Articles | Volume 19, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12397-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12397-2019
Research article
 | 
08 Oct 2019
Research article |  | 08 Oct 2019

Photomineralization mechanism changes the ability of dissolved organic matter to activate cloud droplets and to nucleate ice crystals

Nadine Borduas-Dedekind, Rachele Ossola, Robert O. David, Lin S. Boynton, Vera Weichlinger, Zamin A. Kanji, and Kristopher McNeill

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Photomineralization mechanism changes the ability of dissolved organic matter to activate cloud droplets and to nucleate ice crystals Nadine Borduas-Dedekind https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000342107

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Short summary
During atmospheric transport, dissolved organic matter (DOM) within aqueous aerosols undergoes photochemistry. We find that photochemical processing of DOM increases its ability to form cloud droplets but decreases its ability to form ice crystals over a simulated 4.6 days in the atmosphere. A photomineralization mechanism involving the loss of organic carbon and the production of organic acids, CO and CO2 explains the observed changes and affects the liquid-water-to-ice ratio in clouds.
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