TY  - JOUR
A1  - China, Swarup
A1  - Burrows, Susannah M.
A1  - Wang, Bingbing
A1  - Harder, Tristan H.
A1  - Weis, Johannes
A1  - Tanarhte, Meryem
A1  - Rizzo, Luciana V.
A1  - Brito, Joel
A1  - Cirino, Glauber G.
A1  - Ma, Po-Lun
A1  - Cliff, John
A1  - Artaxo, Paulo
A1  - Gilles, Mary K.
A1  - Laskin, Alexander
T1  - Fungal spores as a source of sodium salt particles in the Amazon basin
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - In the Amazon basin, particles containing mixed sodium salts are routinely observed and are attributed to marine aerosols transported from the Atlantic Ocean. Using chemical imaging analysis, we show that, during the wet season, fungal spores emitted by the forest biosphere contribute at least 30% (by number) to sodium salt particles in the central Amazon basin. Hydration experiments indicate that sodium content in fungal spores governs their growth factors. Modeling results suggest that fungal spores account for ~69% (31–95%) of the total sodium mass during the wet season and that their fractional contribution increases during nighttime. Contrary to common assumptions that sodium-containing aerosols originate primarily from marine sources, our results suggest that locally-emitted fungal spores contribute substantially to the number and mass of coarse particles containing sodium. Hence, their role in cloud formation and contribution to salt cycles and the terrestrial ecosystem in the Amazon basin warrant further consideration.
KW  - atmospheric chemistry
KW  - biogeochemistry
KW  - environmental sciences
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-222492
VL  - 9
ER  -