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The atmosphere is the least understood biome on Earth despite its critical role as a microbial transport medium. [2] Recent studies have shown microorganisms are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and reach concentration up to 10 6 microbial cells per cubic metre (28,000/cu ft) [3] and that they might be metabolically active.
Mist and fog are aerosols. An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas. [1] Aerosols can be generated from natural or human causes. The term aerosol commonly refers to the mixture of particulates in air, and not to the particulate matter alone. [2] Examples of natural aerosols are fog, mist or dust.
Bioaerosols make up a small fraction of the total cloud condensation nuclei in the atmosphere (between 0.001% and 0.01%) so their global impact (i.e. radiation budget) is questionable. However, there are specific cases where bioaerosols may form a significant fraction of the clouds in an area.
Human-made (anthropogenic) aerosols account for about 10 percent of the total mass of aerosols in the atmosphere as estimated in 2010. The remaining 90 percent comes from natural sources such as volcanoes , dust storms , forest and grassland fires, living vegetation and sea spray , emitting particulates such as volcanic ash, desert dust, soot ...
The majority of marine aerosols are created through the bubble bursting of breaking waves and capillary action on the ocean surface due to the stress exerted from surface winds. [2] Among common marine aerosols, pure sea salt aerosols are the major component of marine aerosols with an annual global emission between 2,000-10,000 teragrams ...
Dust in the atmosphere is produced by saltation and abrasive sandblasting of sand-sized grains, and it is transported through the troposphere. This airborne dust is considered an aerosol , and once in the atmosphere, it can produce strong local radiative forcing .
Infectious aerosols may stay suspended in air currents long enough to travel for considerable distances; sneezes, for example, can easily project infectious droplets for dozens of feet (ten or more meters). [12] Airborne pathogens or allergens typically enter the body via the nose, throat, sinuses and lungs. Inhalation of these pathogens ...
The atmosphere of Earth is composed of a layer of gas mixture that surrounds the Earth's planetary surface (both lands and oceans), known collectively as air, with variable quantities of suspended aerosols and particulates (which create weather features such as clouds and hazes), all retained by Earth's gravity.