Nature:
Understanding the bacterial ecology of the sky is an exciting
new frontier for natural history, says Noah Fierer of the
University of Colorado Boulder. According to
a
study published yesterday in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, about
20% of the particles found in the upper troposphere consist of
bacteria. Researchers at Georgia Tech looked at air samples
collected by NASA some 10 km above various bodies of water and
the continental US. Despite the harsh environment, including
arid winds and UV rays, 314 different types of bacteria were
found to thrive there. Although their role is not yet certain,
bacteria may seed clouds in the upper atmosphere where there
are fewer dust particles, and thus they could influence weather
and climate.
