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Live pine pollen in rainwater: reconstructing its long-range transport

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Abstract

Raindrops brim with pollen even when there is no ambient local pollen. How does this nonlocal pollen get inside rain? The likely answer is long-range transport beneath or inside clouds. To test this hypothesis, we captured rain-delivered pollen on Ocracoke Island, NC, USA over a 12-day interval before local pine pollen release then reconstructed its trajectory and its atmospheric exposure conditions. Findings were as follows: four rain episodes yielded a total of 632 pollen grains of which 6.7% germinated. To find pollen sources, we first identified pollen-releasing forested areas using a predictive heat sum equation for each rain episode. Next, we constructed the backward trajectory for air parcels carrying rain-delivered pollen from those forests using the MLDP atmospheric transport and dispersion model. Nonlocal sources were located at distances up to 300 km from Ocracoke Island and distances lessened with each successive episode. Below-cloud transport time was 8 and 17 h for Episodes A and B, respectively. Pollen grains were exposed to harsh atmospheric conditions during below-cloud transport, yet some grains still germinated. Atmospheric turbulence patterns changed for each episode, so distance from pollen source was poorly correlated with pollen transport time. Pollen germination was not closely correlated with either distances or transport time. In-cloud transport was more likely for pollen sampled during Episodes C and D. Pine pollen, although rarely allergenic, brings fresh insights into how atmospheric events can trigger human respiratory distress.

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Fig. 1
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Fig. 5

Source receptor sensitivity (SRS) for Episode A on (a) April 1, 2013, at 00UTC, (b) March 31 at 22UTC, and for Episode B on (c) April 3 at 06UTC, and (d) April 2 at 22UTC. Panels (e) and (f) show the Lagrangian particle heights for (e) Episode C on April 4 at 22UTC and (f) Episode D on April 12 at 18UTC. Ocracoke Island pollen sampling locations (gray dot), weather stations providing data for the heat sum model (triangles) and P. taeda range (black bold line) are also shown

Fig. 6

source areas of Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, SC (Episode A) and Cape Fear River Basin, NC (Episode B). The polygons depict the areas considered for the source regions

Fig. 7
Fig. 8

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Notes

  1. This is expressed on Eastern Standard Time. If expressed on UTC, then sampling took place on Julian dates would be 91, 93, 94, 95 and 102.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to F. Bridgwater at USDA-Forest Service; to M Greenwood at University of Maine; and to Dov Bensimon and Alain Malo from Environment and Climate Change Canada for their comments and suggestions reviewing this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, American University, Washington, DC, USA

    Claire G. Williams

  2. Canadian Centre for Meteorological and Environmental Prediction, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Dorval, QC, Canada

    Philippe Barnéoud

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  1. Claire G. Williams
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Correspondence to Claire G. Williams.

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Williams, C.G., Barnéoud, P. Live pine pollen in rainwater: reconstructing its long-range transport. Aerobiologia 37, 333–350 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-021-09697-5

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