniques text January 2014
Survival and ice nucleation activity of bacteria as aerosols in a cloud simulation chamber text January 2015

Cited By (3)

Enhanced ice nucleation activity of coal fly ash aerosol particles initiated by ice-filled pores text January 2019
Real-time sensing of bioaerosols: Review and current perspectives journal September 2019
Enhanced ice nucleation activity of coal fly ash aerosol particles initiated by ice-filled pores journal January 2019

Figures / Tables (15)


Similar Records

Marine and terrestrial influences on ice nucleating particles during continuous springtime measurements in an Arctic oilfield location
Journal Article · Mon Dec 17 19:00:00 EST 2018 · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online) · OSTI ID:1487298

Evaluation of global simulations of aerosol particle and cloud condensation nuclei number, with implications for cloud droplet formation
Journal Article · Sun Jul 07 20:00:00 EDT 2019 · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online) · OSTI ID:1548281

Marine boundary layer aerosol in the eastern North Atlantic: seasonal variations and key controlling processes
Journal Article · Tue Dec 11 19:00:00 EST 2018 · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online) · OSTI ID:1485781

Related Subjects