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Many atmospheric aerosols are cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), capable of activating as cloud droplets when the relative humidity exceeds 100 %. Some primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs), such as plant spores, pollen, or bacteria, have been identified as such CCN. Urban environments are a source of these bioaerosols, some of which are naturally produced by the local flora or are transported from surrounding regions and others of which are a result of human activities. In the latter case, open sewage, uncovered garbage, mold or other products of such activities can be a source of PBAPs. There have been relatively few studies, especially in the tropics, where PBAPs and CCN have been simultaneously studied to establish a causal link between the two. The metropolis of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is one such urban area with a population of 2 448 000 people (as of 2020). To better understand the fluorescent characteristics and cloud-forming efficiency of aerosols in this region, measurements with a wideband integrated bioaerosol spectrometer (WIBS), a condensation nuclei (CN) counter and a CCN spectrometer were made at the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras Campus. Results show that the CCN / CN activation ratio and the fraction of fluorescing aerosol particles (FAPs) have repetitive daily trends when the FAP fraction is positively correlated with relative humidity and negatively correlated with wind speed, consistent with previous studies of fungi spores collected on substrates. The results from this pilot study highlight the capabilities of ultraviolet-induced fluorescence (UV-IF) measurements for characterizing the properties of FAPs as they relate to the daily evolution of PBAPs. The use of multiple excitation and emission wavelengths, along with shape detection, allows the differentiation of different PBAP types. These measurements, evaluated with respect to previous, substrate-based analysis of the local fungal and pollen spores, have established a preliminary database of measurements that future, longer-term studies will build upon.

Many types of atmospheric aerosols cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) capable of activating as cloud droplets. Some primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP), such as plant spores, pollen, or bacteria, have been identified as such CCN. Urban environments are a source of these bioaerosols, those that are naturally produced by the local flora, or are transported from surrounding regions, and others that are a result of human activities. In the latter case, open sewage, uncovered garbage, mold or other products of such activities can be a source of PBAPs. There have been relatively few studies, especially in the tropics, where PBAPs and CCN have been simultaneously studied to establish a causal link between the two. The metropolis of San Juan, Puerto Rico is one such urban area with a population of 2,448,000 (as of 2020). To better understand the fluorescent characteristics and cloud forming efficiency of aerosols in this region, measurements with a Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Spectrometer (WIBS), a condensing nuclei (CN) counter, and a CCN spectrometer were made at the University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras Campus. Results show that the CCN / CN activation ratio and the fraction of fluorescing aerosol particles (FAP) have repetitive daily trends when the FAP fraction is positively correlated with relative humidity and negatively correlated with wind speed, consistent with previous studies of fungi spores collected on substrates. The results from this pilot study highlight the capabilities of ultraviolet-induced fluorescence (UV-IF) measurements for characterizing the properties of FAP as they relate to daily evolution of PBAPs. The use of multiple excitation and emission wavelengths, along with shape detection, allows the differentiation of different PBAP types. These measurements, evaluated with respect to previous, substrate-based analysis of the local fungal and pollen spores, have established a starting database of measurements that future, longer term studies will build upon.

African aerosol particles, traveling thousands of kilometers before reaching the Americas and the Caribbean, directly scatter and absorb solar radiation and indirectly impact climate by serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) or ice-nucleating particles (INPs) that form clouds. These particles can also affect the water budget by altering precipitation patterns that subsequently affect ecosystems. As part of the NSF-funded Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory, field campaigns were conducted during the summers of 2013 (23 d), 2014 (11 d), and 2015 (92 d) at Pico del Este, a site in a tropical montane cloud forest on the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. Cloud microphysical properties, which included liquid water content, droplet number concentration, and droplet size, were measured. Using products from models and satellites, as well as in situ measurements of aerosol optical properties, periods of high- and low-dust influence were identified. The results from this study suggest that meteorology and air mass history have a more important effect on cloud processes than aerosols transported from Africa. In contrast, air masses that arrived after passing over the inhabited islands to the southeast led to clouds with much higher droplet concentrations, presumably due to aerosols formed from anthropogenic emissions.

Saharan dust is an important phosphorus (P) supply to remote and oligotrophic parts of the oceans and American lowland tropical rainforests. Phosphorus speciation in aeolian dust ultimately controls the release and bioavailability of P after dust deposition, but the speciation in Saharan dust and its change during the trans-Atlantic transport remains unclear. Using P K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, we showed that with increasing dust traveling distance from the Sahara Desert to Cape Verde and to Puerto Rico, about 570 and 4000 km, respectively, the proportion of Ca-bound P (Ca-P), including both apatite and non-apatite forms, decreased from 68-73% to 50-71% and to 21-37%. The changes were accompanied by increased iron/aluminum-bound P proportion from 14-25% to 23-46% and to 44-73%, correspondingly. Laboratory simulation experiments suggest that the changes in P speciation can be ascribed to increasing degrees of particle sorting and atmospheric acidification during dust transport. The presence of relatively soluble non-apatite Ca-P in the Cape Verde dust but not in the Puerto Rico dust is consistent with the higher P water solubility of the former than the latter. Our findings provide insights into the controls of atmospheric processes on P speciation, solubility, and stability in Saharan dust.

This study characterizes a massive African dust intrusion into the Caribbean Basin and southern U.S. in June 2020, which is nicknamed the Godzilla dust plume, using a comprehensive set of satellite and ground-based observations (including MODIS, CALIOP, SEVIRI, AERONET, and EPA Air Quality network) and the NASA GEOS global aerosol transport model. The MODIS data record registered this massive dust intrusion event as the most intense episode over the past two decades. During this event, the aerosol optical depth observed by AERONET and MODIS peaked at 3.5 off the coast of West Africa and 1.8 in the Caribbean Basin. CALIOP observations show that the top of dust plume reached altitudes of 6–8 km in West Africa and descended to about 4 km altitude over the Caribbean Basin and 2 km over the U.S. Gulf coast. The dust plume degraded the air quality in Puerto Rico to the hazardous level, with maximum daily PM10 concentration of 453 μg m−3 recorded on June 23. The dust intrusion into the U.S. raised the PM2.5 concentration on June 27 to a level exceeding the EPA air quality standard in about 40 % of the stations in the southern U.S. Satellite observations reveal that dust emissions from convection-generated haboobs and other sources in West Africa were large albeit not extreme on a daily basis. However, the anomalous strength and northern shift of the North Atlantic Subtropical High (NASH) together with the Azores low formed a closed circulation pattern that allowed for accumulation of the dust near the African coast for about four days. When the NASH was weakened and wandered back to south, the dust outflow region was dominated by a strong African Easterly Jet that rapidly transported the accumulated dust from the coastal region toward the Caribbean Basin, resulting in the record-breaking African dust intrusion. In comparison to satellite observations, the GEOS model well reproduced the MODIS observed tracks of the meandering dust plume as it was carried by the wind systems. However, the model substantially underestimated dust emissions from haboobs and did not lift up enough dust to the middle troposphere for ensuing long-range transport. Consequently, the model largely missed the satellite-observed elevated dust plume along the cross-ocean track and underestimated the dust intrusion into the Caribbean Basin by a factor of more than 4. Modeling improvements need to focus on developing more realistic representations of moist convection, haboobs, and the vertical transport of dust.

With the aim of assessing the potential impacts of wind farms on weather and regional climate, in this work an induction-aware modified version of the Wind Farm Parameterization implemented in the WRF model is presented. It uses the undisturbed wind speed, instead of the grid cell velocity, as reference to compute the corresponding momentum sink, source of TKE and power output. The relation between the reference and grid velocity is obtained from a previous calibration process. The modified parameterization is verified by simulating one single wind turbine, showing that the power output becomes independent of the selected horizontal resolution. Finally, the performance of the new parameterization is tested over an utility-scale wind farm. It is applied to compute the wind farm efficiency for different wind directions, under several resolutions and its results compared with former parameterizations. Fil: Mayol, María Laura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Simulación Computacional para Aplicaciones Tecnológicas; Argentina Fil: Navarro Diaz, Gonzalo Pablo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Simulación Computacional para Aplicaciones Tecnológicas; Argentina Fil: Saulo, AC. Ministerio de Defensa. Secretaria de Planeamiento. Servicio Meteorológico Nacional; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Otero, Alejandro Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Simulación Computacional para Aplicaciones Tecnológicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina

In order to assess the global evolution of aerosol parameters affecting climate change, a long-term trend analyses of aerosol optical properties were performed on time series from 52 stations situated across five continents. The time series of measured scattering, backscattering and absorption coefficients as well as the derived single scattering albedo, backscattering fraction, scattering and absorption Ångström exponents covered at least 10 years and up to 40 years for some stations. The non-parametric seasonal Mann–Kendall (MK) statistical test associated with several prewhitening methods and with the Sen's slope were used as main trend analysis methods. Comparisons with General Least Mean Square associated with Autoregressive Bootstrap (GLS/ARB) and with standard Least Mean Square analysis (LMS) enabled confirmation of the detected MK statistically significant trends and the assessment of advantages and limitations of each method. Currently, scattering and backscattering coefficients trends are mostly decreasing in Europe and North America and are not statistically significant in Asia, while polar stations exhibit a mix of increasing and decreasing trends. A few increasing trends are also found at some stations in North America and Australia. Absorption coefficients time series also exhibit primarily decreasing trends. For single scattering albedo, 52 % of the sites exhibit statistically significant positive trends, mostly in Asia, Eastern/Northern Europe and Arctic, 18 % of sites exhibit statistically significant negative trends, mostly in central Europe and central North America, while the remaining 30 % of sites have trends, which are not statistically significant. In addition to evaluating trends for the overall time series, the evolution of the trends in sequential 10 year segments was also analyzed. For scattering and backscattering, statistically significant increasing 10 year trends are primarily found for earlier periods (10 year trends ending in 2010–2015) for polar stations and Mauna Loa. For most of the stations, the present-day statistically significant decreasing 10 year trends of the single scattering albedo were preceded by not statistically significant and statistically significant increasing 10 year trends. The effect of air pollution abatement policies in continental North America is very obvious in the 10 year trends of the scattering coefficient – there is a shift to statistically significant negative trends in 2010–2011 for all stations in the eastern and central US. This long-term trend analysis of aerosol radiative properties with a broad spatial coverage enables a better global view of potential aerosol effects on climate changes.

We have evaluated the spread of SARS-CoV-2 through Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region by means of a correlation between climate and air pollution indicators, namely, average temperature, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, rainfall, average relative humidity, wind speed, and air pollution indicators PM10, PM2.5, and NO2 with the COVID-19 daily new cases and deaths. The study focuses in the following LAC cities: Mexico City (Mexico), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Bogotá (Colombia), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Manaus (Brazil), Lima (Perú), Santiago (Chile), São Paulo (Brazil) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). The results show that average temperature, minimum temperature, and air quality were significantly associated with the spread of COVID-19 in LAC. Additionally, humidity, wind speed and rainfall showed a significant relationship with daily cases, total cases and mortality for various cities. Income inequality and poverty levels were also considered as a variable for qualitative analysis. Our findings suggest that and income inequality and poverty levels in the cities analyzed were related to the spread of COVID-19 positive and negative, respectively. These results might help decision-makers to design future strategies to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in LAC and around the world., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • The study analyzes the impact of climate and pollution indicators on COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. • The low wind speed generates less ventilation, then a higher concentration of pollutants or air contaminated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be inhaled in various cities of Latin America and the Caribbean. • The climate and pollution indicators are one of the factors that triggered the spread of Covid-19 through Latin America and the Caribbean. • The COVID-19 spread is significantly correlated with PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 in several cities of Latin America and the Caribbean. • The income inequality and poverty levels of the cities analyzed in Latin America and the Caribbean are related to the spread of COVID-19.

Atmospheric aerosols are known to play a key role in Earth’s radiative budget, although the quantification of their climate forcing is still highly uncertain. In order to improve the scientific understanding of their climatic effect, in-situ ground-based aerosol properties observations are needed by the research community. Such data would also allow the global assessment of the effect of environmental policies over both the short and the long term.To develop a robust and consistent view over time of the worldwide variability of aerosol properties, data resulting from a fully-characterized value chain, including uncertainty estimation, is needed.The present work is part of a wider project, having among its goals the investigation of the variability of climate-relevant aerosol properties observed at all sites connected to the Global Atmospheric Watch network, whose data are publicly available from the World Data Centre for Aerosols and follow the aforementioned specifications.This work focuses on aerosol optical proprieties, i.e. the aerosol light scattering coefficient (σsp), the aerosol light absorption coefficient (σap), single scattering albedo (ωo) and both scattering and absorption Ångström exponents (åsp and åap).The analysis includes 108 yearly datasets collected either during 2016 or 2017 at different sites: 53 for absorption and 55 for scattering coefficient datasets, respectively. For 29 of these sites it was also possible to compute single scattering albedo.The spatial variability in extensive and intensive optical properties was analysed in terms of each site’s geographical location (either polar, continental, coastal or mountain) and its footprint (from pristine to urban, representing increasing levels of anthropogenic influence).The results highlight the impact of anthropogenic emissions and biomass burning on absolute levels and annual variability. The effect of sea spray or long range transport of dust is also evident for several sites, along with the influence of regional emissions. The largest seasonality in aerosol loading was observed at mountain sites under mixed footprint conditions, while the lowest seasonality occurred at urban sites. Urban sites also exhibited the highest σsp and σap values. The lowest levels in σsp and σap were observed at some polar sites, along with few coastal and mountain sites, despite their typically mixed footprint.AcknowledgementsThe authors acknowledge WMO-GAW World Data Centre on Aerosol for providing data available at http://ebas.nilu.no

Aerosol particles are essential constituents of the Earth’s atmosphere, impacting the earth radiation balance directly by scattering and absorbing solar radiation, and indirectly by acting as cloud condensation nuclei. In contrast to most greenhouse gases, aerosol particles have short atmospheric residence time resulting in a highly heterogeneous distribution in space and time. There is a clear need to document this variability at regional scale through observations involving, in particular, the in-situ near-surface segment of the atmospheric observations system. This paper will provide the widest effort so far to document variability of climate-relevant in-situ aerosol properties (namely wavelength dependent particle light scattering and absorption coefficients, particle number concentration and particle number size distribution) from all sites connected to the Global Atmosphere Watch network. High quality data from more than 90 stations worldwide have been collected and controlled for quality and are reported for a reference year in 2017, providing a very extended and robust view of the variability of these variables worldwide. The range of variability observed worldwide for light scattering and absorption coefficients, single scattering albedo and particle number concentration are presented together with preliminary information on their long-term trends and comparison with model simulation for the different stations. The scope of the present paper is also to provide the necessary suite of information including data provision procedures, quality control and analysis, data policy and usage of the ground-based aerosol measurements network. It delivers to users of the World Data Centre on Aerosol, the required confidence in data products in the form of a fully-characterized value chain, including uncertainty estimation and requirements for contributing to the global climate monitoring system.

North Africa is the world’s largest source of dust, a large part of which is transported across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and beyond where it can impact radiation and clouds. Many aspects of this transport and its climate effects remain speculative. The Saharan Aerosol Long-Range Transport and Aerosol–Cloud-Interaction Experiment (SALTRACE; www.pa.op.dlr.de/saltrace) linked ground-based and airborne measurements with remote sensing and modeling techniques to address these issues in a program that took place in 2013/14. Specific objectives were to 1) characterize the chemical, microphysical, and optical properties of dust in the Caribbean, 2) quantify the impact of physical and chemical changes (“aging”) on the radiation budget and cloud microphysical processes, 3) investigate the meteorological context of transatlantic dust transport, and 4) assess the roles of removal processes during transport. SALTRACE was a German-led initiative involving scientists from Europe, Cabo Verde, the Caribbean, and the United States. The Falcon research aircraft of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), equipped with a comprehensive aerosol and wind lidar payload, played a central role. Several major dust outbreaks were studied with 86 h of flight time under different conditions, making it by far the most extensive investigation on long-range transported dust ever made. This article presents an overview of SALTRACE and highlights selected results including data from transatlantic flights in coherent air masses separated by more than 4,000-km distance that enabled measurements of transport effects on dust properties. SALTRACE will improve our knowledge on the role of mineral dust in the climate system and provide data for studies on dust interactions with clouds, radiation, and health.

Background: Limited evidence exists regarding how functional limitation patterns of women in developing countries unfold through midlife and into old age, a critical period during which the tendency to develop severe problems is fomented. Objective: Functional limitation prevalence and patterns through midlife into early old age, and their determinants, are examined among women in the Philippines. Methods: Data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Study are monitored from 1994 to 2015. Patterns are categorized using group-based trajectory modeling. Predictors of group membership are modeled. Results: About half responding to all survey waves report functional limitation at least once over the study period. Movements in and out of functional limitation states are common. Between age 30 and 70, trajectories are categorized into four groups: 1) robust, 2) late onset, 3) early onset, and 4) recovery. Being married, living in a nuclear household, higher successful birth ratio, and higher education associate with favorable trajectories. More births, higher age at first birth, wealth, and urbanicity associate with less favorable trajectories. Conclusions: Many possible routes into and out of functional limitation exist. The manifold patterns can be grouped into common trajectories. A number of earlier life characteristics associate with these trajectories. Contribution: This is the first analysis to ascertain common functional limitation trajectories and earlier life predictors among women as they age in a high fertility developing country setting. Recognizing these is an important step toward understanding global health given aging of the population and the likelihood of functional problems developing in women as they move into old age.

The NASA/Smithsonian Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO; tempo.si.edu) satellite instrument will measure atmospheric pollution and much more over Greater North America at high temporal resolution (hourly or better in daylight, with selected observations at 10 minute or better sampling) and high spatial resolution (10 km2 at the center of the field of regard). It will measure ozone (O3) profiles (including boundary layer O3), and columns of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrous acid (HNO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), formaldehyde (H2CO), glyoxal (C2H2O2), water vapor (H2O), bromine oxide (BrO), iodine oxide (IO), chlorine dioxide (OClO), as well as clouds and aerosols, foliage properties, and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. The instrument has been delivered and is awaiting spacecraft integration and launch in 2022. This talk describes a selection of TEMPO applications based on the TEMPO Green Paper living document (http://tempo.si.edu/publications.html). Applications to air quality and health will be summarized. Other applications presented include: biomass burning and O3 production; aerosol products including synergy with GOES infrared measurements; lightning NOx; soil NOx and fertilizer application; crop and forest damage from O3; chlorophyll and primary productivity; foliage studies; halogens in coastal and lake regions; ship tracks and drilling platform plumes; water vapor studies including atmospheric rivers, hurricanes, and corn sweat; volcanic emissions; air pollution and economic evolution; high-resolution pollution versus traffic patterns; tidal effects on estuarine circulation and outflow plumes; air quality response to power blackouts and other exceptional events.

This work focuses on the study of interactions between neighboring wind farms through a mesoscale numerical modelling approach. High resolution simulations with three wind farm parameterizations (WFP, EWP and IAWFP), implemented on the WRF model, over a set of “real world” neighboring onshore wind farms are performed. The sensitivity of the three parameterizations to wake development is analyzed. The older version of the WFP is also included to account for differences between versions in terms of wake length and intensity, and TKE production and advection. Finally, the impacts of upstream wind farms are studied through a series of simulations where they are “disabled” and the increases in power at downstream farms are quantified. These results and the adopted methodology have direct application and are highly relevant for the feasibility assessment of new wind farms in the shadow of other existing ones.

In 2013, the international Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution (iCACGP) and the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project Americas Working Group (iCACGP/IGAC AWG) was formed to build a cohesive network and foster the next generation of atmospheric scientists with the goal of contributing to a scientific community focused on building collective knowledge for the Americas. The Latin America–Caribbean (LAC) region shares common history, culture, and socioeconomic issues but, at the same time, it is highly diverse in its physical and human geography. The LAC region is unique because approximately 80% of its population lives in urban areas, resulting in high-density hotspots of urbanization and vast unpopulated rural areas. In recent years, most countries of the region have experienced rapid growth in population and industrialization as their economies emerge. The rapid urbanization, the associated increases in mobile and industrial sources, and the growth of the agricultural activities related to biomass burning have degraded air quality in certain areas of the LAC region. Air pollution has negative implications for human health, ecosystems, and climate. In addition, air pollution and the warming caused by greenhouse gases could impact the melting of Andean glaciers, an important source of freshwater. To better understand the links between air pollution and climate, it is necessary to increase the number of atmospheric scientists and improve our observational, analytical, and modeling capacities. This requires sustained and prioritized funding as well as stronger collaboration within the LAC region.

International audience; The transatlantic transport of mineral dust from Africa is a persistent atmospheric phenomenon, clue for understanding the impacts of dust at the global scale. As part of the DUST Aging and Transport from Africa to the Caribbean (Dust-ATTACk) intensive field campaign, the size distribution and optical properties of mineral dust were measured in June-July 2012 on the east coast of Puerto Rico, more than 5000 km from the west coast of Africa. During the recorded dust events, the PM10 (particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter) concentrations increased from 20 to 70 µg m-3. Remote sensing observations and modeling analysis were used to identify the main source regions, which were found in the Western Sahara, Mauritania, Algeria, Niger, and Mali. The microphysical and optical properties of the dust plumes were almost independent of origin. The size distribution of mineral dust after long-range transport may have modal diameters similar to those on the eastern side of the Atlantic short time after emission, possibly depending on height of transport. Additional submicron particles of anthropogenic absorbing aerosols (likely from regional marine traffic activities) can be mixed within the dust plumes, without affecting in a significant way the PM10 absorption properties of dust observed in Puerto Rico. The Dust-ATTACk experimental data set may be useful for modeling the direct radiative effect of dust. For accurate representation of dust optical properties over the Atlantic remote marine region, we recommend mass extinction efficiency (MEE) and single-scattering albedo values in the range 1.1-1.5 m2 g-1 and 0.97-0.98, respectively, for visible wavelengths.

Bulk and drop size fractionated cloud water was collected at a Caribbean tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) in northeastern Puerto Rico in the summer months of 2010-2012 and winter months of 2011 as part of the Puerto Rico African Dust and Cloud Study (PRADACS). We studied how cloud water chemistry in a Caribbean TMCF was affected by long-range transported African dust (LRTAD). Using HYSPLIT trajectories and enrichment factor analysis, the air masses influencing clouds at Pico del Este were identified as dust, marine, and dust with anthropogenic influence. Samples were analyzed for pH, conductivity, water-soluble ions, and metals. Na+ and Cl- comprised the main water-soluble ions (60- 80%) suggesting a strong marine influence. A 0.1-10% contribution of anthropogenic (nss-SO_4 ^(2-)) and 0.2-13% contribution of mineral dust (nss-Ca^(2+)) sources to the cloud chemical composition was observed. Primary aerosols (i.e., mineral dust and sea-salt) were enriched in large cloud water droplets (LCWD) and secondary aerosols (i.e., anthropogenic particles) were enriched in small cloud water droplets (SCWD). As a result, pH was found to be higher in LCWD due to the neutralizing capacity of nss-Ca^(2+)) and lower in SCWD due to the presence of acidifying species (nss-SO_4 ^(2-), NO_3 ^-, and organic acids). Fe and Al, indicators for mineral dust were similarly distributed across the cloud droplet size spectrum. Our results show that LRTAD events modulate bulk and size-fractionated cloud water chemistry, potentially influencing cloud microphysical properties and processes.

Aerosol particles in the atmosphere play a fundamental role in the formation of cloud droplets. Moreover, cloud-processing of aerosols is an important component of the changes observed in aerosol composition and size. In this study we present measurements of the physical and optical properties of interstitial and droplet residual particles in clouds made at a tropical mountain site. The measurements were made with the Aerosol Particle Spectrometer with Polarization Detection (APSPD) that was deployed at the mountaintop observatory of Pico del Este in Puerto Rico, between 25 August and 10 September, 2011 as part of the Puerto Rico African Dust and Cloud Study (PRADACS). We evaluate the optical signatures and equivalent optical diameters of the sampled aerosol with respect to the origin and meteorological history of the air mass in which the aerosol were embedded. Additionally, the aerosol properties are related to the liquid water content present in the cloud. The origin of the air mass is the most important factor that modulates the optical signatures, volume size distributions and total volume concentration of the sampled aerosol. Differences in the aerosol volume concentrations were significant (up to a factor of 4) between air masses originating in Africa, the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic. In addition, African aerosols have a much higher ratio of residual to interstitial volume concentration, suggesting that these particles had a higher fraction of cloud condensation nuclei than in the other air masses. Finally, the amount of precipitation along the air mass trajectories impacts the aerosol volume concentration, as does the residence time of the air mass in the moist, oceanic boundary layer, below 500 m.

Biogenic aerosols are relevant for the Earth system, climate, and public health on local, regional, and global scales. Up to now, however, little is known about the diversity and biogeography of airborne microorganisms. We present the first DNA-based analysis of airborne fungi on global scales, showing pronounced geographic patterns and boundaries. In particular we found that the ratio of species richness between Basidiomycota and Ascomycota is much higher in continental air than in marine air. This may be an important difference between the "blue ocean" and "green ocean" regimes in the formation of clouds and precipitation, for which fungal spores can act as nuclei. Our findings also suggest that air flow patterns and the global atmospheric circulation are important for the evolution of microbial ecology and for the understanding of global changes in biodiversity.

Variants in SLC26A4 are an important cause of congenital hearing impairment in the Philippines.Cochlear implantation is a standard rehabilitation option for congenital hearing impairment worldwide, but places a huge cost burden in lower-income countries. The study of risk factors such as genetic variants that may help determine genetic etiology of hearing loss and also predict cochlear implant outcomes is therefore beneficial.DNA samples from 29 GJB2-negative Filipino cochlear implantees were Sanger-sequenced for the coding exons of SLC26A4. Exome sequencing was performed to confirm results.Four cochlear implantees with bilaterally enlarged vestibular aqueducts (EVA) were homozygous for the pathogenic SLC26A4 c.706CG (p.Leu236Val) variant, which has a minor allele frequency of 0.0015 in Filipino controls. In patients with the SLC26A4 variant there was no association between cochlear implant outcome and age at implantation or duration of implant. There was also no association between the occurrence of the SLC26A4 variant and postsurgical audiometric thresholds and parents' evaluation of aural/oral performance of children (PEACH) scores. On the other hand, the SLC26A4 variant increased presurgical median audiometric thresholds (p = 0.01), particularly at 500 to 2000 Hz.The SLC26A4 c.706CG (p.Leu236Val) variant is a frequent cause of congenital hearing impairment in Filipinos and is associated with bilateral EVA and increased presurgical audiometric thresholds, but does not adversely affect post-implant outcomes.

Since 2005, we have monitored the physicochemical and optical properties of aerosols at the Cape San Juan Atmospheric Observatory, Puerto Rico. Based on the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated trajectories (HYSPLIT) and satellite imagery from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Washington D.C., Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and Saharan air layer (SAL) images, we grouped natural aerosols in three categories: marine, African dust and volcanic ash. A sun-sky radiometer from the NASA’s AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) assessed the total aerosol optical depth and its fine fraction. A 3-wavelength nephelometer and particle soot absorption photometer assessed the scattering and absorption coefficients. Two impactors segregated the submicron (Dp < 1 µm) particles from the total (Dp < 10 µm) enabling us to calculate the sub-micron scattering and absorption fractions. The measured variables served to calculate the single scattering albedo and radiative forcing efficiency. All variables except the single scattering albedo making up the aerosol climatology for Puerto Rico had different means as function of the aerosol category at p < 0.05. For the period 2005–2010, the largest means ±95 % confidence interval of the scattering coefficient (53 ± 4 Mm−1), absorption coefficient (1.8 ± 0.16 Mm−1), and optical depth (0.29 ± 0.03), suggested African dust is the main contributor to the columnar and surface aerosol loading in summer. About two thirds (63 %) of the absorption in African dust was due to the coarse mode and about one third due to the fine mode. In volcanic ash, fine aerosols contributed 60 % of the absorption while coarse contributed 40 %. Overall, the coarse and fine modes accounted for ~ 80 % and 20 % of the total scattering. The African dust load was 3.5 times the load of clean marine, 1.9 times greater than the clean marine with higher sea salt content, and 1.7 times greater than volcanic ash. African dust caused 50 % more cooling than that volcanic ash at the top of the atmosphere and 50 % more heating than that of volcanic ash within the marine boundary layer (MBL).

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the electricity grid in Puerto Rico was devastated, with over 90% of the island without electricity; as of December 2017, about 50% of the island lacked electricity, and power outages were common elsewhere. Backup generators are widely used, sometimes as the main source of electricity. The hurricane also damaged the island’s existing air monitoring network and the University of Puerto Rico’s observing facilities. We deployed four lower-cost air quality monitors (Real-time Affordable Multi-Pollutant or RAMP monitors) and a black carbon (BC) monitor in the San Juan Metro Area in November 2017. The first month of data collected with the RAMPs showed high sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations of varying magnitudes each night. SO2 and CO are strongly correlated (r2 >0.9) at two sites ~5 km apart (University of Puerto Rico and an industrial area, Puerto Nuevo), suggesting a single source type. BC measured at the UPR site is also well correlated with CO and SO2. While the RAMPs are not certified as a federal equivalent method, the RAMP SO2 data suggests that the EPA’s daily 1-hour maximum standard for SO2 (75 ppb) was exceeded on almost 80% of the first 30 days of deployment (November-December 2017). In the wake of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico was granted a waiver from ultralow sulfur diesel (ULSD) requirements which, coupled with the continuing lack of grid power, appears to have significantly degraded the air quality in the region.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the electricity grid in Puerto Rico was devastated, with over 90% of the island without electricity; as of December 2017, about 50% of the island lacked electricity, and power outages were common elsewhere. Backup generators are widely used, sometimes as the main source of electricity. The hurricane also damaged the island’s existing air monitoring network and the University of Puerto Rico’s observing facilities. We deployed four lower-cost air quality monitors (Real-time Affordable Multi-Pollutant or RAMP monitors) and a black carbon (BC) monitor in the San Juan Metro Area in November 2017. The first month of data collected with the RAMPs showed high sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations of varying magnitudes each night. SO2 and CO are strongly correlated (r2 >0.9) at two sites ~5 km apart (University of Puerto Rico and an industrial area, Puerto Nuevo), suggesting a single source type. BC measured at the UPR site is also well correlated with CO and SO2. While the RAMPs are not certified as a federal equivalent method, the RAMP SO2 data suggest that the EPA’s daily 1-hour threshold for SO2 (75 ppb) was exceeded on almost 80% of the first 30 days of deployment (November-December 2017). The widespread reliance on generators for regular electric supply in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria appears to have increased air pollution in San Juan.

Mineral dust from arid regions represents the second largest global source of aerosols to the atmosphere. Dust strongly impacts the radiative balance of the earth's atmosphere by directly scattering solar radiation and acting as nuclei for the formation of liquid droplets and ice nuclei within clouds. The climate effects of mineral dust aerosols are poorly understood, however, due to their complex chemical and physical properties, which continuously evolve during atmospheric transport. This work focuses on characterizing atmospheric mineral dust from the two largest global dust sources: the Sahara Desert in Africa and the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts in Asia. Measurements of individual aerosol particle size and chemical mixing state were made at El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico, downwind of the Sahara Desert, and Gosan, South Korea, downwind of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts. In general, the chemical characterization of the individual dust particles detected at these two sites reflected the dominant mineralogy of the source regions; aluminosilicate-rich dust was more common at El Yunque (∼91% of El Yunque dust particles vs. ∼69% of Gosan dust particles) and calcium-rich dust was more common at Gosan (∼22% of Gosan dust particles vs. ∼2% of El Yunque dust particles). Furthermore, dust particles from Africa and Asia were subjected to different transport conditions and atmospheric processing; African dust showed evidence of cloud processing, while Asian dust was modified via heterogeneous chemistry and direct condensation of secondary species. A larger fraction of dust detected at El Yunque contained the cloud-processing marker oxalate ion compared to dust detected at Gosan (∼20% vs ∼9%). Additionally, nearly 100% of dust detected at Gosan contained nitrate, showing it was aged via heterogeneous reactions with nitric acid, compared to only ∼60% of African dust. Information on the distinct differences in the chemical composition of mineral dust particles, as well as the mechanisms and extent of atmospheric processing, is critical for assessing its impacts on the earth's radiative budget through scattering, absorption, and nucleating cloud droplets and ice crystals.

Atmospheric aerosols stay a major cause of uncertainty in climate prediction. Hundreds of teragrams and the absorbing properties of aerosols such as African dust and volcanic ash affect radiative balance changing atmospheric temperature and thus, climate. Since 2005, we began to check the physicochemical and optical properties of aerosols at the Cape San Juan Atmospheric Observatory, Puerto Rico. Based on the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory backward trajectories and satellite imagery from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Washington D.C., Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and Saharan air layer images, we grouped natural aerosols in three air masses: marine, African dust and volcanic ash. A sun-sky radiometer from the NASA's AErosol RObotic NETwork assessed total aerosol optical depth and its fine fraction. A 3-wavelength nephelometer and particle soot absorption photometer assessed the scattering and absorption coefficients. Two impactors segregated the submicron (Dp

We investigated cloud properties of warm clouds in a tropical montane cloud forest at Pico del Este (1,051 m a.s.l.) in the northeastern part of Puerto Rico to address the question of whether cloud properties in the Caribbean could potentially be affected by African dust transported across the Atlantic Ocean. We analyzed data collected during 12 days in July 2011. Cloud droplet size spectra were measured using the FM-100 fog droplet spectrometer that measured droplet size distributions in the range from 2 to 49 µm, primarily during fog events. The droplet size spectra revealed a bimodal structure, with the first peak (D < 6 µm) being more pronounced in terms of droplet number concentrations, whereas the second peak (10 µm < D < 20 µm) was found to be the one relevant for total liquid water content (LWC) of the cloud. We identified three major clusters of characteristic droplet size spectra by means of hierarchical clustering. All clusters differed significantly from each other in droplet number concentration (𝑁�� tot), effective diameter (ED), and median volume diameter (MVD). For the cluster comprising the largest droplets and the lowest droplet number concentrations, we found evidence of inhomogeneous mixing in the cloud. Contrastingly, the other two clusters revealed microphysical behavior, which could be expected under homogeneous mixing conditions. For those conditions, an increase in cloud condensation nuclei—e.g., from processed African dust transported to the site—is supposed to lead to an increased droplet concentration. In fact, one of these two clusters showed a clear shift of cloud droplet size spectra towards smaller droplet diameters. Since this cluster occurred during periods with strong evidence for the presence of long-range transported African dust, we hypothesize a link between the observed dust episodes and cloud characteristics in the Caribbean at our site, which is similar to the anthropogenic aerosol indirect effect., Pure and Applied Geophysics, 171 (9), ISSN:0033-4553, ISSN:1420-9136, ISSN:1557-7368

Every year huge quantities of soil dust are carried by winds from Africa, across the Atlantic, and to the Caribbean. No other ocean region is so extensively and persistently impacted by such high concentrations of dust, a region that extends over 7000 km from the coast of Africa to the Caribbean and to the bounding continental shores of the Americas. In effect, the Caribbean Basin can be thought of as the “receptor” site of the Saharan dust “source,” a source that accounts for over half of global dust emissions. It is generally recognized that on a global scale mineral dust can affect many aspects of climate, marine biogeochemical processes, soil fertility, air quality, and human health. However, it is difficult to assess the impact on the Caribbean Basin because of the dearth of studies in this region. A better understanding is needed of the factors that affect the transport of dust, the physical and chemical properties of the transported materials, and how these might change during transport. Of particu...

Cloud- and rain-water samples collected between 1984 and 2007 in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, were analyzed in order to understand the main processes and sources that control their chemistry. Three sites were used: El Verde Field Station (380 m asl), Bisley (361 m asl), and East Peak (1051 m asl). Bulk rainwater samples were collected from all sites, and cloud water was also collected on East Peak. All samples were analyzed for pH, conductivity, and concentrations of Cl−, SO42−, NO3−, NH4+, Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+. Similar patterns in overall chemistry were observed for both cloud- and rain-water samples. The majority of samples had low acidity (average pH of 4.4–5.0), similar to other remote sites. Sea salt (Na+ and Cl−) had a large influence on rain and cloud chemistry and accounted for approximately 70% of the total mass of solutes, followed by SO4=, which controls the acidity of the clouds and rainwater. Calcium accounted for 6–8% of the total cations and dominated neutralization processes. The highest concentrations of Ca2+ and NO3− in both cloud- and rain-water were observed in the summertime when large amounts of dust from the African continent reached the sites. Enrichment Factor and Principal Component Analyses showed that Na+, Cl−, and Mg2+ in the cloud- and rain-water were primarily of marine origin, while most of the Ca2+ was from crustal sources; and NO3− was predominantly anthropogenic, presumably from both local and long-range sources. In general, the results of this study suggested that cloud- and rain-water chemistry in northeastern Puerto Rico is strongly influenced by natural and marine sources rather than local anthropogenic sources. The pollutant species in the samples were mainly derived from long distance transport.

Objectives Evidence that fetal development has long-term impacts on health has increased interest in maternal-fetal nutrient exchange. Although maternal metabolism is known to change during gestation to accommodate fetal nutrient demands, little is known about these modifications outside of a Western, clinical context. This study characterizes maternal metabolic adaptations to pregnancy, and their associations with offspring birth weight (BW), among women living in the Philippines. METHODS Fasting glucose, triglycerides, insulin, leptin, and adiponectin were assessed in 808 participants in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (Metropolitan Cebu, Philippines). Cross-sectional relationships between metabolites and hormones and gestational and lactational status were evaluated. Among the subset of currently pregnant women, associations between maternal glucose and triglycerides and offspring BW were also examined. RESULTS Women in their second and third trimesters had significantly lower fasting glucose and adiponectin compared to nulliparous women, and leptin levels and triglyceride levels were notably higher late in pregnancy (all P