Articles | Volume 25, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-11317-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-11317-2025
Research article
 | 
25 Sep 2025
Research article |  | 25 Sep 2025

Homogeneous ice nucleation in adsorbed water films: a theoretical approach

Ari Laaksonen, Golnaz Roudsari, Ana A. Piedehierro, and André Welti

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Cited articles

Barahona, D.: On the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of immersion ice nucleation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17119–17141, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17119-2018, 2018. a
Boinovich, L. B. and Emelyanenko, A. M.: Experimental determination of the surface energy of polycrystalline ice, Doklady Phys. Chem., 459, 702–706, https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012501614120045, 2014. a
Chernoff, D. I. and Bertram, A. K.: Effects of sulfate coatings on the ice nucleation properties of a biological ice nucleus and several types of minerals, J. Geophys. Res., 115, D20205, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD014254, 2010. a
David, R. O., Marcolli, C., Fahrni, J., Qiu, Y., Perez Sirkin, Y. A., Molinero, V., Mahrt, F., Brühwiler, D., Lohmann, U., and Kanji, Z. A.: Pore condensation and freezing is responsible for ice formation below water saturation for porous particles, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 116, 8184–8189, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813647116, 2019. a, b, c, d
Eastwood, M. L., Cremel, S., Gehrke, C., Girard, E., and Bertram, A. K.: Ice nucleation on mineral dust particles: Onset conditions, nucleation rates and contact angles, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D22203, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010639, 2008. a
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Short summary
The mechanisms of ice nucleation at temperatures below 235 K have remained unclear for the past century. We suggest that ice nucleation is caused by the freezing of water adsorbed on aerosol surfaces. To test this hypothesis, we derived theoretical equations to predict the exact atmospheric conditions under which ice nucleation occurs. Our predictions agree well with experiments. The new theory thus provides a basis for an improved description of ice nucleation in the atmosphere.
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