What is aerobiology ?

Aerobiological research is often carried out in close connection to questions concerning pollen and spore allergy. One important question in such a field of research is how to prevent a person from developing pollen allergy. A way of prevention is, naturally, to try to avoid exposure to allergenic pollen as far as possible. How can one do this without locking himself into a cellar? Well, that is only one good question for aerobiological research. Another question could be how do pollen and pollution interact?

Through understanding of the processes involved in development and dispersal of pollen grains, we could learn to predict when a species is about to shed its pollen and how high the total amount will be. Studying the processes that determine the transport and spread of pollen and spores in the atmosphere will provide data to calculate where pollen and spores will be deposited. Finally, by studying the allergenic symptoms in allergic people, we could learn to alleviate the reaction of the human body to these essentially harmless allergens.

As described above, aerobiology is a broad field of science that is correlated with biology, meteorology, physics and medicine. Today, aerobiological research engages hundreds of scientists across the world.