Culturable bacteria in Himalayan ice in response to atmospheric circulation

• Main Authors: Zhang, S., Hou, S., Ma, X., Qin, D., Chen, T.
• Other Authors: Laboratory of Cryosphere and Environment, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing (CAS)-Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing (CAS), School of Life Science
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2006
• Subjects: [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO]; [SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]; [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces; environment; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences; ice core
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00297813; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00297813/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00297813/file/bgd-3-765-2006.pdf

International audience Only recently has specific attention been given to culturable bacteria in Tibetan glaciers, but their relation to atmospheric circulation is less understood yet. Here we investigate the seasonal variation of culturable bacteria preserved in a Himalayan ice core. High concentration of culturable bacteria in glacial ice deposited during the pre-monsoon season is attributed to the transportation of continental dust stirred up by the frequent dust storms in Northwest China during spring. This is also confirmed by the spatial distribution of culturable bacteria in Tibetan glaciers. Culturable bacteria deposited during monsoon season are more diverse than other seasons because they derive from both marine air masses and local or regional continental sources. We suggest that microorganisms in Himalayan ice can be used to reconstruct atmospheric circulation.