scholarly journals Ice nucleation by combustion ash particles at conditions relevant to mixed-phase clouds

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 5195-5210 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. S. Umo ◽  
B. J. Murray ◽  
M. T. Baeza-Romero ◽  
J. M. Jones ◽  
A. R. Lea-Langton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Coal Fly Ash ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Bottom Ash ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Ice-nucleating particles can modify cloud properties with implications for climate and the hydrological cycle; hence, it is important to understand which aerosol particle types nucleate ice and how efficiently they do so. It has been shown that aerosol particles such as natural dusts, volcanic ash, bacteria and pollen can act as ice-nucleating particles, but the ice-nucleating ability of combustion ashes has not been studied. Combustion ashes are major by-products released during the combustion of solid fuels and a significant amount of these ashes are emitted into the atmosphere either during combustion or via aerosolization of bottom ashes. Here, we show that combustion ashes (coal fly ash, wood bottom ash, domestic bottom ash, and coal bottom ash) nucleate ice in the immersion mode at conditions relevant to mixed-phase clouds. Hence, combustion ashes could play an important role in primary ice formation in mixed-phase clouds, especially in clouds that are formed near the emission source of these aerosol particles. In order to quantitatively assess the impact of combustion ashes on mixed-phase clouds, we propose that the atmospheric abundance of combustion ashes should be quantified since up to now they have mostly been classified together with mineral dust particles. Also, in reporting ice residue compositions, a distinction should be made between natural mineral dusts and combustion ashes in order to quantify the contribution of combustion ashes to atmospheric ice nucleation.

scholarly journals Ice nucleation by combustion ash particles at conditions relevant to mixed-phase clouds

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 28845-28883
Author(s):  
N. S. Umo ◽  
B. J. Murray ◽  
M. T. Baeza-Romero ◽  
J. M. Jones ◽  
A. R. Lea-Langton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Coal Fly Ash ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Bottom Ash ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Ice nucleating particles can modify cloud properties with implications for climate and the hydrological cycle; hence, it is important to understand which aerosol particle types nucleate ice and how efficiently they do so. It has been shown that aerosol particles such as natural dusts, volcanic ash, bacteria and pollen can act as ice nucleating particles, but the ice nucleating ability of combustion ashes has not been studied. Combustion ashes are major by-products released during the combustion of solid fuels and a significant amount of these ashes are emitted into the atmosphere either during combustion or via aerosolization of bottom ashes. Here, we show that combustion ashes (coal fly ash, wood bottom ash, domestic bottom ash, and coal bottom ash) nucleate ice in the immersion mode at conditions relevant to mixed-phase clouds. Hence, combustion ashes could play an important role in primary ice formation in mixed-phase clouds, especially in clouds that are formed near the emission source of these aerosol particles. In order to quantitatively assess the impact of combustion ashes on mixed-phase clouds, we propose that the atmospheric abundance of combustion ashes should be quantified since up to now they have mostly been classified together with mineral dust particles. Also, in reporting ice residue compositions, a distinction should be made between natural mineral dusts and combustion ashes in order to quantify the contribution of combustion ashes to atmospheric ice nucleation.

scholarly journals The efficiency of secondary organic aerosol particles to act as ice nucleating particles at mixed-phase cloud conditions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiebke Frey ◽  
Dawei Hu ◽  
James Dorsey ◽  
M. Rami Alfarra ◽  
Aki Pajunoja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Organic Aerosol ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Organic Aerosol ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Ice Cloud ◽  
Liquid Saturation ◽  
Reference Experiment ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds

Abstract. Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) particles have been found to be efficient ice nucleating particles under the cold conditions of (tropical) upper tropospheric cirrus clouds. Whether they also are efficient at initiating freezing at slightly warmer conditions as found in mixed phase clouds remains undetermined. Here, we study the ice nucleating ability of photo-chemically produced SOA particles with the combination of the Manchester Aerosol and Ice Cloud Chambers. Three SOA systems were tested resembling biogenic/anthropogenic particles and particles of different phase state. After the aerosol particles were formed, they were transferred into the cloud chamber where subsequent quasi-adiabatic cloud evacuations were performed. Additionally, the ice forming abilities of ammonium sulfate and kaolinite were investigated as a reference to test the experimental setup. Clouds were formed in the temperature range of −20 °C to −28.6 °C. Only the reference experiment using dust particles showed evidence of ice nucleation. No ice particles were observed in any other experiment. Thus, we conclude that SOA particles produced under the conditions of the reported experiments are not efficient ice nucleating particles starting at liquid saturation under mixed-phase cloud conditions.

scholarly journals Toward Improved Cloud-Phase Simulation with a Mineral Dust and Temperature-Dependent Parameterization for Ice Nucleation in Mixed-Phase Clouds

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
pp. 3655-3667
Author(s):  
Songmiao Fan ◽  
Paul Ginoux ◽  
Charles J. Seman ◽  
Levi G. Silvers ◽  
Ming Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Supercooled Liquid ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Model Simulations ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds

Abstract Mixed-phase clouds are frequently observed in the atmosphere. Here we present a parameterization for ice crystal concentration and ice nucleation rate based on parcel model simulations for mixed-phase stratocumulus clouds, as a complement to a previous parameterization for stratus clouds. The parcel model uses a singular (time independent) description for deposition nucleation and a time-dependent description for condensation nucleation and immersion freezing on mineral dust particles. The mineral dust and temperature-dependent parameterizations have been implemented in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory atmosphere model, version 4.0 (AM4.0) (new), while the standard AM4.0 (original) uses a temperature-dependent parameterization. Model simulations with the new and original AM4.0 show significant changes in cloud properties and radiative effects. In comparison to measurements, cloud-phase (i.e., liquid and ice partitioning) simulation appears to be improved in the new AM4.0. More supercooled liquid cloud is predicted in the new model, it is sustained even at temperatures lower than −25°C unlike in the original model. A more accurate accounting of ice nucleating particles and ice crystals is essential for improved cloud-phase simulation in the global atmosphere.

Towards a molecular-based parameterization of the ice nucleation activity of biological macromolecules and its implications for aerosol-cloud interactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minghui Zhang ◽  
Amina Khaled ◽  
Pierre Amato ◽  
Anne-Marie Delort ◽  
Barbara Ervens
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Active Surface ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

<p>Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) play an important role in mixed-phase clouds as they nucleate ice even at temperatures of T > -10 °C. Current parameterizations of PBAP ice nucleation are based on ice nucleation active surface site (INAS) densities that are derived from freezing experiments. However, only a small fraction of the PBAP surface is responsible for their ice nucleation activity, such as proteins of bacteria cells, fungal spores, pollen polysaccharides and other (unidentified) macromolecules. Based on literature data, we refine the INAS density parameterizations by further parameters:</p><p>1) We demonstrate that the ice nucleation activity of such individual macromolecules is much higher than that of PBAPs. It can be shown that INAS of PBAPs can be scaled by the surface fraction of these ice-nucleating molecules.</p><p>2) Previous studies suggested that ice nucleation activity tends to be higher for larger macromolecules and their aggregates. We show that these trends hold true for various groups of macromolecules that comprise PBAPs.</p><p>Based on these trends, we suggest a more refined parameterization for ice-nucleating macromolecules in different types of PBAPs and even for different species of bacteria, fungi, and pollen. This new parameterization can be considered a step towards a molecular-based approach to predict the ice nucleation activity of the macromolecules in PBAPs based on their biological and chemical properties.</p><p>We implement both the traditional INAS parameterization for complete PBAPs and our parameterization for individual molecules in an adiabatic cloud parcel model. The extent will be discussed to which the two parameterizations result in different cloud properties of mixed-phase clouds.</p>

scholarly journals The potential influence of Asian and African mineral dust on ice, mixed-phase and liquid water clouds

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 4027-4077 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Wiacek ◽  
T. Peter ◽  
U. Lohmann
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Water ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Dust Emission ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Ice Clouds ◽  
Cloud Processing ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds

Abstract. This modelling study explores the availability of mineral dust particles as ice nuclei for interactions with ice, mixed-phase and liquid water clouds, also tracking the particles' history of cloud-processing. We performed 61 320 one-week forward trajectory calculations originating near the surface of major dust emitting regions in Africa and Asia using high-resolution meteorological analysis fields for the year 2007. Without explicitly modelling dust emission and deposition processes, dust-bearing trajectories were assumed to be those coinciding with known dust emission seasons. We found that dust emissions from Asian deserts lead to a higher potential for interactions with high clouds, despite being the climatologically much smaller dust emission source. This is due to Asian regions experiencing significantly more ascent than African regions, with strongest ascent in the Asian Taklimakan desert at ~25%, ~40% and 10% of trajectories ascending to 300 hPa in spring, summer and fall, respectively. The specific humidity at each trajectory's starting point was transported in a Lagrangian manner and relative humidities with respect to water and ice were calculated in 6-h steps downstream, allowing us to estimate the formation of liquid, mixed-phase and ice clouds. Practically none of the simulated air parcels reached regions where homogeneous ice nucleation can take place (T≲−40 °C) along trajectories that have not experienced water saturation first. By far the largest fraction of cloud forming trajectories entered conditions of mixed-phase clouds, where mineral dust will potentially exert the biggest influence. The majority of trajectories also passed through regions supersaturated with respect to ice but subsaturated with respect to water, where "warm" (T≳−40 °C) ice clouds may form prior to supercooled water or mixed-phase clouds. The importance of "warm" ice clouds and the general influence of dust in the mixed-phase cloud region are highly uncertain due to considerable scatter in recent laboratory data from ice nucleation experiments, which we briefly review in this work. For "classical" cirrus-forming temperatures, our results show that only mineral dust IN that underwent mixed-phase cloud-processing previously are likely to be relevant, and, therefore, we recommend further systematic studies of immersion mode ice nucleation on mineral dust suspended in atmospherically relevant coatings.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of cirrus and mixed-phase clouds to the ice nuclei spectra in McRAS-AC: single column model simulations

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 14927-14957
Author(s):  
R. Morales Betancourt ◽  
D. Lee ◽  
L. Oreopoulos ◽  
Y. C. Sud ◽  
D. Barahona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Cloud Particle ◽  
Water Path ◽  
Ice Water Path ◽  
Single Column ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
Ice Water ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The salient features of mixed-phase and ice clouds in a GCM cloud scheme are examined using the ice formation parameterizations of Liu and Penner (LP) and Barahona and Nenes (BN). The performance of LP and BN ice nucleation parameterizations were assessed in the GEOS-5 AGCM using the McRAS-AC cloud microphysics framework in single column mode. Four dimensional assimilated data from the intensive observation period of ARM TWP-ICE campaign was used to drive the fluxes and lateral forcing. Simulation experiments where established to test the impact of each parameterization in the resulting cloud fields. Three commonly used IN spectra were utilized in the BN parameterization to described the availability of IN for heterogeneous ice nucleation. The results show large similarities in the cirrus cloud regime between all the schemes tested, in which ice crystal concentrations were within a factor of 10 regardless of the parameterization used. In mixed-phase clouds there are some persistent differences in cloud particle number concentration and size, as well as in cloud fraction, ice water mixing ratio, and ice water path. Contact freezing in the simulated mixed-phase clouds contributed to transfer liquid to ice efficiently, so that on average, the clouds were fully glaciated at T~260 K, irrespective of the ice nucleation parameterization used. Comparison of simulated ice water path to available satellite derived observations were also performed, finding that all the schemes tested with the BN parameterization predicted average values of IWP within ±15% of the observations.

Effects of Aerosol Solubility and Regeneration on Mixed-Phase Orographic Clouds and Precipitation

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1994-2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulin Xue ◽  
Amit Teller ◽  
Roy Rasmussen ◽  
Istvan Geresdi ◽  
Zaitao Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Precipitation Amount ◽  
Forecast Model ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Microphysics Scheme ◽  
Orographic Clouds ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
Aerosol Properties

Abstract A detailed bin aerosol-microphysics scheme has been implemented into the Weather Research and Forecast Model to investigate the effects of aerosol solubility and regeneration on mixed-phase orographic clouds and precipitation. Two-dimensional simulations of idealized moist flow over two identical bell-shaped mountains were carried out using different combinations of aerosol regeneration, solubility, loading, ice nucleation parameterizations, and humidity. The results showed the following. 1) Pollution and regenerated aerosols suppress the riming process in mixed-phase clouds by narrowing the drop spectrum. In general, the lower the aerosol solubility, the broader the drop spectrum and thus the higher the riming rate. When the solubility of initial aerosol increases with an increasing size of aerosol particles, the modified solubility of regenerated aerosols reduces precipitation. 2) The qualitative effects of aerosol solubility and regeneration on mixed-phase orographic clouds and precipitation are not affected by different ice nucleation parameterizations. 3) The impacts of aerosol properties on rain are similar in both warm- and mixed-phase clouds. Aerosols exert weaker impact on snow and stronger impact on graupel compared to rain as graupel production is strongly affected by riming. 4) Precipitation of both warm- and mixed-phase clouds is most sensitive to aerosol regeneration, then to aerosol solubility, and last to modified solubility of regenerated aerosol; however, the precipitation amount is mainly controlled by humidity and aerosol loading.

scholarly journals Implementation of a comprehensive ice crystal formation parameterization for cirrus and mixed-phase clouds in the EMAC model (based on MESSy 2.53)

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4021-4041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Bacer ◽  
Sylvia C. Sullivan ◽  
Vlassis A. Karydis ◽  
Donifan Barahona ◽  
Martina Krämer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Cirrus Clouds ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Crystal Formation ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds

Abstract. A comprehensive ice nucleation parameterization has been implemented in the global chemistry-climate model EMAC to improve the representation of ice crystal number concentrations (ICNCs). The parameterization of Barahona and Nenes (2009, hereafter BN09) allows for the treatment of ice nucleation taking into account the competition for water vapour between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation in cirrus clouds. Furthermore, the influence of chemically heterogeneous, polydisperse aerosols is considered by applying one of the multiple ice nucleating particle parameterizations which are included in BN09 to compute the heterogeneously formed ice crystals. BN09 has been modified in order to consider the pre-existing ice crystal effect and implemented to operate both in the cirrus and in the mixed-phase regimes. Compared to the standard EMAC parameterizations, BN09 produces fewer ice crystals in the upper troposphere but higher ICNCs in the middle troposphere, especially in the Northern Hemisphere where ice nucleating mineral dust particles are relatively abundant. Overall, ICNCs agree well with the observations, especially in cold cirrus clouds (at temperatures below 205 K), although they are underestimated between 200 and 220 K. As BN09 takes into account processes which were previously neglected by the standard version of the model, it is recommended for future EMAC simulations.

scholarly journals Laboratory investigations of the impact of mineral dust aerosol on cold cloud formation

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 11955-11968 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Koehler ◽  
S. M. Kreidenweis ◽  
P. J. DeMott ◽  
M. D. Petters ◽  
A. J. Prenni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Chamber ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Dust Aerosol ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
Radiative Impacts ◽  
Laboratory Investigations ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Dust particles represent a dominant source of particulate matter (by mass) to the atmosphere, and their emission from some source regions has been shown to be transported on regional and hemispherical scales. Dust particles' potential to interact with water vapor in the atmosphere can lead to important radiative impacts on the climate system, both direct and indirect. We have investigated this interaction for several types of dust aerosol, collected from the Southwestern United States and the Saharan region. A continuous flow diffusion chamber was operated to measure the ice nucleation ability of the dust particles in the temperature range of relevance to cirrus and mixed-phase clouds (−65

scholarly journals Implementation of a comprehensive ice crystal formation parameterization for cirrus and mixed-phase clouds into the EMAC model (based on MESSy 2.53)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Bacer ◽  
Sylvia C. Sullivan ◽  
Vlassis A. Karydis ◽  
Donifan Barahona ◽  
Martina Krämer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Crystal Formation ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Particle Spectra ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds

Abstract. A comprehensive ice nucleation parameterization has been implemented in the global chemistry-climate model EMAC to realistically represent ice crystal number concentrations. The parameterization of Barahona and Nenes (2009, hereafter BN09) allows the treatment of ice nucleation, taking into account the competition for water vapour between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation and pre-existing ice crystals in cold clouds. Furthermore, the influence of chemically-heterogeneous, polydisperse aerosols is considered via multiple ice nucleating particle spectra, which are included in the parameterization to compute the heterogeneously formed ice crystals. BN09 has been implemented to operate both in the cirrus and in the mixed-phase regimes. Compared to the standard EMAC results, BN09 produces fewer ice crystals in the upper troposphere but higher ice crystal number concentrations in the middle troposphere, especially in the Northern Hemisphere where ice nucleating mineral dust particles are relatively abundant. The comparison with a climatological data set of aircraft measurements shows that BN09 used in the cirrus regime improves the model results and, therefore, is recommended for future EMAC simulations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document