Transport and characterization of ambient biological aerosol near Laurel, MD

Abstract. Bacterial aerosol have been observed and studied in the ambient environment since the mid nineteenth century. These studies have sought to provide a better understanding of the diversity, variability and factors that control the biological aerosol population. In this study, we show comparisons between diversity of culturable bacteria and fungi, using culture and clinical biochemical tests, and 16S rRNA diversity using Affymetrix PhyloChips. Comparing the culturable fraction and surveying the total 16S rRNA of each sample provides a comprehensive look at the bacterial population studied and allows comparison with previous studies. Thirty-six hour back-trajectories of the air parcels sampled, over the two day period beginning 4 November 2008, provide information on the sources of aerosol sampled on the campus of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD. This study indicates that back-trajectory modeling of air parcels may provide insights into the observed diversity of biological aerosol.