Biological Highways in the Sky

This book explores the atmosphere as a dynamic transport system for small biological particles in the atmosphere, with a focus on microorganisms and small insects, applicable to nematodes, spiders, tardigrades, etc. It brings together interdisciplinary competence from Life, Earth and Mathematical Sciences to describe emissions processes such as wildfire smoke, sea spray and recurrent uplift from plant canopies; transport processes and trajectories in the past, present and future; and how the voyagers survive the atmospheric physico-chemical conditions. The book introduces tools to trace dispersal routes, assess post-deposition impacts, as well as the concepts of “atmospheric biogeography” and “windsheds” to understand and anticipate microbial movement across landscapes and borders. It offers stimulus to both new and established researchers to undertake an important challenge in aerobiology: to more precisely characterize and quantify the dynamics of particle voyages on the highways of the atmosphere and identify the impacts of these voyages on disease epidemiology, environmental quality and the evolution of organisms.