https://freerepublic.com/tag/atmosphericscience/ en-us Tue, 29 Jan 2013 07:51:43 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2982966/posts Enlarge Image Hitching a ride. Hurricanes lift many kinds of microbes into the atmosphere, where they can survive for days or even weeks. Credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock Each year, hundreds of millions of metric tons of dust, water, and humanmade pollutants make their way into the atmosphere, often traveling between continents on jet streams. Now a new study confirms that some microbes make the trip with them, seeding the skies with billions of bacteria and other organisms—and potentially affecting the weather. What's more, some of these high-flying organisms may actually be able to feed while traveling through the clouds, forming an... ScienceNOW https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2982966/posts#comment Tue, 29 Jan 2013 07:51:43 GMT