AIR-BORNE FUNGI IN THE ARCTIC AND OTHER PARTS OF CANADA

1953 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Pady ◽  
L. Kapica

Quantitative and qualitative studies were made of the fungi in the air over various parts of Canada and Alaska, continuing studies in arctic aerobiology. In winter, arctic air is apparently sterile: in summer, at Ft. Churchill, Man., ground level samples varied from 0.5 to 4.4 per cu. ft. Cladosporium was the commonest fungus (average 0.5 per cu. ft.), followed by yeasts (0.16), Penicillium (0.06), and Stemphylium (0.03 per cu. ft.). Other fungi present were Pullularia, Botrytis, Aspergillus, Verticillium, Pyrenochaete, Helminthosporium, Phyllosticta, Papularia, Cunninghamella, and Sporormia. Of 3711 colonies 57% failed to sporulate. Silicone slide readings as high as 114.9 fungus spores per cu. ft. were obtained and included the following: yeasts (8.6), Cladosporium (3.8), smuts (2.5), Fusarium (0.6), Alternaria (0.06 per cu. ft.), Venturia, Cercospora, Septoria, rusts, Leptosphaeria, Sordaria, and Pleospora and many hyaline one-celled spores. In two flights to Resolute Bay, N.W.T., the flora was found to be similar to that at Ft. Churchill but numbers did not exceed 1 per cu. ft., although readings up to 78 fungus spores per cu. ft. were recorded on slides in warm air over Hudson Bay. Most of the fungi are considered to be soil types originating in agricultural areas and carried northward by southerly winds. The majority are no longer viable when they reach the arctic. There is evidence that the numbers of fungi are correlated with air masses, not only in the arctic but also in air over other parts of Canada.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (17) ◽  
pp. 13287-13309
Author(s):  
Jakob Boyd Pernov ◽  
Bjarne Jensen ◽  
Andreas Massling ◽  
Daniel Charles Thomas ◽  
Henrik Skov

Abstract. While much research has been devoted to the subject of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) and gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) in the Arctic spring during atmospheric mercury depletion events, few studies have examined the behavior of GOM in the High Arctic summer. GOM, once deposited and incorporated into the ecosystem, can pose a threat to human and wildlife health, though there remain large uncertainties regarding the transformation, deposition, and assimilation of mercury into the food web. Therefore, to further our understanding of the dynamics of GOM in the High Arctic during the late summer, we performed measurements of GEM and GOM, along with meteorological parameters and atmospheric constituents, and utilized modeled air mass history during two summer campaigns in 2019 and 2020 at Villum Research Station (Villum) in northeastern Greenland. Seven events of enhanced GOM concentrations were identified and investigated in greater detail. In general, the common factors associated with event periods at ground level were higher levels of radiation and lower H2O mixing ratios, accumulated precipitation, and relative humidity (RH), although none were connected with cold temperatures. Non-event periods at ground level each displayed a different pattern in one or more parameters when compared to event periods. Generally, air masses during event periods for both campaigns were colder and drier, arrived from higher altitudes, and spent more time above the mixed layer and less time in a cloud compared to non-events, although some events deviated from this general pattern. Non-event air masses displayed a different pattern in one or more parameters when compared to event periods, although they were generally warmer and wetter and arrived from lower altitudes with little radiation. Coarse-mode aerosols were hypothesized to provide the heterogenous surface for halogen propagation during some of the events, while for others the source is unknown. While these general patterns were observed for event and non-event periods, analysis of individual events showed more specific origins. Five of the seven events were associated with air masses that experienced similar conditions: transported from the cold, dry, and sunlit free troposphere. However, two events experienced contrasting conditions, with air masses being warm and wet with surface layer contact under little radiation. Two episodes of extremely high levels of NCoarse and BC, which appear to originate from flaring emissions in Russia, did not contribute to enhanced GOM levels. This work aims to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of GOM during the High Arctic summer.


1953 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Pady ◽  
C. D. Kelly

The numbers of bacteria and fungi in arctic air were determined by daily sampling at Churchill, Man., during July and August 1950, and in three flights, one to Baker Lake, N.W.T., and the remainder to Resolute Bay, N.W.T. Of the three samplers which were used simultaneously the G.E. Bacterial Air Sampler gave slightly higher readings than the Bourdillon Slit Sampler, while the filter gave low readings throughout.Daily averages of bacteria at ground level ranged from 0.9 to 30.1 per cu. ft., and in the flight to Resolute Bay from 0.3 to 0.9 per cu. ft. while the comparable readings of the fungi were 0.5 to 4.4 and 0.01 to 0.7 per cu. ft. with the slit sampler. Considerable variation occurred in ground level samples, not only from day to day but throughout the day. Silicone slide studies revealed high numbers, up to 115 per cu. ft., which includes a high proportion of nonviable fungus spores. Most of the organisms are soil inhabiting forms but some fungus parasites were present, chiefly as smut (Ustilago) spores. Evidence indicates that winds originating in the south carry large numbers of organisms northward, many of which are nonviable when they reach the arctic, while north winds of polar origin contain very low numbers even in the summer.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiko Bozem ◽  
Peter Hoor ◽  
Daniel Kunkel ◽  
Franziska Köllner ◽  
Johannes Schneider ◽  
...  

Abstract. The springtime composition of the Arctic lower troposphere is to a large extent controlled by transport of mid-latitude air masses into the Arctic, whereas during the summer precipitation and natural sources play the most important role. Within the Arctic region, there exists a transport barrier, known as the polar dome, which results from sloping isentropes. The polar dome, which varies in space and time, exhibits a strong influence on the transport of air masses from mid-latitudes, enhancing it during winter and inhibiting it during summer. Furthermore, a definition for the location of the polar dome boundary itself is quite sparse in the literature. We analyzed aircraft based trace gas measurements in the Arctic during two NETCARE airborne field camapigns (July 2014 and April 2015) with the Polar 6 aircraft of Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany, covering an area from Spitsbergen to Alaska (134° W to 17° W and 68° N to 83° N). For the spring (April 2015) and summer (July 2014) season we analyzed transport regimes of mid-latitude air masses travelling to the high Arctic based on CO and CO2 measurements as well as kinematic 10-day back trajectories. The dynamical isolation of the high Arctic lower troposphere caused by the transport barrier leads to gradients of chemical tracers reflecting different local chemical life times and sources and sinks. Particularly gradients of CO and CO2 allowed for a trace gas based definition of the polar dome boundary for the two measurement periods with pronounced seasonal differences. For both campaigns a transition zone rather than a sharp boundary was derived. For July 2014 the polar dome boundary was determined to be 73.5° N latitude and 299–303.5 K potential temperature, respectively. During April 2015 the polar dome boundary was on average located at 66–68.5° N and 283.5–287.5 K. Tracer-tracer scatter plots and probability density functions confirm different air mass properties inside and outside of the polar dome for the July 2014 and April 2015 data set. Using the tracer derived polar dome boundaries the analysis of aerosol data indicates secondary aerosol formation events in the clean summertime polar dome. Synoptic-scale weather systems frequently disturb this transport barrier and foster exchange between air masses from midlatitudes and polar regions. During the second phase of the NETCARE 2014 measurements a pronounced low pressure system south of Resolute Bay brought inflow from southern latitudes that pushed the polar dome northward and significantly affected trace gas mixing ratios in the measurement region. Mean CO mixing ratios increased from 77.9 ± 2.5 ppbv to 84.9 ± 4.7 ppbv from the first period to the second period. At the same time CO2 mixing ratios significantly dropped from 398.16 ± 1.01 ppmv to 393.81 ± 2.25 ppmv. We further analysed processes controlling the recent transport history of air masses within and outside the polar dome. Air masses within the spring time polar dome mainly experienced diabatic cooling while travelling over cold surfaces. In contrast air masses in the summertime polar dome were diabatically heated due to insolation. During both seasons air masses outside the polar dome slowly descended into the Arctic lower troposphere from above caused by radiative cooling. The ascent to the middle and upper troposphere mainly took place outside the Arctic, followed by a northward motion. Our results demonstrate the successful application of a tracer based diagnostic to determine the location of the polar dome boundary.


Polar Record ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 10 (67) ◽  
pp. 365-371
Author(s):  
T. A. Harwood

In 1946 the United States Weather Bureau and the Canadian Meteorological Service installed the first of the Joint Arctic Weather Stations at Resolute Bay. The network of satellite stations was extended into the Arctic archipelago in the following years on roughly a 275-mile spacing to Mould Bay, Isachsen, Eureka and Alert.


1961 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Bursa

Phytoplankton samples, collected in 1953 and 1954 by the Calanus expeditions, were examined by the quantitative sedimentation method in an attempt to determine the ecological aspects of phytoplankton production in Hudson Bay and Strait. During the period July to September of both years, water temperature data, and salinity, oxygen and quantitative phytoplankton samples were collected at the surface and from depths of 10, 25, 50 and 100 metres. Numerically, the most abundant, heterogeneous phytoplankton populations were found in the mouth of Hudson Bay. The lower production of phytoplankton in the surface layer can be explained by the greater amplitude of temperature and salinity, dependent upon ice conditions and surface wind drift. The most productive layer was at a depth of 10 m. Large phytoplankton populations in waters supersaturated with oxygen were still found at 25 m, indicating light conditions favourable for photosynthesis. The relatively high plankton production in the area joining Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait is probably due to the hydrographic structure and the supply of nutrients resulting from the mixing of water masses which originate in other geographical areas. The preponderance of diatoms over flagellated groups, which is more marked in Hudson Strait than in Hudson Bay, is typical for the arctic. The composition of phytoplankton in these areas shows a great similarity in the main to that found on both sides of the Atlantic. Apart from locally produced plankton populations, there is a population exchange which follows water movements. To supplement the meagreness of existing taxonomic descriptions, attention is here focussed on the identification of plankters and their individual importance in the general ecology of the phytoplankton.


2007 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Klink

Abstract Mean monthly wind speed at 70 m above ground level is investigated for 11 sites in Minnesota for the period 1995–2003. Wind speeds at these sites show significant spatial and temporal coherence, with prolonged periods of above- and below-normal values that can persist for as long as 12 months. Monthly variation in wind speed primarily is determined by the north–south pressure gradient, which captures between 22% and 47% of the variability (depending on the site). Regression on wind speed residuals (pressure gradient effects removed) shows that an additional 6%–15% of the variation can be related to the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Niño-3.4 sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. Wind speeds showed little correspondence with variation in the Pacific–North American (PNA) circulation index. The effect of the strong El Niño of 1997/98 on the wind speed time series was investigated by recomputing the regression equations with this period excluded. The north–south pressure gradient remains the primary determinant of mean monthly 70-m wind speeds, but with 1997/98 removed the influence of the AO increases at nearly all stations while the importance of the Niño-3.4 SSTs generally decreases. Relationships with the PNA remain small. These results suggest that long-term patterns of low-frequency wind speed (and thus wind power) variability can be estimated using large-scale circulation features as represented by large-scale climatic datasets and by climate-change models.


1956 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Pady ◽  
L. Kapica

Numbers and kinds of fungi were determined from nutrient plate and silicone slide studies from the roof of the Sun Life Building, Montreal, between September 1950 and December 1951. Exposures of plates were made in the General Electric Bacterial Air Sampler, and plates and silicone slides in the Bourdillon Slit Sampler. A total of 978 exposures was made on 113 sampling days during 16 months; 507 plates in the G. E. Sampler, 344 plates and 127 slides in the Slit Sampler. Of 40,359 colonies examined, Cladosporium, Penicillium, yeasts, Aspergillus, Alternaria, and Actinomycetes were commonest, constituting 47.7, 15.8, 10.4, 4.6, 4.2, and 2.2% of the total. The next commonest fungi were Pullularia, Oöspora, Fusarium, Stemphylium, Verticillium, Rhizopus, Spicaria, Scopulariopsis, Phoma, Mucor, Botrytis, Cephalosporium, Trichoderma, Helmin-thosporium, Neurospora, Papularia, Cephalothecium, Pyrenochaeta, Zythia, and Nigrospora. In addition 12 genera were infrequently found. Unidentified colonies numbered 174 and nonsporulating 3371 (8.3%). On a cubic foot basis numbers in the plates varied from 17.7 per cu. ft. in August to 0.4 per cu. ft in February.Fungus spores showed a seasonal variation with summer highs averaging 244 per cu. ft. in July to a low of 0.8 per cu. ft. in December. The most abundant spores were Cladosporium, yeasts, smuts, Fusarium, Alternaria, Venturia-like, Stemphylium, rusts, Septoria, and Helminthosporium. Hyphal fragments and pollen grains were present also. On eight occasions during the summer, readings of over 200 spores per cu. ft. were recorded, the maximum being 445 per cu. ft. on September 6, 1951. Cladosporium in August reached a peak of 74.1 per cu. ft. and yeast cells in July had an average concentration of 100 per cu. ft.An analysis of the air masses indicated that pure polar air carried low numbers of fungi, whereas tropical air had very high numbers. Most of the air masses were modified polar air and their fungus content varied considerably. The fungi in the air over Montreal are believed to have had their origin in agricultural areas.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Sims ◽  
Brian Butterworth ◽  
Tim Papakyriakou ◽  
Mohamed Ahmed ◽  
Brent Else

<p>Remoteness and tough conditions have made the Arctic Ocean historically difficult to access; until recently this has resulted in an undersampling of trace gas and gas exchange measurements. The seasonal cycle of sea ice completely transforms the air sea interface and the dynamics of gas exchange. To make estimates of gas exchange in the presence of sea ice, sea ice fraction is frequently used to scale open water gas transfer parametrisations. It remains unclear whether this scaling is appropriate for all sea ice regions. Ship based eddy covariance measurements were made in Hudson Bay during the summer of 2018 from the icebreaker CCGS Amundsen. We will present fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>), heat and momentum and will show how they change around the Hudson Bay polynya under varying sea ice conditions. We will explore how these fluxes change with wind speed and sea ice fraction. As freshwater stratification was encountered during the cruise, we will compare our measurements with other recent eddy covariance flux measurements made from icebreakers and also will compare our turbulent CO<sub>2 </sub>fluxes with bulk fluxes calculated using underway and surface bottle pCO<sub>2</sub> data. </p><p> </p>


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