Microbes in the sea surface microlayer (SML) are key to connecting the ocean and the atmosphere, affecting the exchange of matter, momentum, and heat at the interface. However, their sources have never been quantified systematically. Seawater has long been deemed their major source, whereas atmospheric deposition is regarded as trivial or merely providing additional nutrients.
By combining atmospheric observations and quantitative budget analyses, the research shows that during the Indonesian peatland wildfire events the smoke can directly deposit abundant microbes into the SML, which can be comparable to the estimated supply from seawater and potentially diversify the microbial community of the SML (Figure 1). This land-air-ocean interaction is relevant for global climate, as it may induce previously unknown effects on the air-sea interactions, especially in an increasingly warming future with more intensifying wildfires.
Figure 1. Wildfire smoke supplies microbes and additional nutrients to the sea surface microlayer
This study for the first time quantifies the budget of the microbes in the sea surface layer. It has just been published on Limnology and Oceanography entitled “Mass deposition of microbes from wildfire smoke to the sea surface microlayer”. The first author is Prof. Siyao Yue, who is now working at Nanjing University as an assistant professor. Prof. Pingqing Fu, Prof. Yafang Cheng, and Prof. Senchao Lai are the corresponding authors. This research received the support from National Natural Science Foundation of China, Max Planck Society, the Minerva Program, and the Scholarship of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Joint Ph.D. Training Program.
About the article: Siyao Yue, Yafang Cheng*, Lishan Zheng, Senchao Lai*, Shan Wang, Tianli Song, Linjie Li, Ping Li, Jialei Zhu, Meng Li, Lianfang Wei, Chaoqun Ma, Rui Jin, Yingyi Zhang, Yele Sun, Zifa Wang, Kimitaka Kawamura, Cong-Qiang Liu, Hang Su, Meinrat O. Andreae, and Pingqing Fu* (2025) Mass deposition of microbes from wildfire smoke to the sea surface microlayer. Limnology and Oceanography, https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lno.70078.
