Atmospheric Transport Barriers

This movie shows the motion of a two-dimensional curtain-like atmospheric transport barrier (ATB) passing over Blacksburg. Undulating surfaces like this, calculated from meteorological data, may be important for understanding how microorganisms use the atmosphere to travel from one habitat to another, and may help predict the spread of microorganisms, diseases, and pollution in the atmosphere. In this project, we are examining the role of ATBs in the biological invasion of airborne fungi, particularly Fusarium, a disease agent which devastates many crops.