Articles | Volume 24, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11133-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11133-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
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10 Oct 2024
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 10 Oct 2024
| 10 Oct 2024
Stable and unstable fall motions of plate-like ice crystal analogues
Jennifer R. Stout
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Christopher D. Westbrook
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Thorwald H. M. Stein
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Mark W. McCorquodale
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Related authors
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Karina McCusker, Anthony J. Baran, Chris Westbrook, Stuart Fox, Patrick Eriksson, Richard Cotton, Julien Delanoë, and Florian Ewald
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3533–3552, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3533-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3533-2024, 2024
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Polarised radiative transfer simulations are performed using an atmospheric model based on in situ measurements. These are compared to large polarisation measurements to explore whether such measurements can provide information on cloud ice, e.g. particle shape and orientation. We find that using oriented particle models with shapes based on imagery generally allows for accurate simulations. However, results are sensitive to shape assumptions such as the choice of single crystals or aggregates.
Nicholas J. Kedzuf, J. Christine Chiu, V. Chandrasekar, Sounak Biswas, Shashank S. Joshil, Yinghui Lu, Peter Jan van Leeuwen, Christopher Westbrook, Yann Blanchard, and Sebastian O'Shea
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6885–6904, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6885-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6885-2021, 2021
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Ice clouds play a key role in our climate system due to their strong controls on precipitation and the radiation budget. However, it is difficult to characterize co-existing ice species using radar observations. We present a new method that separates the radar signals of pristine ice embedded in snow aggregates and retrieves their respective abundances and sizes for the first time. The ability to provide their quantitative microphysical properties will open up many research opportunities.
Sebastian O'Shea, Jonathan Crosier, James Dorsey, Louis Gallagher, Waldemar Schledewitz, Keith Bower, Oliver Schlenczek, Stephan Borrmann, Richard Cotton, Christopher Westbrook, and Zbigniew Ulanowski
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1917–1939, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1917-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1917-2021, 2021
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The number, shape, and size of ice crystals in clouds are important properties that influence the Earth's radiation budget, cloud evolution, and precipitation formation. This work suggests that one of the most widely used methods for in situ measurements of these properties has significant uncertainties and biases. We suggest methods that dramatically improve these measurements, which can be applied to past and future datasets from these instruments.
Shannon L. Mason, Robin J. Hogan, Christopher D. Westbrook, Stefan Kneifel, Dmitri Moisseev, and Leonie von Terzi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4993–5018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4993-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4993-2019, 2019
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The mass contents of snowflakes are critical to remotely sensed estimates of snowfall. The signatures of snow measured at three radar frequencies can distinguish fluffy, fractal snowflakes from dense and more homogeneous rimed snow. However, we show that the shape of the particle size spectrum also has a significant impact on triple-frequency radar signatures and must be accounted for when making triple-frequency radar estimates of snow that include variations in particle structure and density.
Emma Hopkin, Anthony J. Illingworth, Cristina Charlton-Perez, Chris D. Westbrook, and Sue Ballard
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4131–4147, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4131-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4131-2019, 2019
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Ceilometers are laser cloud base recorders which retrieve information about atmospheric aerosol and differing cloud types. In order to ensure the information retrieved from the ceilometer is correct and comparable with other ceilometers in an observation network, a calibration is needed. Presented here is a novel automated calibration method, which includes a correction for the effects of water vapour in the atmosphere and shows its application on the UK Met Office's ceilometer network.
Andrew I. Barrett, Christopher D. Westbrook, John C. Nicol, and Thorwald H. M. Stein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5753–5769, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5753-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5753-2019, 2019
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We use radars at three wavelengths to study cloud properties. The full Doppler spectra (rather than calculated averages of the spectra) are compared for the radars. This allows us to estimate the size and number of ice particles within the cloud. By following the evolution of the ice particles, we observe a region where particles rapidly and consistently increase in size. The observations suggest that these large particles form through interlocking of branched arms of smaller ice particles.
A. Battaglia, C. D. Westbrook, S. Kneifel, P. Kollias, N. Humpage, U. Löhnert, J. Tyynelä, and G. W. Petty
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1527–1546, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1527-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1527-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Subject: Clouds and Precipitation | Research Activity: Laboratory Studies | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Secondary ice production – no evidence of efficient rime-splintering mechanism
Fragmentation of ice particles: laboratory experiments on graupel–graupel and graupel–snowflake collisions
Molecular simulations reveal that heterogeneous ice nucleation occurs at higher temperatures in water under capillary tension
Measurement of the collision rate coefficients between atmospheric ions and multiply charged aerosol particles in the CERN CLOUD chamber
Re-evaluating cloud chamber constraints on depositional ice growth in cirrus clouds – Part 1: Model description and sensitivity tests
Ice nucleation by smectites: the role of the edges
A single-parameter hygroscopicity model for functionalized insoluble aerosol surfaces
Mexican agricultural soil dust as a source of ice nucleating particles
The impact of (bio-)organic substances on the ice nucleation activity of the K-feldspar microcline in aqueous solutions
Secondary ice production during the break-up of freezing water drops on impact with ice particles
High homogeneous freezing onsets of sulfuric acid aerosol at cirrus temperatures
Laboratory and field studies of ice-nucleating particles from open-lot livestock facilities in Texas
Comment on “Review of experimental studies of secondary ice production” by Korolev and Leisner (2020)
Effect of chemically induced fracturing on the ice nucleation activity of alkali feldspar
Ice nucleation ability of ammonium sulfate aerosol particles internally mixed with secondary organics
Ice-nucleating particles in precipitation samples from the Texas Panhandle
Comparative study on immersion freezing utilizing single-droplet levitation methods
Exploratory experiments on pre-activated freezing nucleation on mercuric iodide
Application of holography and automated image processing for laboratory experiments on mass and fall speed of small cloud ice crystals
Review of experimental studies of secondary ice production
The role of contact angle and pore width on pore condensation and freezing
Technical note: Equilibrium droplet size distributions in a turbulent cloud chamber with uniform supersaturation
Protein aggregates nucleate ice: the example of apoferritin
No anomalous supersaturation in ultracold cirrus laboratory experiments
Lateral facet growth of ice and snow – Part 1: Observations and applications to secondary habits
The ice-nucleating ability of quartz immersed in water and its atmospheric importance compared to K-feldspar
Ice nucleation properties of K-feldspar polymorphs and plagioclase feldspars
Enhanced ice nucleation activity of coal fly ash aerosol particles initiated by ice-filled pores
A comprehensive characterization of ice nucleation by three different types of cellulose particles immersed in water
Activation of intact bacteria and bacterial fragments mixed with agar as cloud droplets and ice crystals in cloud chamber experiments
Anomalous holiday precipitation over southern China
Coal fly ash: linking immersion freezing behavior and physicochemical particle properties
Surface roughness during depositional growth and sublimation of ice crystals
Ice nucleation abilities of soot particles determined with the Horizontal Ice Nucleation Chamber
The efficiency of secondary organic aerosol particles acting as ice-nucleating particles under mixed-phase cloud conditions
Uncertainty in counting ice nucleating particles with continuous flow diffusion chambers
Experimental evidence of the rear capture of aerosol particles by raindrops
Refreeze experiments with water droplets containing different types of ice nuclei interpreted by classical nucleation theory
Pre-activation of aerosol particles by ice preserved in pores
Heterogeneous ice nucleation on dust particles sourced from nine deserts worldwide – Part 1: Immersion freezing
A comparative study of K-rich and Na/Ca-rich feldspar ice-nucleating particles in a nanoliter droplet freezing assay
Ice nucleation efficiency of AgI: review and new insights
The adsorption of fungal ice-nucleating proteins on mineral dusts: a terrestrial reservoir of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles
Exploring an approximation for the homogeneous freezing temperature of water droplets
Cloud chamber experiments on the origin of ice crystal complexity in cirrus clouds
Phase transition observations and discrimination of small cloud particles by light polarization in expansion chamber experiments
Analysis of isothermal and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model
Pre-activation of ice-nucleating particles by the pore condensation and freezing mechanism
Influence of the ambient humidity on the concentration of natural deposition-mode ice-nucleating particles
Comparison of measured and calculated collision efficiencies at low temperatures
Johanna S. Seidel, Alexei A. Kiselev, Alice Keinert, Frank Stratmann, Thomas Leisner, and Susan Hartmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5247–5263, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5247-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5247-2024, 2024
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Clouds often contain several thousand times more ice crystals than aerosol particles catalyzing ice formation. This phenomenon, commonly known as ice multiplication, is often explained by secondary ice formation due to the collisions between falling ice particles and droplets. In this study, we mimic this riming process. Contrary to earlier experiments, we found no efficient ice multiplication, which fundamentally questions the importance of the rime-splintering mechanism.
Pierre Grzegorczyk, Sudha Yadav, Florian Zanger, Alexander Theis, Subir K. Mitra, Stephan Borrmann, and Miklós Szakáll
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13505–13521, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13505-2023, 2023
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Secondary ice production generates high concentrations of ice crystals in clouds. These processes have been poorly understood. We conducted experiments at the wind tunnel laboratory of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, on graupel–graupel and graupel–snowflake collisions. From these experiments fragment number, size, cross-sectional area, and aspect ratio were determined.
Elise Rosky, Will Cantrell, Tianshu Li, Issei Nakamura, and Raymond A. Shaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10625–10642, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10625-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10625-2023, 2023
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Using computer simulations of water, we find that water under tension freezes more easily than under normal conditions. A linear equation describes how freezing temperature increases with tension. Accordingly, simulations show that naturally occurring tension in water capillary bridges leads to higher freezing temperatures. This work is an early step in determining if atmospheric cloud droplets freeze due to naturally occurring tension, for example, during processes such as droplet collisions.
Joschka Pfeifer, Naser G. A. Mahfouz, Benjamin C. Schulze, Serge Mathot, Dominik Stolzenburg, Rima Baalbaki, Zoé Brasseur, Lucia Caudillo, Lubna Dada, Manuel Granzin, Xu-Cheng He, Houssni Lamkaddam, Brandon Lopez, Vladimir Makhmutov, Ruby Marten, Bernhard Mentler, Tatjana Müller, Antti Onnela, Maxim Philippov, Ana A. Piedehierro, Birte Rörup, Meredith Schervish, Ping Tian, Nsikanabasi S. Umo, Dongyu S. Wang, Mingyi Wang, Stefan K. Weber, André Welti, Yusheng Wu, Marcel Zauner-Wieczorek, Antonio Amorim, Imad El Haddad, Markku Kulmala, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Tuukka Petäjä, António Tomé, Sander Mirme, Hanna E. Manninen, Neil M. Donahue, Richard C. Flagan, Andreas Kürten, Joachim Curtius, and Jasper Kirkby
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6703–6718, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6703-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6703-2023, 2023
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Attachment rate coefficients between ions and charged aerosol particles determine their lifetimes and may also influence cloud dynamics and aerosol processing. Here we present novel experiments that measure ion–aerosol attachment rate coefficients for multiply charged aerosol particles under atmospheric conditions in the CERN CLOUD chamber. Our results provide experimental discrimination between various theoretical models.
Kara D. Lamb, Jerry Y. Harrington, Benjamin W. Clouser, Elisabeth J. Moyer, Laszlo Sarkozy, Volker Ebert, Ottmar Möhler, and Harald Saathoff
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6043–6064, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6043-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6043-2023, 2023
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This study investigates how ice grows directly from vapor in cirrus clouds by comparing observations of populations of ice crystals growing in a cloud chamber against models developed in the context of single-crystal laboratory studies. We demonstrate that previous discrepancies between different experimental measurements do not necessarily point to different physical interpretations but are rather due to assumptions that were made in terms of how experiments were modeled in previous studies.
Anand Kumar, Kristian Klumpp, Chen Barak, Giora Rytwo, Michael Plötze, Thomas Peter, and Claudia Marcolli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4881–4902, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4881-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4881-2023, 2023
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Smectites are a major class of clay minerals that are ice nucleation (IN) active. They form platelets that swell or even delaminate in water by intercalation of water between their layers. We hypothesize that at least three smectite layers need to be stacked together to host a critical ice embryo on clay mineral edges and that the larger the surface edge area is, the higher the freezing temperature. Edge sites on such clay particles play a crucial role in imparting IN ability to such particles.
Chun-Ning Mao, Kanishk Gohil, and Akua A. Asa-Awuku
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13219–13228, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13219-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13219-2022, 2022
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The impact of molecular-level surface chemistry for aerosol water uptake and droplet growth is not well understood. In this work we show changes in water uptake due to molecular-level surface chemistry can be measured and quantified. In addition, we develop a single-parameter model, representing changes in aerosol chemistry that can be used in global climate models to reduce the uncertainty in aerosol-cloud predictions.
Diana L. Pereira, Irma Gavilán, Consuelo Letechipía, Graciela B. Raga, Teresa Pi Puig, Violeta Mugica-Álvarez, Harry Alvarez-Ospina, Irma Rosas, Leticia Martinez, Eva Salinas, Erika T. Quintana, Daniel Rosas, and Luis A. Ladino
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6435–6447, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6435-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6435-2022, 2022
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Airborne particles were i) collected in an agricultural fields and ii) generated in the laboratory from agricultural soil samples to analyze their ice nucleating abilities. It was found that the size and chemical composition of the Mexican agricultural dust particles influence their ice nucleating behavior, where the organic components are likely responsible for their efficiency as INPs. The INP concentrations from the present study are comparable to those from higher latitudes.
Kristian Klumpp, Claudia Marcolli, and Thomas Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3655–3673, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3655-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3655-2022, 2022
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Surface interactions with solutes can significantly alter the ice nucleation activity of mineral dust. Past studies revealed the sensitivity of microcline, one of the most ice-active types of dust in the atmosphere, to inorganic solutes. This study focuses on the interaction of microcline with bio-organic substances and the resulting effects on its ice nucleation activity. We observe strongly hampered ice nucleation activity due to the presence of carboxylic and amino acids but not for polyols.
Rachel L. James, Vaughan T. J. Phillips, and Paul J. Connolly
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 18519–18530, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18519-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18519-2021, 2021
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Secondary ice production (SIP) plays an important role in ice formation within mixed-phase clouds. We present a laboratory investigation of a potentially new SIP mechanism involving the collisions of supercooled water drops with ice particles. At impact, the supercooled water drop fragments form smaller secondary drops. Approximately 30 % of the secondary drops formed during the retraction phase of the supercooled water drop impact freeze over a temperature range of −4 °C to −12 °C.
Julia Schneider, Kristina Höhler, Robert Wagner, Harald Saathoff, Martin Schnaiter, Tobias Schorr, Isabelle Steinke, Stefan Benz, Manuel Baumgartner, Christian Rolf, Martina Krämer, Thomas Leisner, and Ottmar Möhler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14403–14425, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14403-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14403-2021, 2021
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Homogeneous freezing is a relevant mechanism for the formation of cirrus clouds in the upper troposphere. Based on an extensive set of homogeneous freezing experiments at the AIDA chamber with aqueous sulfuric acid aerosol, we provide a new fit line for homogeneous freezing onset conditions of sulfuric acid aerosol focusing on cirrus temperatures. In the atmosphere, homogeneous freezing thresholds have important implications on the cirrus cloud occurrence and related cloud radiative effects.
Naruki Hiranuma, Brent W. Auvermann, Franco Belosi, Jack Bush, Kimberly M. Cory, Dimitrios G. Georgakopoulos, Kristina Höhler, Yidi Hou, Larissa Lacher, Harald Saathoff, Gianni Santachiara, Xiaoli Shen, Isabelle Steinke, Romy Ullrich, Nsikanabasi S. Umo, Hemanth S. K. Vepuri, Franziska Vogel, and Ottmar Möhler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14215–14234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14215-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14215-2021, 2021
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We present laboratory and field studies showing that an open-lot livestock facility is a substantial source of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INPs). The ambient concentration of INPs from livestock facilities in Texas is very high. It is up to several thousand INPs per liter below –20 °C and may impact regional aerosol–cloud interactions. About 50% of feedlot INPs were supermicron in diameter. No notable amount of known ice-nucleating microorganisms was found in our feedlot samples.
Vaughan T. J. Phillips, Jun-Ichi Yano, Akash Deshmukh, and Deepak Waman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11941–11953, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11941-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11941-2021, 2021
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For decades, high concentrations of ice observed in precipitating mixed-phase clouds have created an enigma. Such concentrations are higher than can be explained by the action of aerosols or by the spontaneous freezing of most cloud droplets. The controversy has partly persisted due to the lack of laboratory experimentation in ice microphysics, especially regarding fragmentation of ice, a topic reviewed by a recent paper. Our comment attempts to clarify some issues with regards to that review.
Alexei A. Kiselev, Alice Keinert, Tilia Gaedeke, Thomas Leisner, Christoph Sutter, Elena Petrishcheva, and Rainer Abart
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11801–11814, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11801-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11801-2021, 2021
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Alkali feldspar is the most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust and is often present in mineral dust aerosols that are responsible for the formation of rain and snow in clouds. However, the cloud droplets containing pure potassium-rich feldspar would not freeze unless cooled down to a very low temperature. Here we show that partly replacing potassium with sodium would induce fracturing of feldspar, exposing a crystalline surface that could initiate freezing at higher temperature.
Barbara Bertozzi, Robert Wagner, Junwei Song, Kristina Höhler, Joschka Pfeifer, Harald Saathoff, Thomas Leisner, and Ottmar Möhler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10779–10798, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10779-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10779-2021, 2021
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Internally mixed particles composed of sulfate and organics are among the most abundant aerosol types. Their ice nucleation (IN) ability influences the formation of cirrus and, thus, the climate. We show that the presence of a thin organic coating suppresses the heterogeneous IN ability of crystalline ammonium sulfate particles. However, the IN ability of the same particle can substantially change if subjected to atmospheric processing, mainly due to differences in the resulting morphology.
Hemanth S. K. Vepuri, Cheyanne A. Rodriguez, Dimitrios G. Georgakopoulos, Dustin Hume, James Webb, Gregory D. Mayer, and Naruki Hiranuma
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4503–4520, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4503-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4503-2021, 2021
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Due to a high frequency of storm events, West Texas is an ideal location to study ice-nucleating particles (INPs) in severe precipitation. Our results present that cumulative INP concentration in our precipitation samples below −20 °C could be high in the samples collected while observing > 10 mm h−1 precipitation with notably large hydrometeor sizes and an implication of cattle feedyard bacteria inclusion. Marine bacteria were found in a subset of our precipitation and cattle feedyard samples.
Miklós Szakáll, Michael Debertshäuser, Christian Philipp Lackner, Amelie Mayer, Oliver Eppers, Karoline Diehl, Alexander Theis, Subir Kumar Mitra, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3289–3316, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3289-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3289-2021, 2021
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The freezing of cloud drops is promoted by ice-nucleating particles immersed in the drops. This process is essential to understand ice and subsequent precipitation formation in clouds. We investigated the efficiency of several particle types to trigger immersion freezing with two single-drop levitation techniques: a wind tunnel and an acoustic levitator. The evaluation accounted for different conditions during our two series of experiments, which is also applicable to future comparison studies.
Gabor Vali
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2551–2568, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2551-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2551-2021, 2021
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The freezing of water drops in clouds is a prime example for the role of ice-nucleating particles (INPs). Mercuric iodide particles and a few other substances can be conditioned to become very effective INPs after previous ice formation and moderate heating to melt temperatures, opening a new pathway to ice formation in the atmosphere and in other systems like tissue preservation, artificial snow making, and more.
Maximilian Weitzel, Subir K. Mitra, Miklós Szakáll, Jacob P. Fugal, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14889–14901, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14889-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14889-2020, 2020
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The properties of ice crystals smaller than 150 µm in diameter were investigated in a cold-room laboratory using digital holography and microscopy. Automated image processing has been used to determine the track of falling ice crystals, and collected crystals were melted and scanned under a microscope to infer particle mass. A parameterization relating particle size and mass was determined which describes ice crystals in this size range more accurately than existing relationships.
Alexei Korolev and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11767–11797, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11767-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11767-2020, 2020
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Secondary ice production (SIP) plays a key role in the formation of ice particles in tropospheric clouds. This work presents a critical review of the laboratory studies related to secondary ice production. It aims to identify gaps in our knowledge of SIP as well as to stimulate further laboratory studies focused on obtaining a quantitative description of efficiencies for each SIP mechanism.
Robert O. David, Jonas Fahrni, Claudia Marcolli, Fabian Mahrt, Dominik Brühwiler, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 9419–9440, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9419-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9419-2020, 2020
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Ice crystal formation plays an important role in controlling the Earth's climate. However, the mechanisms responsible for ice formation in the atmosphere are still uncertain. Here we use surrogates for atmospherically relevant porous particles to determine the role of pore diameter and wettability on the ability of porous particles to nucleate ice in the atmosphere. Our results are consistent with the pore condensation and freeing mechanism.
Steven K. Krueger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7895–7909, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7895-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7895-2020, 2020
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When CCN are injected into a turbulent cloud chamber at a constant rate, and the rate of droplet activation is balanced by the rate of droplet fallout, a steady-state droplet size distribution (DSD) can be achieved. Analytic DSDs and PDFs of droplet radius were derived for such conditions when there is uniform supersaturation. Given the chamber height, the analytic PDF is determined by the supersaturation alone. This could allow one to infer the supersaturation that produced a measured PDF.
María Cascajo-Castresana, Robert O. David, Maiara A. Iriarte-Alonso, Alexander M. Bittner, and Claudia Marcolli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3291–3315, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3291-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3291-2020, 2020
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Atmospheric ice-nucleating particles are rare but relevant for cloud glaciation. A source of particles that nucleate ice above −15 °C is biological material including some proteins. Here we show that proteins of very diverse functions and structures can nucleate ice. Among these, the iron storage protein apoferritin stands out, with activity up to −4 °C. We show that its activity does not stem from correctly assembled proteins but from misfolded protein monomers or oligomers and aggregates.
Benjamin W. Clouser, Kara D. Lamb, Laszlo C. Sarkozy, Jan Habig, Volker Ebert, Harald Saathoff, Ottmar Möhler, and Elisabeth J. Moyer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1089–1103, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1089-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1089-2020, 2020
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Previous measurements of water vapor in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS) have shown unexpectedly high concentrations of water vapor in ice clouds, which may be due to an incomplete understanding of the structure of ice and the behavior of ice growth in this part of the atmosphere. Water vapor measurements during the 2013 IsoCloud campaign at the AIDA cloud chamber show no evidence of this
anomalous supersaturationin conditions similar to the real atmosphere.
Jon Nelson and Brian D. Swanson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15285–15320, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15285-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15285-2019, 2019
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Ice crystals in clouds have a wide variety. But many crystal forms are inexplicable using the common approach of modeling the growth rates normal to the crystal faces. Instead of using only this normal-growth approach, we suggest including lateral facet growth processes. Using such lateral processes, backed up by new experiments, we give explanations for some of these puzzling forms. The forms include the center droxtal in stellar crystals, scrolls, capped columns, sheath bundles, and trigonals.
Alexander D. Harrison, Katherine Lever, Alberto Sanchez-Marroquin, Mark A. Holden, Thomas F. Whale, Mark D. Tarn, James B. McQuaid, and Benjamin J. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11343–11361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11343-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11343-2019, 2019
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Mineral dusts are a source of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) in the atmosphere. Here we present a comprehensive survey of the ice-nucleating ability of naturally occurring quartz. We show the ice-nucleating variability of quartz and its sensitivity to time spent in water and air. We propose four new parameterizations for the minerals quartz, K feldspar, albite and plagioclase to predict INP concentrations in the atmosphere and show that K-feldspar is the dominant INP type in mineral dusts.
André Welti, Ulrike Lohmann, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10901–10918, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10901-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10901-2019, 2019
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The ice nucleation ability of singly immersed feldspar particles in suspended water droplets relevant for ice crystal formation under mixed-phase cloud conditions is presented. The effects of particle size, crystal structure, trace metal and mineralogical composition are discussed by testing up to five different diameters in the submicron range and nine different feldspar samples at conditions relevant for ice nucleation in mixed-phase clouds.
Nsikanabasi Silas Umo, Robert Wagner, Romy Ullrich, Alexei Kiselev, Harald Saathoff, Peter G. Weidler, Daniel J. Cziczo, Thomas Leisner, and Ottmar Möhler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8783–8800, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8783-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8783-2019, 2019
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Annually, over 600 Tg of coal fly ash (CFA) is produced; a significant proportion of this amount is injected into the atmosphere, which could significantly contribute to heterogeneous ice formation in clouds. This study presents an improved understanding of CFA particles' behaviour in forming ice in clouds, especially when exposed to lower temperatures before being re-circulated in the upper troposphere or entrained into the lower troposphere.
Naruki Hiranuma, Kouji Adachi, David M. Bell, Franco Belosi, Hassan Beydoun, Bhaskar Bhaduri, Heinz Bingemer, Carsten Budke, Hans-Christian Clemen, Franz Conen, Kimberly M. Cory, Joachim Curtius, Paul J. DeMott, Oliver Eppers, Sarah Grawe, Susan Hartmann, Nadine Hoffmann, Kristina Höhler, Evelyn Jantsch, Alexei Kiselev, Thomas Koop, Gourihar Kulkarni, Amelie Mayer, Masataka Murakami, Benjamin J. Murray, Alessia Nicosia, Markus D. Petters, Matteo Piazza, Michael Polen, Naama Reicher, Yinon Rudich, Atsushi Saito, Gianni Santachiara, Thea Schiebel, Gregg P. Schill, Johannes Schneider, Lior Segev, Emiliano Stopelli, Ryan C. Sullivan, Kaitlyn Suski, Miklós Szakáll, Takuya Tajiri, Hans Taylor, Yutaka Tobo, Romy Ullrich, Daniel Weber, Heike Wex, Thomas F. Whale, Craig L. Whiteside, Katsuya Yamashita, Alla Zelenyuk, and Ottmar Möhler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4823–4849, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4823-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4823-2019, 2019
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A total of 20 ice nucleation measurement techniques contributed to investigate the immersion freezing behavior of cellulose particles – natural polymers. Our data showed several types of cellulose are able to nucleate ice as efficiently as some mineral dust samples and cellulose has the potential to be an important atmospheric ice-nucleating particle. Continued investigation/collaboration is necessary to obtain further insight into consistency or diversity of ice nucleation measurements.
Kaitlyn J. Suski, David M. Bell, Naruki Hiranuma, Ottmar Möhler, Dan Imre, and Alla Zelenyuk
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17497–17513, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17497-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17497-2018, 2018
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This work investigates the cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleation activity of bacteria using cloud chamber data and a single particle mass spectrometer. The size and chemical composition of the cloud residuals show that bacterial fragments mixed with agar growth media activate preferentially over intact bacteria cells as cloud condensation nuclei. Intact bacteria cells do not make it into cloud droplets; they thus cannot serve as immersion-mode ice nucleating particles.
Jiahui Zhang, Dao-Yi Gong, Rui Mao, Jing Yang, Ziyin Zhang, and Yun Qian
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 16775–16791, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16775-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16775-2018, 2018
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The Chinese Spring Festival (also known as the Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year) is the most important festival in China. This paper reports that during the Chinese Spring Festival, the precipitation over southern China has been significantly reduced. The precipitation reduction is due to anomalous northerly winds. We suppose that anomalous atmospheric circulation is likely related to the human activity during holidays. It is an interesting phenomenon.
Sarah Grawe, Stefanie Augustin-Bauditz, Hans-Christian Clemen, Martin Ebert, Stine Eriksen Hammer, Jasmin Lubitz, Naama Reicher, Yinon Rudich, Johannes Schneider, Robert Staacke, Frank Stratmann, André Welti, and Heike Wex
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13903–13923, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13903-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13903-2018, 2018
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In this study, coal fly ash particles immersed in supercooled cloud droplets were analyzed concerning their freezing behavior. Additionally, physico-chemical particle properties (morphology, chemical composition, crystallography) were investigated. In combining both aspects, components that potentially contribute to the observed freezing behavior of the ash could be identified. Interactions at the particle-water interface, that depend on suspension time and influence freezing, are discussed.
Jens Voigtländer, Cedric Chou, Henner Bieligk, Tina Clauss, Susan Hartmann, Paul Herenz, Dennis Niedermeier, Georg Ritter, Frank Stratmann, and Zbigniew Ulanowski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13687–13702, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13687-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13687-2018, 2018
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Surface roughness of ice crystals has recently been acknowledged to strongly influence the radiative properties of cold clouds such as cirrus, but it is unclear how this roughness arises. The study investigates the origins of ice surface roughness under a variety of atmospherically relevant conditions, using a novel method to measure roughness quantitatively. It is found that faster growth leads to stronger roughness. Roughness also increases following repeated growth–sublimation cycles.
Fabian Mahrt, Claudia Marcolli, Robert O. David, Philippe Grönquist, Eszter J. Barthazy Meier, Ulrike Lohmann, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13363–13392, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13363-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13363-2018, 2018
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The ice nucleation ability of different soot particles in the cirrus and mixed-phase cloud temperature regime is presented. The impact of aerosol particle size, particle morphology, organic matter and hydrophilicity on ice nucleation is examined. We propose ice nucleation proceeds via a pore condensation freezing mechanism for soot particles with the necessary physicochemical properties that nucleated ice well below water saturation.
Wiebke Frey, Dawei Hu, James Dorsey, M. Rami Alfarra, Aki Pajunoja, Annele Virtanen, Paul Connolly, and Gordon McFiggans
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 9393–9409, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9393-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9393-2018, 2018
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The coupled system of the Manchester Aerosol Chamber and Manchester Ice Cloud Chamber was used to study the ice-forming abilities of secondary
organic aerosol particles under mixed-phase cloud conditions. Given the vast abundance of secondary organic particles in the atmosphere, they
might present an important contribution to ice-nucleating particles. However, we find that in the studied temperature range (20 to 28 °C)
the secondary organic particles do not nucleate ice particles.
Sarvesh Garimella, Daniel A. Rothenberg, Martin J. Wolf, Robert O. David, Zamin A. Kanji, Chien Wang, Michael Rösch, and Daniel J. Cziczo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10855–10864, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10855-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10855-2017, 2017
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This study investigates systematic and variable low bias in the measurement of ice nucleating particle concentration using continuous flow diffusion chambers. We find that non-ideal instrument behavior exposes particles to different humidities and/or temperatures than predicted from theory. We use a machine learning approach to quantify and minimize the uncertainty associated with this measurement bias.
Pascal Lemaitre, Arnaud Querel, Marie Monier, Thibault Menard, Emmanuel Porcheron, and Andrea I. Flossmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 4159–4176, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4159-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4159-2017, 2017
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We present new measurements of the efficiency with which aerosol particles are collected by raindrops. These measurements provide the link to reconcile the scavenging coefficients obtained from theoretical approaches with those from experimental studies. We provide proof of the rear capture that is a fundamental effect on submicroscopic particles. Finally, we propose an expression to take into account this mechanism to calculate the collection efficiency for drops within the rain size range.
Lukas Kaufmann, Claudia Marcolli, Beiping Luo, and Thomas Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3525–3552, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3525-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3525-2017, 2017
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To improve the understanding of heterogeneous ice nucleation, we have subjected different ice nuclei to repeated freezing cycles and evaluated the freezing temperatures with different parameterizations of classical nucleation theory. It was found that two fit parameters were necessary to describe the temperature dependence of the nucleation rate.
Claudia Marcolli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1595–1622, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1595-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1595-2017, 2017
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Laboratory studies from the last century have shown that some types of particles are susceptible to pre-activation, i.e. they are able to develop macroscopic ice at warmer temperatures or lower relative humidities after they had been involved in an ice nucleation event before. This review analyses these works under the presumption that pre-activation occurs by ice preserved in pores, and it discusses atmospheric scenarios for which pre-activation might be important.
Yvonne Boose, André Welti, James Atkinson, Fabiola Ramelli, Anja Danielczok, Heinz G. Bingemer, Michael Plötze, Berko Sierau, Zamin A. Kanji, and Ulrike Lohmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15075–15095, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15075-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15075-2016, 2016
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We compare the immersion freezing behavior of four airborne to 11 surface-collected dust samples to investigate the role of different minerals for atmospheric ice nucleation on desert dust. We find that present K-feldspars dominate at T > 253 K, while quartz does at colder temperatures, and surface-collected dust samples are not necessarily representative for airborne dust. For improved ice cloud prediction, modeling of quartz and feldspar emission and transport are key.
Andreas Peckhaus, Alexei Kiselev, Thibault Hiron, Martin Ebert, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 11477–11496, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11477-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11477-2016, 2016
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The precipitation in midlatitude clouds proceeds predominantly via nucleation of ice in the supercooled droplets containing foreign inclusions, like feldspar mineral dust, that have been recently identified as one of the most active ice nucleating agents in the atmosphere. We have built an apparatus to observe the freezing of feldspar immersed in up to 1500 identical droplets simultaneously. With this setup we investigated four feldspar samples and show that it can induce freezing at −5 °C.
Claudia Marcolli, Baban Nagare, André Welti, and Ulrike Lohmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8915–8937, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8915-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8915-2016, 2016
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Silver iodide is one of the best-investigated ice nuclei. It has relevance for the atmosphere since it is used for glaciogenic cloud seeding. Nevertheless, many open questions remain. This paper gives an overview of silver iodide as an ice nucleus and tries to identify the factors that influence the ice nucleation ability of silver iodide.
Daniel O'Sullivan, Benjamin J. Murray, James F. Ross, and Michael E. Webb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7879–7887, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7879-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7879-2016, 2016
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In the absence of particles which can trigger freezing, cloud droplets can exist in a supercooled liquid state well below the melting point. However, the sources of efficient ice-nucleating particles in the atmosphere are uncertain. Here we show that ice-nucleating proteins produced by soil fungi can bind to clay particles in soils. Hence, the subsequent dispersion of soil particles into the atmosphere acts as a route through which biological ice nucleators can influence clouds.
Kuan-Ting O and Robert Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7239–7249, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7239-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7239-2016, 2016
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In this work, based on the well-known formulae of classical nucleation theory (CNT), the temperature at which the mean number of critical embryos inside a droplet is unity is derived from the Boltzmann distribution function and explored as a new simplified approximation for homogeneous freezing temperature. It thus appears that the simplicity of this approximation makes it potentially useful for predicting homogeneous freezing temperatures of water droplets in the atmosphere.
Martin Schnaiter, Emma Järvinen, Paul Vochezer, Ahmed Abdelmonem, Robert Wagner, Olivier Jourdan, Guillaume Mioche, Valery N. Shcherbakov, Carl G. Schmitt, Ugo Tricoli, Zbigniew Ulanowski, and Andrew J. Heymsfield
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5091–5110, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5091-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5091-2016, 2016
Leonid Nichman, Claudia Fuchs, Emma Järvinen, Karoliina Ignatius, Niko Florian Höppel, Antonio Dias, Martin Heinritzi, Mario Simon, Jasmin Tröstl, Andrea Christine Wagner, Robert Wagner, Christina Williamson, Chao Yan, Paul James Connolly, James Robert Dorsey, Jonathan Duplissy, Sebastian Ehrhart, Carla Frege, Hamish Gordon, Christopher Robert Hoyle, Thomas Bjerring Kristensen, Gerhard Steiner, Neil McPherson Donahue, Richard Flagan, Martin William Gallagher, Jasper Kirkby, Ottmar Möhler, Harald Saathoff, Martin Schnaiter, Frank Stratmann, and António Tomé
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3651–3664, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3651-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3651-2016, 2016
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Processes in the atmosphere are often governed by the physical and chemical properties of small cloud particles. Ice, water, and mixed clouds, as well as viscous aerosols, were formed under controlled conditions at the CLOUD-CERN facility. The experimental results show a link between cloud particle properties and their unique optical fingerprints. The classification map presented here allows easier discrimination between various particles such as viscous organic aerosol, salt, ice, and liquid.
Peter A. Alpert and Daniel A. Knopf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2083–2107, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2083-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2083-2016, 2016
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A stochastic immersion freezing model is introduced capable of reproducing laboratory data for a variety of experimental methods using a time and surface area dependent ice nucleation process. The assumption that droplets contain identical surface area is evaluated. A quantitative uncertainty analysis of the laboratory observed freezing process is presented. Our results imply that ice nuclei surface area assumptions are crucial for interpretation of experimental immersion freezing results.
Robert Wagner, Alexei Kiselev, Ottmar Möhler, Harald Saathoff, and Isabelle Steinke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2025–2042, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2025-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2025-2016, 2016
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We have investigated the enhancement of the ice nucleation ability of well-known and abundant ice nucleating particles like dust grains due to pre-activation. Temporary exposure to a low temperature (228 K) provokes that pores and surface cracks of the particles are filled with ice, which makes them better nuclei for the growth of macroscopic ice crystals at high temperatures (245–260 K).
M. L. López and E. E. Ávila
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 927–932, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-927-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-927-2016, 2016
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This work deals with the origin and nature of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INPs). An accurate determination of the atmospheric INP concentration is relevant since INPs induce freezing in clouds, thus initiating an efficient mechanism for cloud particles to reach a precipitating size.
The effect of relative humidity on the INP concentration at ground level was analyzed and discussed.
B. Nagare, C. Marcolli, O. Stetzer, and U. Lohmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13759–13776, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13759-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13759-2015, 2015
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We determined collision efficiencies of cloud droplets with aerosol particles experimentally and found that they were around 1 order of magnitude higher than theoretical formulations that include Brownian diffusion, impaction, interception, thermophoretic, diffusiophoretic and electric forces. This is most probably due to uncertainties and inaccuracies in the theoretical formulations of thermophoretic and diffusiophoretic processes.
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Executive editor
Among the most important atmospheric processes to humans is precipitation, which may take the liquid phase (rainfall) or ice phase (snowfall) at the Earth's surface. However, the great majority of precipitation reaching the Earth's surface passes through an ice phase before melting, and thus descends some distance through the atmosphere at a rate that is commonly understood to depend on ice particle shape. While it is colloquially said that no two snowflakes are exactly alike, their shapes do fall into a range of categories. In this work, a common diversity of ice crystal shapes are reproduced via 3D printing and their shapes are found to lead to a range of stable and unstable patterns of motion, such as zigzagging or spiraling. These motions are systematically investigated and characterized. Such advances in understanding the variability of ice fall speeds bear on a wide range of disciplines including climate forecasting and a variety of approaches to remote sensing of atmospheric conditions. [Videos are recommended accompaniment.]
Among the most important atmospheric processes to humans is precipitation, which may take the...
Short summary
This study uses 3D-printed ice crystal analogues falling in a water–glycerine mix and observed with multi-view cameras, simulating atmospheric conditions. Four types of motion are observed: stable, zigzag, transitional, and spiralling. Particle shape strongly influences motion; complex shapes have a wider range of conditions where they fall steadily compared to simple plates. The most common orientation of unstable particles is non-horizontal, contrary to prior assumptions of always horizontal.
This study uses 3D-printed ice crystal analogues falling in a water–glycerine mix and observed...
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