Overview
- Researchers observed bacteria inside fog droplets growing and dividing, confirming that fog acts as a short-lived aquatic habitat.
- Fewer than 1% of droplets carried microbes, yet pooled fog water held ocean-like concentrations, roughly 10 million bacteria per thimble.
- Methylobacteria became more abundant during fog events and used formaldehyde as a carbon source, breaking excess amounts down into carbon dioxide.
- The team sampled radiation fog in calm Pennsylvania valleys to track the same air before, during, and after fog, then verified activity under the microscope.
- The results signal practical steps and open questions, including purifying harvested fog water, possible changes to local air chemistry if microbes are removed, and updating weather and climate models to include biological processes.