There is life in the cloudsBeyond water particles, aerosols, ice crystals, or dust, a team from the United States discovered that life exists in clouds. Although it was suspected from a long time ago, now we have the real proof that this is so thanks to the experiment they did.
Yes, it is possible that from now on when we raise our eyes to the sky and see the clouds, it is inevitable to think that even living beings exist in them. But that's how it is, and today we are going to explain how this happens. Because this world continues to have surprises and wonders where it seemed that everything was already discovered.
Who and how did the experiment?
A team in California, San Diego, and the US Scripps Oceanographic Institution, collected raindrops and crystallized water (ice) drops during a flight through the clouds. Their analysis revealed that they were composed of dust particles and other organic materials, as well as bacteria, fungal spores, and some plant debris. The analysis actually It was an attempt to decipher how they influence cloud formation., which leads us to understand the importance of types of clouds and their formation and its relationship with life in the clouds.
C-130 plane
The analysis was taken with a C-130 aircraft through the clouds. The aircraft carried a mass spectrometer and an ice chamber. The sample measurements were taken in situ, so it is very important to determine that the measurement is correct without allowing other factors to influence it. This type of research can help understand the dynamics of cloud formation in the context of climate change and how they relate to life in the clouds.
How did they get up there?
One of the conclusions that the scientists reached are the wind currents. For example, sand storms that can be caused in Asia, help the formation and crystallization of water droplets in clouds. These when they rise they carry the dust particles, how we have described, and among them the spores of fungus, bacteria, etc. It follows that precipitation falling in America could carry bacteria from Asia. This is related to studies that have shown the biological diversity in cloud systems, creating an enabling environment for life in the clouds.
Anne-Marine Schmoltner of the American National Science Foundation (NFS), who are the ones who financed the project, said: "now it has been discovered how not only inorganic dust, but also biological particles themselves, play a decisive role in the formation of clouds."
Sure enough, from now on, when you look "up there," you will see more than just condensed water vapor.