Dear Alain,

I would not quite say that biological aerosols have been "almost totally ignored" in atmospheric sciences. For a review of the field, see

http://journals.co-action.net/index.php/tellusb/article/view/15598/19973

and

https://www.biogeosciences.net/5/1073/2008/bg-5-1073-2008.pdf

Here is a paper specifically dedicated to fungal spores:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009GL037493/full

Somewhat more recent papers include:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022407314002672

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169809516301995

Distinguishing biological from mineral aerosols is no easy task, though recent findings look promising:

http://news.mit.edu/2017/dan-cziczo-maria-zawadowicz-measuring-biological-dust-in-upper-atmosphere-0620

Substantial research has also focused on the interaction between atmospheric (mineral) aerosols, such as dust, and respiratory diseases, including meningitis, for instance:

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1306640/

What may happen, though, is that much of the literature on biological aerosols is located in medical journals, while atmospheric scientists may tend to agglomerate biological aerosols either as a single category, or perhaps assimilate them with other types of aerosols.

My guess is that atmospheric scientists will need to pay more attention to biological aerosols specifically if and when those will have been shown to have effects on the climate that are significantly different than non-biological aerosols, and/or when researchers will pay more attention to the interface between climate and health.

Cheers, Michel.

Great stuff.

Thank you so much Michel.

The fact that you are the only who has answered so far let me think that the field is almost ignored by atmospheric scientists :)

I will review your references.

Thanks again

Cheers

Yes, I agree with your point. I think one of the major constraints is characterization of bioaerosols. Using a passive sampler, we can address the amount of bioaerosols present within the atmosphere but in order to characterize it, we require very specific skills