Dimensions: Collaborative Research: Research on Airborne Ice Nucleating Species (RAINS)

维度：合作研究：空气冰核物种（RAINS）研究

• 批准号: 1643288
• 负责人: Brent Christner
• 金额: $ 16.48万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-01-31 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1643288&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dimensions; Collaborative; Research; Airborne; Ice

Microorganisms are abundant in the atmosphere and may play an important role in controlling cloud development, cloud chemistry and ultimately weather patterns. They do this primarily by producing proteins that catalyze the formation (nucleation) of ice crystals at significantly warmer temperatures than would normally be required for ice formation (-2 C vs. -36 C). Despite the atmosphere?s fundamental role in their dispersal, the abundance, diversity and flux of microorganisms in the atmosphere remain largely unknown. The potential of ice-nucleating microorganisms to significantly impact meteorology and promote microbial dispersal during precipitation events motivates this research. The RAINS project will sample rain, snow and air samples at ground level, and in the lower atmosphere using remote-controlled aircraft. The project will: (1) characterize microbial taxonomic diversity, including in precipitation that occurred between 1794 AD and present, and which is preserved in glacial ice; (2) determine the genetic diversity of microbial assemblages and of individual ice nucleating bacteria and (3) examine the functional diversity with respect to the role of precipitation and biological ice nucleation on patterns of microbial distribution. The work will also determine which microbes carried to the Earth?s surface via precipitation present possible inoculum sources for diseases that impact humans, domestic animals, and plants. The RAINS project will increase understanding of biodiversity in the planetary boundary layer of the atmosphere, where important meteorological phenomena such as precipitation occur. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommended developing a better understanding of the effect of aerosols and atmospheric ice formation in order to improve climate models and forecast the impact of rising global temperature. The proposed study will increase knowledge on the nature of the most active ice nucleators in the atmosphere. Microbial ice nucleation may also allow microorganisms and certain plant pathogens to efficiently cycle between the atmosphere and surface habitats, and RAINS will contribute to ongoing efforts to assess the movement of ice nucleating microorganisms across geographical scales. Outreach efforts will take these advances into high school and college classrooms in the form of hands-on research experiences for students at both levels and will serve as the basis for high school educators to develop unique classroom activities. In addition, an international network of scientists collecting field data on the relationship between biological ice nucleator abundance, cropping patterns and precipitation in dry land regions will be established. RAINS will sponsor an international conference that brings together 10 young career scientists in the network to highlight the advances of these investigations and identify the outstanding scientific questions.

大气中微生物丰富，可能在控制云发展、云化学以及最终天气模式方面发挥重要作用。他们主要通过生产蛋白质来催化冰晶形成（成核），其温度明显高于冰形成通常所需的温度（-2℃与-36℃）。尽管大气在微生物的传播中发挥着重要作用，但大气中微生物的丰度、多样性和通量仍然很大程度上未知。冰核微生物在降水事件期间显着影响气象并促进微生物扩散的潜力激发了这项研究。 RAINS 项目将使用遥控飞机在地面和低层大气中采集雨、雪和空气样本。 该项目将：(1) 表征微生物分类多样性，包括公元 1794 年至今发生的降水，以及保存在冰川中的多样性； （2）确定微生物组合和单个冰核细菌的遗传多样性，（3）检查降水和生物冰核对微生物分布模式的作用的功能多样性。 这项工作还将确定哪些通过降水携带到地球表面的微生物可能是影响人类、家畜和植物的疾病的接种源。 RAINS 项目将增进对地球大气边界层生物多样性的了解，降水等重要气象现象发生在该边界层。 政府间气候变化专门委员会建议更好地了解气溶胶和大气冰形成的影响，以改进气候模型并预测全球气温上升的影响。拟议的研究将增加对大气中最活跃的冰成核剂性质的了解。微生物冰核还可能使微生物和某些植物病原体在大气和地表栖息地之间有效循环，RAINS 将有助于评估冰核微生物在地理范围内的运动。外展工作将以为两个级别的学生提供实践研究经验的形式将这些进步带入高中和大学课堂，并将作为高中教育工作者开发独特课堂活动的基础。此外，还将建立一个国际科学家网络，收集有关旱地地区生物冰成核剂丰度、耕作模式和降水之间关系的实地数据。 RAINS 将主办一次国际会议，汇聚网络中的 10 名年轻职业科学家，以突出这些研究的进展并确定突出的科学问题。