Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2871-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2871-2019
Research article
 | 
06 Mar 2019
Research article |  | 06 Mar 2019

Unravelling the microphysics of polar mesospheric cloud formation

Denis Duft, Mario Nachbar, and Thomas Leisner

Related authors

The viscosity and surface tension of supercooled levitated droplets determined by excitation of shape oscillations
Mohit Singh, Stephanie Helen Jones, Alexei Kiselev, Denis Duft, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5205–5215, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5205-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5205-2023, 2023
Short summary
Optical properties of meteoric smoke analogues
Tasha Aylett, James S. A. Brooke, Alexander D. James, Mario Nachbar, Denis Duft, Thomas Leisner, and John M. C. Plane
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12767–12777, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12767-2019,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12767-2019, 2019
Short summary
The impact of solar radiation on polar mesospheric ice particle formation
Mario Nachbar, Henrike Wilms, Denis Duft, Tasha Aylett, Kensei Kitajima, Takuya Majima, John M. C. Plane, Markus Rapp, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4311–4322, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4311-2019,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4311-2019, 2019
Short summary
The vapor pressure over nano-crystalline ice
Mario Nachbar, Denis Duft, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3419–3431, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3419-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3419-2018, 2018
Short summary
PHIPS–HALO: the airborne Particle Habit Imaging and Polar Scattering probe – Part 1: Design and operation
Ahmed Abdelmonem, Emma Järvinen, Denis Duft, Edwin Hirst, Steffen Vogt, Thomas Leisner, and Martin Schnaiter
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3131–3144, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3131-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3131-2016, 2016
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Clouds and Precipitation | Research Activity: Laboratory Studies | Altitude Range: Mesosphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
The impact of solar radiation on polar mesospheric ice particle formation
Mario Nachbar, Henrike Wilms, Denis Duft, Tasha Aylett, Kensei Kitajima, Takuya Majima, John M. C. Plane, Markus Rapp, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4311–4322, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4311-2019,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4311-2019, 2019
Short summary
The vapor pressure over nano-crystalline ice
Mario Nachbar, Denis Duft, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3419–3431, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3419-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3419-2018, 2018
Short summary
Technical Note: VUV photodesorption rates from water ice in the 120–150 K temperature range – significance for Noctilucent Clouds
M. Yu. Kulikov, A. M. Feigin, S. K. Ignatov, P. G. Sennikov, Th. Bluszcz, and O. Schrems
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 1729–1734, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-1729-2011,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-1729-2011, 2011

Cited articles

Bardeen, C. G., Toon, O. B., Jensen, E. J., Marsh, D. R., and Harvey, V. L.: Numerical simulations of the three-dimensional distribution of meteoric dust in the mesosphere and upper stratosphere, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, D17202, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009515, 2008. 
Berger, U. and Lübken, F.-J.: Trends in mesospheric ice layers in the Northern Hemisphere during 1961–2013, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 120, 11277–11298, 2015. 
Bickes, R. W., Duquette, G., van den Meijdenberg, C. J. N., Rulis, A. M., Scoles, G., and Smith, K. M.: Molecular Beam Scattering Experiments with Polar Molecules: Measurement of Differential Collision Cross Sections for H2O+H2, He, Ne, Ar, H2O and NH3+H2, He, NH3, J. Phys. B-At. Mol. Opt., 8, 3034–3043, 1975. 
Brown, D. E., George, S. M., Huang, C., Wong, E. K. L., Rider, K. B., Smith, R. S., and Kay, B. D.: H2O Condensation Coefficient and Refractive Index for Vapor-Deposited Ice from Molecular Beam and Optical Interference Measurements, J. Phys. Chem., 100, 4988–4995, 1996. 
Carrillo-Sánchez, J. D., Nesvorný, D., Pokorný, P., Janches, D., and Plane, J. M. C.: Sources of cosmic dust in the Earth's atmosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 11979–11986, 2016. 
Download
Short summary
How ice particles form in polar mesospheric clouds is still a challenging question. We measured the water adsorption and onset conditions for ice growth on meteoric smoke analogue particles in the laboratory. We find that the particles activate by growth of amorphous ice and at much warmer conditions than previously assumed, affirming meteoric smoke as likely seeds in mesospheric ice clouds. We propose an ice-activation model and show that the particle charge does not play a significant role.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint