Shows links between bioaerosols and precipitation dynamics in a coastal city, suggesting significant atmospheric impacts.
Viruses constitute a significant subset of bioaerosols whose roles in cloud ice processes remain understudied. Continuous observations of viruses and total airborne microbes (TAMs) in precipitation were conducted in Qingdao from March 2024 to December 2025. While the concentrations of total water‐soluble ions and TAMs decreased, wet‐season viral concentration ((2.38 ± 1.16) × 10 3 VLPs mL −1 ) slightly exceeded dry‐season concentration ((2.29 ± 1.64) × 10 3 VLPs mL −1 ). The same tendency in 2025 indicated a consistent yet small seasonal contrast across both years. Statistical analyses revealed time‐lagged linkages among precipitation, viral abundance, and total column cloud ice water (TCCIW). Event‐scale analysis showed that elevated viral abundance coincided with enhanced TCCIW and warmer cloud top temperatures (T* = −10.13°C), aligned with microphysical conditions favorable for heterogeneous ice nucleation. These observations indicate that viruses may represent a dynamically responsive component of the atmospheric ice‐nucleating particle reservoir.
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Ai et al. (2026) studied this question.
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