Total number of prokaryotes over land in bottom 3 km of the atmosphere
| Range | ~5E+19 cfu |
|---|---|
| Organism | prokaryote |
| Reference | William B. Whitman,*† David C. Coleman,‡ and William J. Wiebe. Prokaryotes: The unseen majority. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 June 9 95(12): 6580 right column 2nd paragraphPubMed ID9618454 |
| Primary Source | Fulton JD. Microorganisms of the upper atmosphere. IV. Microorganisms of a land air mass as it traverses an ocean. Appl Microbiol. 1966 Mar14(2):241-4. AND Fulton JD. Microorganisms of the upper atmosphere. V. Relationship between frontal activity and the micropopulation at altitude. Appl Microbiol. 1966 Mar14(2):245-50. AND Lighthart, B. & Stetzenbach, L. D. (1994) in Atmospheric Microbial Aerosols, eds. Lighthart, B. & Mohr, A. J. (Chapman & Hall, New York), pp. 68–98.PubMed ID6006417, 6006418 |
| Comments | "For the bottom 3 km of the atmosphere, the total number of prokaryotes over land is about 5?10^19 cfu (calculated from primary sources), a value so low that it is unlikely that airborne prokaryotes represent a large fraction of the total number of prokaryotes." |
| Entered by | Uri M |
| ID | 108507 |