Bioaerosol particles in the stratosphere are topics of interest for aerobiological and astrobiological studies. Although various studies have succeeded in sampling bioaerosol particles in the stratosphere, limited research has been conducted to evaluate how and why these bioaerosol particles can lift up to as high as the stratospheric level. This study tested different driving forces acting on particles in the stratosphere in order to simulate the motion of particles with various bioaerosol characteristics. The findings show that small pollen-sized particles can scarcely levitate in the stratosphere, although spore-sized and dust particles attached to microorganisms such as bacteria or fungus might be able to do so.

Halophilic Archaea are known to tolerate multiple extreme conditions on Earth and have been proposed as models for astrobiology. In order to assess the importance of cold-adaptation of these microorganisms in surviving stratospheric conditions, we launched live, liquid cultures of two species, the mesophilic model Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 and the cold-adapted Antarctic isolate Halorubrum lacusprofundi ATCC 49239, on helium balloons. After return to Earth, the cold-adapted species showed nearly complete survival while the mesophilic species exhibited slightly reduced viability. Parallel studies found that the cold-adapted species was also better able to survive freezing and thawing in the laboratory. Genome-wide transcriptomic analysis was used to compare the two haloarchaea at optimum growth temperatures versus low temperatures supporting growth. The cold-adapted species displayed perturbation of a majority of genes upon cold temperature exposure, divided evenly between up-regulated and down-regulated genes, while the mesophile exhibited perturbation of only a fifth of its genes, with nearly two-thirds being down-regulated. These results underscore the importance of genetic responses of H. lacusprofundi to cold temperature for enhanced survival in the stratosphere.

Understanding the influence of solar variability on the Earth's climate requires knowledge of solar variability, solar-terrestrial interactions and observations, as well as mechanisms determining the response of the Earth's climate system. A summary of our current understanding from observational and modeling studies is presented with special focus on the “top-down” stratospheric UV and the “bottom-up” air-sea coupling mechanisms linking solar forcing and natural climate variability.

A number of studies have demonstrated that bacteria and fungi are present in the stratosphere. Since the tropopause is generally regarded as a barrier to the upward movement of particles it is difficult to see how such microorganisms can reach heights above 17 km. Volcanoes provide an obvious means by which this could be achieved, but these occur infrequently and any microorganisms entering the stratosphere from this source will rapidly fall out of the stratosphere. Here, we suggest mechanisms by which microorganisms might reach the stratosphere on a more regular basis; such mechanisms are, however, likely only to explain how micrometre to submicrometre particles could be elevated into the stratosphere. Intriguingly, clumps of bacteria of size in excess of 10 μm have been found in stratospheric samples. It is difficult to understand how such clumps could be ejected from the Earth to this height, suggesting that such bacterial masses may be incoming to Earth. We suggest that the stratospheric microflora is made up of two components: (a) a mixed population of bacteria and fungi derived from Earth, which can occasionally be cultured; and (b) a population made up of clumps of, viable but non-culturable, bacteria which are too large to have originated from Earth; these, we suggest, have arrived in the stratosphere from space. Finally, we speculate on the possibility that the transfer of bacteria from the Earth to the highly mutagenic stratosphere may have played a role in bacterial evolution.

The presence of viable, but non-cultureable, bacteria on membranes through which stratospheric air samples were passed has been confirmed using viable fluorescent staining.