Aerobiology in High Latitudes: Evidence of Bacteria Acting as Tracer of Warm Air Mass Advection reaching Northern Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract

Despite the extent use of geochemical tracers to track warm air mass origin reaching the Antarctic continent, we present here evidences that microorganisms being transported by the atmosphere and deposited in fresh snow layers of Antarctic ice sheets do act as tracers of air mass advection from the Southern Patagonia region to Northern Antarctic Peninsula. We combined atmospheric circulation data with microorganism content in snow/firn samples collected in two sites of the Antarctic Peninsula (King George Island/Wanda glacier and Detroit Plateau) by using flow cytometer quantification. In addition, we cultivated, isolated and submitted samples to molecular sequencing to precise species classification. Viable gram-positive bacteria were found and recovered in different snow/firn layers samples, among dead and living cells, their number concentration was compared to northern wind component, stable isotopes of oxygen, d18O, and the concentration of crustal elements (Fe, Ti and Ca). Use of satellite images combined with air mass back-trajectory analysis obtained from the NOAA/ HYSPLIT model corroborated the results.

Key words
extremophiles; atmospheric transport; Antarctica; atmospheric tracers; aerobiology