scholarly journals Mexican agricultural soil dust as a source of ice nucleating particles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana L. Pereira ◽  
Irma Gavilán ◽  
Consuelo Letechipía ◽  
Graciela B. Raga ◽  
Teresa Pi Puig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Soil ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Soil Dust ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Mineralogical Analysis ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds

Abstract. Agricultural soil erosion, both mechanical and eolic, may impact cloud processes as some aerosol particles are able to facilitate ice crystals formation. Given the large agricultural sector in Mexico, this study investigates the ice nucleating abilities of agricultural dust collected at different sites and generated in the laboratory. The immersion freezing mechanism of ice nucleation was simulated in the laboratory via the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)- Micro Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI)-Droplet freezing technique (DFT) (UNAM-MOUDI-DFT). The results show that agricultural dust from the Mexican territory promote ice formation in a temperature range from −11.8 ºC to −34.5 ºC, with ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations between 0.11 L−1 and 41.8 L−1. Furthermore, aerosol samples generated in the laboratory are more efficient than those collected in the field, with T50 values (i.e., the temperature at which 50 % of the droplets freeze) higher by more than 2.9 ºC. The mineralogical analysis indicated a high concentration of feldspars i.e., K-feldspar and plagioclase (> 40 %) in most of the aerosol and soil samples, with K-feldspar significantly correlated with the T50 of particles with sizes between 1.8 µm and 3.2 µm. Similarly, the organic carbon (OC) was correlated with the efficiency of aerosol samples from 3.2 µm to 5.6 µm and 1.0 µm to 1.8 µm. Finally, a decrease in the efficiency as INPs, after heating the samples at 300 ºC for 2 h, evidenced that the organic matter from agricultural soils can influence the role of INPs in mixed-phase clouds.

scholarly journals An instrument for quantifying heterogeneous ice nucleation in multiwell plates using infrared emissions to detect freezing

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 5629-5641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander D. Harrison ◽  
Thomas F. Whale ◽  
Rupert Rutledge ◽  
Stephen Lamb ◽  
Mark D. Tarn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Sites ◽  
Freezing Temperature ◽  
Equilibrium Temperature ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Ir Camera ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
The City ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. Low concentrations of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are thought to be important for the properties of mixed-phase clouds, but their detection is challenging. Hence, there is a need for instruments where INP concentrations of less than 0.01 L−1 can be routinely and efficiently determined. The use of larger volumes of suspension in drop assays increases the sensitivity of an experiment to rarer INPs or rarer active sites due to the increase in aerosol or surface area of particulates per droplet. Here we describe and characterise the InfraRed-Nucleation by Immersed Particles Instrument (IR-NIPI), a new immersion freezing assay that makes use of IR emissions to determine the freezing temperature of individual 50 µL droplets each contained in a well of a 96-well plate. Using an IR camera allows the temperature of individual aliquots to be monitored. Freezing temperatures are determined by detecting the sharp rise in well temperature associated with the release of heat caused by freezing. In this paper we first present the calibration of the IR temperature measurement, which makes use of the fact that following ice nucleation aliquots of water warm to the ice–liquid equilibrium temperature (i.e. 0 ∘C when water activity is ∼1), which provides a point of calibration for each individual well in each experiment. We then tested the temperature calibration using ∼100 µm chips of K-feldspar, by immersing these chips in 1 µL droplets on an established cold stage (µL-NIPI) as well as in 50 µL droplets on IR-NIPI; the results were consistent with one another, indicating no bias in the reported freezing temperature. In addition we present measurements of the efficiency of the mineral dust NX-illite and a sample of atmospheric aerosol collected on a filter in the city of Leeds. NX-illite results are consistent with literature data, and the atmospheric INP concentrations were in good agreement with the results from the µL-NIPI instrument. This demonstrates the utility of this approach, which offers a relatively high throughput of sample analysis and access to low INP concentrations.

Influence of organic and biogenic substances on the ice nucleation properties of mineral dust particles

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Klumpp ◽  
Claudia Marcolli ◽  
Thomas Peter
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Organic Acids ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Particle Surface ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Biogenic Substances ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

<p>The formation of ice in mixed phase clouds occurs in the presence of aerosol particles with the ability to nucleate ice on their surface. These ice-nucleating particles (INPs) represent usually a small fraction of particles in an atmospheric aerosol. One of the main particle types which act as INPs are mineral dust particles. Among other factors, the accumulation of semivolatile substances on the particle surface can alter the ice nucleation properties of such particles.</p><p>In recent immersion freezing experiments, we investigated the influence of organic acids, amino acids and polyols on the highly ice nucleation active K-feldspar microcline. Microcline dust was suspended in solutions of the above-mentioned substances and frozen in a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). These experiments give us insight into the ice nucleation characteristics of the particles in the presence of the tested organic and biogenic substances. Our measurements show an overall decrease in ice nucleation activity of microcline in the presence of organic acids and amino acids. <br><br></p>

scholarly journals The contribution of fungal spores and bacteria to regional and global aerosol number and ice nucleation immersion freezing rates

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 32459-32481 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. V. Spracklen ◽  
C. L. Heald
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Model Studies ◽  
Modelling Studies ◽  
Climate Interactions ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Simulated Surface ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) may play an important role in aerosol–climate interactions, in particular through affecting ice formation in mixed phase clouds. However, the role of PBAP is poorly understood because the sources and distribution of PBAP in the atmosphere are not well quantified. Here we include emissions of fungal spores and bacteria in a global aerosol microphysics model and explore their contribution to concentrations of supermicron particle number, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and immersion freezing rates. Simulated surface annual mean concentrations of fungal spores are ~2.5 × 104 m−3 over continental midlatiudes and 1 × 105 m−3 over tropical forests. Simulated surface concentrations of bacteria are 2.5 × 104 m−3 over most continental regions and 5 × 104 m−3 over grasslands of central Asia and North America. These simulated surface number concentrations of fungal spores and bacteria are broadly in agreement with the limited available observations. We find that fungal spores and bacteria contribute 8% and 5% respectively to simulated continental surface mean supermicron number concentrations, but have very limited impact on CCN concentrations, altering regional concentrations by less than 1%. In agreement with previous global modelling studies we find that fungal spores and bacteria contribute very little (3 × 10−3 % even when we assume upper limits for ice nucleation activity) to global average immersion freezing ice nucleation rates, which are dominated by soot and dust. However, at lower altitudes (400 hPa to 600 hPa), where warmer temperatures mean that soot and dust may not nucleate ice, we find that PBAP controls the immersion freezing ice nucleation rate. This demonstrates that PBAP can be of regional importance for IN formation, in agreement with case study observations but in contrast to recent global model studies that have concluded PBAP are unimportant as ice nuclei.

scholarly journals Organic matter matters for ice nuclei of agricultural soil origin

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 8521-8531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Tobo ◽  
P. J. DeMott ◽  
T. C. J. Hill ◽  
A. J. Prenni ◽  
N. G. Swoboda-Colberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Agricultural Soil ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Desert Soil ◽  
Composition Analysis ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Dry Heating

Abstract. Heterogeneous ice nucleation is a crucial process for forming ice-containing clouds and subsequent ice-induced precipitation. The importance for ice nucleation by airborne desert soil dusts composed predominantly of minerals is widely acknowledged. However, the potential influence of agricultural soil dusts on ice nucleation has been poorly recognized, despite recent estimates that they may account for up to 20–25% of the global atmospheric dust load. We have conducted freezing experiments with various dusts, including agricultural soil dusts derived from the largest dust-source region in North America. Here we show evidence for the significant role of soil organic matter (SOM) in particles acting as ice nuclei (IN) under mixed-phase cloud conditions. We find that the ice-nucleating ability of the agricultural soil dusts is similar to that of desert soil dusts, but is clearly reduced after either H2O2 digestion or dry heating to 300 °C. In addition, based on chemical composition analysis, we demonstrate that organic-rich particles are more important than mineral particles for the ice-nucleating ability of the agricultural soil dusts at temperatures warmer than about −36 °C. Finally, we suggest that such organic-rich particles of agricultural origin (namely, SOM particles) may contribute significantly to the ubiquity of organic-rich IN in the global atmosphere.

scholarly journals Ice nucleation activity of agricultural soil dust aerosols from Mongolia, Argentina, and Germany

2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (22) ◽  
pp. 13,559-13,576 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Steinke ◽  
R. Funk ◽  
J. Busse ◽  
A. Iturri ◽  
S. Kirchen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Soil ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Soil Dust ◽  
Dust Aerosols ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

scholarly journals Interpretation of freezing nucleation experiments: singular and stochastic; sites and surfaces

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 1711-1760
Author(s):  
G. Vali
Keyword(s):  
Specific Surface ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Surface Sites ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Major Factors

Abstract. Publications of recent years dealing with laboratory experiments of immersion freezing reveal uncertainties about the fundamentals of heterogeneous freezing nucleation. While it appears well accepted that there are two major factors that determine the process, namely fluctuations in the size and configuration of incipient embryos of the solid phase and the role of the substrate to aid embryo formation, views have been evolving about the relative importance of these two elements. The importance of specific surface sites is being established in a growing number of experiments and a number of approaches have been proposed to incorporate these results into model descriptions. Many of these models share a common conceptual basis yet diverge in the way random and deterministic factors are combined. The divergence can be traced to uncertainty about the permanence of nucleating sites, to the lack of detailed knowledge about what surface features constitute nucleating sites, and to the consequent need to rely on empirical or parametric formulas to define the population of sites of different effectiveness. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that recent experiments and models, consistent with earlier work, point to the existence and primary role of permanent nucleating sites and to the continued need for empirically based formulations of heterogeneous freezing. The paper focuses on three identifiably separate but interrelated issues: (i) the combination of singular and stochastic factors, (ii) the role of specific surface sites, and (iii) the modeling of heterogeneous ice nucleation.

scholarly journals Enhanced ice nucleation efficiency of microcline immersed in dilute NH<sub>3</sub> and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-containing solutions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anand Kumar ◽  
Claudia Marcolli ◽  
Beiping Luo ◽  
Thomas Peter
Keyword(s):  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Pure Water ◽  
Freezing Temperature ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Ice Melting ◽  
Salt Solutions ◽  
Point Curve ◽  
Mineral Dusts ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds

Abstract. Potassium containing feldspars (K-feldspars) have been considered key mineral dusts for ice nucleation (IN) in mixed-phase clouds. To investigate the effect of solutes on their IN efficiency, we performed immersion freezing experiments with the K-feldspar microcline, which is highly IN active. Freezing of emulsified droplets with microcline suspended in aqueous solutions of NH3, (NH4)2SO4, NH4HSO4, NH4NO3, NH4Cl, Na2SO4, H2SO4, K2SO4 and KCl, with solute concentrations corresponding to water activities aw = 0.9–1.0, were investigated by means of a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The measured heterogeneous ice nucleation onset temperatures, Thet (aw) deviate strongly from Thet∆awhet (aw), the values calculated from the water-activity-based approach (where Thet∆awhet (aw) = Tmelt (aw + ∆awhet) with a constant offset ∆awhet with respect to the ice melting point curve). Surprisingly, for very dilute solutions of NH3 and NH4+-salts (molalities  ~ 0.96), we find IN temperatures raised by up to 4.5 K above the onset freezing temperature of microcline in pure water (Thet (aw = 1)) and 5.5 K above Thet∆awhet (aw), revealing NH3 and NH4+ to significantly enhance the IN of the microcline surface. Conversely, more concentrated NH3 and NH4+ solutions show a depression of the onset temperature below Thet∆awhet (aw) by as much as 13.5 K caused by a decline in IN ability accompanied with a reduction in the volume fraction of water frozen heterogeneously. All salt solutions not containing NH4+ as cation exhibit nucleation temperatures Thet (aw)  ~ 0.96) at warm (252–257 K) and NH3/NH4+-rich conditions.

Comparison of INP Parameterizations for Dust Minerals in Climatological Simulations With a Global Model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Perlwitz ◽  
Daniel Knopf ◽  
Ron Miller
Keyword(s):  
Size Range ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Sources Of Uncertainty ◽  
Dust Size Distribution ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds

&lt;p&gt;The effect of aerosol particles on ice nucleation and, in turn, the formation of ice and mixed phase clouds is recognized as one of the largest sources of uncertainty in weather and climate prediction. &amp;#160;We utilize an improved sectional dust module in NASA GISS Earth System ModelE2.1, which distinguishes eight different mineral species and accretions between iron oxides and the other minerals. &amp;#160;Simulations over a period of 20 years have been carried out with this model, and the mineral fields and other model variables (temperature, relative humidity) are used to calculate the ice nucleating particle (INP) number concentration, applying time-independent and time-dependent INP parameterizations, such as active site parameterization and water activity based immersion freezing model (ABIFM). &amp;#160;We study how the dependence of the parameterizations on different model variables affects the mean INP number concentration. &amp;#160;The sensitivity of the INP number concentration to fundamental dust properties such as emitted mineral size distributions and mixing state between minerals is also investigated. &amp;#160;Results show that the sensitivity of the total INP number concentration to the emitted dust size distribution is rather small, but the sensitivity over the whole size range obscures offsetting differences in the magnitude and the sign of the sensitivity between smaller and larger particles.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals The contribution of fungal spores and bacteria to regional and global aerosol number and ice nucleation immersion freezing rates

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 9051-9059 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. V. Spracklen ◽  
C. L. Heald
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Modelling Studies ◽  
Climate Interactions ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Simulated Surface ◽  
Global Modelling ◽  
Mixed Phase Clouds ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) may play an important role in aerosol–climate interactions, in particular by affecting ice formation in mixed phase clouds. However, the role of PBAPs is poorly understood because the sources and distribution of PBAPs in the atmosphere are not well quantified. Here we include emissions of fungal spores and bacteria in a global aerosol microphysics model and explore their contribution to concentrations of supermicron particle number, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and immersion freezing rates. Simulated surface annual mean concentrations of fungal spores are ~ 2.5 × 104 m−3 over continental midlatitudes and 1 × 105 m−3 over tropical forests. Simulated surface concentrations of bacteria are 2.5 × 104 m−3 over most continental regions and 5 × 104 m−3 over grasslands of central Asia and North America. These simulated surface number concentrations of fungal spores and bacteria are broadly in agreement with the limited available observations. We find that fungal spores and bacteria contribute 8 and 5% respectively to simulated continental surface mean supermicron number concentrations, but have very limited impact on CCN concentrations, altering regional concentrations by less than 1%. In agreement with previous global modelling studies, we find that fungal spores and bacteria contribute very little (3 × 10−3%, even when we assume upper limits for ice nucleation activity) to global average immersion freezing ice nucleation rates, which are dominated by soot and dust. However, at lower altitudes (400 to 600 hPa), where warmer temperatures mean that soot and dust may not nucleate ice, we find that PBAP controls the immersion freezing ice nucleation rate. This demonstrates that PBAPs can be of regional importance for IN formation, in agreement with case study observations.

scholarly journals Organic matter matters for ice nuclei of agricultural soil origin

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 9705-9728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Tobo ◽  
P. J. DeMott ◽  
T. C. J. Hill ◽  
A. J. Prenni ◽  
N. G. Swoboda-Colberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Agricultural Soil ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Desert Soil ◽  
Composition Analysis ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Dry Heating

Abstract. Heterogeneous ice nucleation is a~crucial process for forming ice-containing clouds and subsequent ice-induced precipitation. The importance for ice nucleation of airborne desert soil dusts composed predominantly of minerals is relatively well understood. On the other hand, the potential influence of agricultural soil dusts on ice nucleation has been poorly recognized, despite recent estimates that they may account for up to ∼25% of the global atmospheric dust load. We have conducted freezing experiments with various dusts, including agricultural soil dusts derived from the largest dust source region in North America. Here we show evidence for the significant role of soil organic matter (SOM) in particles acting as ice nuclei (IN) under mixed-phase cloud conditions. We find that the ice nucleating ability of the agricultural soil dusts is similar to that of desert soil dusts, but is reduced to almost the same level as that of clay minerals (e.g., kaolinite) after either H2O2 digestion or dry heating to 300 °C. In addition, based on chemical composition analysis, we show that organic-rich particles are more important than mineral particles for the ice nucleating ability of the agricultural soil dusts at temperatures warmer than about −36 °C. Finally, we suggest that such organic-rich particles of agricultural origin (namely, SOM particles) may contribute significantly to the ubiquity of organic-rich IN in the global atmosphere.

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