scholarly journals Biological residues define the ice nucleation properties of soil dust

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 16585-16598 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Conen ◽  
C. E. Morris ◽  
J. Leifeld ◽  
M. V. Yakutin ◽  
C. Alewell
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Size Fraction ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Soil Dust ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Micro Organisms ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Soil dust is a major driver of ice nucleation in clouds leading to precipitation. It consists largely of mineral particles with a small fraction of organic matter constituted mainly of remains of micro-organisms that participated in degrading plant debris before their own decay. Some micro-organisms have been shown to be much better ice nuclei than the most efficient soil mineral. Yet, current aerosol schemes in global climate models do not consider a difference between soil dust and mineral dust in terms of ice nucleation activity. Here, we show that particles from the clay and silt size fraction of four different soils naturally associated with 0.7 to 11.8 % organic carbon (w/w) can have up to four orders of magnitude more ice nuclei per unit mass active in the immersion freezing mode at −12 °C than montmorillonite, the most efficient pure clay mineral. Most of this activity was lost after heat treatment. Removal of biological residues reduced ice nucleation activity to, or below that of montmorillonite. Desert soils, inherently low in organic content, are a large natural source of dust in the atmosphere. In contrast, agricultural land use is concentrated on fertile soils with much larger organic matter contents than found in deserts. It is currently estimated that the contribution of agricultural soils to the global dust burden is less than 20 %. Yet, these disturbed soils can contribute ice nuclei to the atmosphere of a very different and much more potent kind than mineral dusts.

scholarly journals Biological residues define the ice nucleation properties of soil dust

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 9643-9648 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Conen ◽  
C. E. Morris ◽  
J. Leifeld ◽  
M. V. Yakutin ◽  
C. Alewell
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Size Fraction ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Soil Dust ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Mineral Dusts ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Micro Organisms ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Soil dust is a major driver of ice nucleation in clouds leading to precipitation. It consists largely of mineral particles with a small fraction of organic matter constituted mainly of remains of micro-organisms that participated in degrading plant debris before their own decay. Some micro-organisms have been shown to be much better ice nuclei than the most efficient soil mineral. Yet, current aerosol schemes in global climate models do not consider a difference between soil dust and mineral dust in terms of ice nucleation activity. Here, we show that particles from the clay and silt size fraction of four different soils naturally associated with 0.7 to 11.8 % organic carbon (w/w) can have up to four orders of magnitude more ice nucleation sites per unit mass active in the immersion freezing mode at −12 °C than montmorillonite, the nucleation properties of which are often used to represent those of mineral dusts in modelling studies. Most of this activity was lost after heat treatment. Removal of biological residues reduced ice nucleation activity to, or below that of montmorillonite. Desert soils, inherently low in organic content, are a large natural source of dust in the atmosphere. In contrast, agricultural land use is concentrated on fertile soils with much larger organic matter contents than found in deserts. It is currently estimated that the contribution of agricultural soils to the global dust burden is less than 20 %. Yet, these disturbed soils can contribute ice nuclei to the atmosphere of a very different and much more potent kind than mineral dusts.

scholarly journals Suspendable macromolecules are responsible for ice nucleation activity of birch and conifer pollen

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 2541-2550 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. G. Pummer ◽  
H. Bauer ◽  
J. Bernardi ◽  
S. Bleicher ◽  
H. Grothe
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Distribution Area ◽  
Ice Cloud ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The ice nucleation of bioaerosols (bacteria, pollen, spores, etc.) is a topic of growing interest, since their impact on ice cloud formation and thus on radiative forcing, an important parameter in global climate, is not yet fully understood. Here we show that pollen of different species strongly differ in their ice nucleation behaviour. The average freezing temperatures in laboratory experiments range from 240 to 255 K. As the most efficient nuclei (silver birch, Scots pine and common juniper pollen) have a distribution area up to the Northern timberline, their ice nucleation activity might be a cryoprotective mechanism. Far more intriguingly, it has turned out that water, which has been in contact with pollen and then been separated from the bodies, nucleates as good as the pollen grains themselves. The ice nuclei have to be easily-suspendable macromolecules located on the pollen. Once extracted, they can be distributed further through the atmosphere than the heavy pollen grains and so presumably augment the impact of pollen on ice cloud formation even in the upper troposphere. Our experiments lead to the conclusion that pollen ice nuclei, in contrast to bacterial and fungal ice nucleating proteins, are non-proteinaceous compounds.

scholarly journals Ice nucleation activity in the widespread soil fungus <i>Mortierella alpina</i>

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1057-1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky ◽  
T. C. J. Hill ◽  
B. G. Pummer ◽  
P. Yordanova ◽  
G. D. Franc ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fungus ◽  
Its Region ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Mortierella Alpina ◽  
Fungal Mycelium ◽  
Mineral Surfaces ◽  
Soil Dust ◽  
Strong Source ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Biological residues in soil dust are a potentially strong source of atmospheric ice nuclei (IN). So far, however, the abundance, diversity, sources, seasonality, and role of biological – in particular, fungal – IN in soil dust have not been characterized. By analysis of the culturable fungi in topsoils, from a range of different land use and ecosystem types in southeast Wyoming, we found ice-nucleation-active (INA) fungi to be both widespread and abundant, particularly in soils with recent inputs of decomposable organic matter. Across all investigated soils, 8% of fungal isolates were INA. All INA isolates initiated freezing at −5 to −6 °C, and belonged to a single zygomycotic species, Mortierella alpina (Mortierellales, Mortierellomycotina). To our knowledge this is the first report of ice nucleation activity in a zygomycotic fungi because the few known INA fungi all belong to the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. M. alpina is known to be saprobic and widespread in soil, and Mortierella spores are present in air and rain. Sequencing of the ITS region and the gene for γ-linolenic elongase revealed four distinct clades, affiliated to different soil types. The IN produced by M. alpina seem to be proteinaceous, < 300 kDa in size, and can be easily washed off the mycelium. Ice nucleating fungal mycelium will ramify topsoils and probably also release cell-free IN into it. If these IN survive decomposition or are adsorbed onto mineral surfaces, their contribution might accumulate over time, perhaps to be transported with soil dust and influencing its ice nucleating properties.

scholarly journals Deposition and immersion-mode nucleation of ice by three distinct samples of volcanic ash

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (13) ◽  
pp. 7523-7536 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Schill ◽  
K. Genareau ◽  
M. A. Tolbert
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Silica Content ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Ice nucleation of volcanic ash controls both ash aggregation and cloud glaciation, which affect atmospheric transport and global climate. Previously, it has been suggested that there is one characteristic ice nucleation efficiency for all volcanic ash, regardless of its composition, when accounting for surface area; however, this claim is derived from data from only two volcanic eruptions. In this work, we have studied the depositional and immersion freezing efficiency of three distinct samples of volcanic ash using Raman microscopy coupled to an environmental cell. Ash from the Fuego (basaltic ash, Guatemala), Soufrière Hills (andesitic ash, Montserrat), and Taupo (Oruanui eruption, rhyolitic ash, New Zealand) volcanoes were chosen to represent different geographical locations and silica content. All ash samples were quantitatively analyzed for both percent crystallinity and mineralogy using X-ray diffraction. In the present study, we find that all three samples of volcanic ash are excellent depositional ice nuclei, nucleating ice from 225 to 235 K at ice saturation ratios of 1.05 ± 0.01, comparable to the mineral dust proxy kaolinite. Since depositional ice nucleation will be more important at colder temperatures, fine volcanic ash may represent a global source of cold-cloud ice nuclei. For immersion freezing relevant to mixed-phase clouds, however, only the Oruanui ash exhibited appreciable heterogeneous ice nucleation activity. Similar to recent studies on mineral dust, we suggest that the mineralogy of volcanic ash may dictate its ice nucleation activity in the immersion mode.

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 Deposition and immersion mode nucleation of ice by three distinct samples of volcanic ash using Raman spectroscopy

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1385-1420 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Schill ◽  
K. Genareau ◽  
M. A. Tolbert
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Silica Content ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Ice nucleation on volcanic ash controls both ash aggregation and cloud glaciation, which affect atmospheric transport and global climate. Previously, it has been suggested that there is one characteristic ice nucleation efficiency for all volcanic ash, regardless of its composition, when accounting for surface area; however, this claim is derived from data from only two volcanic eruptions. In this work, we have studied the depositional and immersion freezing efficiency of three distinct samples of volcanic ash using Raman Microscopy coupled to an environmental cell. Ash from the Fuego (basaltic ash, Guatemala), Soufrière Hills (andesitic ash, Montserrat), and Taupo (Oruanui euption, rhyolitic ash, New Zealand) volcanoes were chosen to represent different geographical locations and silica content. All ash samples were quantitatively analyzed for both percent crystallinity and mineralogy using X-ray diffraction. In the present study, we find that all three samples of volcanic ash are excellent depositional ice nuclei, nucleating ice from 225–235 K at ice saturation ratios of 1.05 ± 0.01, comparable to the mineral dust proxy kaolinite. Since depositional ice nucleation will be more important at colder temperatures, fine volcanic ash may represent a global source of cold-cloud ice nuclei. For immersion freezing relevant to mixed-phase clouds, however, only the Oruanui ash exhibited heterogeneous ice nucleation activity. Similar to recent studies on mineral dust, we suggest that the mineralogy of volcanic ash may dictate its ice nucleation activity in the immersion mode.

Biological Ice Nucleation Activity in Lichen Mycobionts and Photobionts

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Kieft ◽  
Vernon Ahmadjian
Keyword(s):  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Moisture Uptake ◽  
Warm Temperature ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Axenic Cultures ◽  
Frost Protection ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity ◽  
Cladonia Rangiferina

AbstractAxenic cultures of lichen mycobionts and photobionts were assayed for biological ice nucleation activity (INA), a characteristic which has recently been discovered in some species of lichens collected from nature. Of 14 species of mycobionts, five showed nuclei active at −5°C or warmer, while none of the 13 photobionts tested had INA at that temperature. It appears that biological ice nuclei in lichens are produced primarily by the mycobiont. Rhizoplaca chrysoleuca had the greatest INA. Other lichen fungi showing warm temperature INA were Cladonia boryi, Cladonia rangiferina, Lecanora dispersa, and Pertusaria flavicans. Lichen INA may be involved in moisture uptake and/or frost protection.

scholarly journals Macromolecular fungal ice nuclei in <i>Fusarium</i>: effects of physical and chemical processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (23) ◽  
pp. 4647-4659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna T. Kunert ◽  
Mira L. Pöhlker ◽  
Kai Tang ◽  
Carola S. Krevert ◽  
Carsten Wieder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Species ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Cumulative Number ◽  
Genus Fusarium ◽  
Biological Particles ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Atmospherically Relevant

Abstract. Some biological particles and macromolecules are particularly efficient ice nuclei (IN), triggering ice formation at temperatures close to 0 ∘C. The impact of biological particles on cloud glaciation and the formation of precipitation is still poorly understood and constitutes a large gap in the scientific understanding of the interactions and coevolution of life and climate. Ice nucleation activity in fungi was first discovered in the cosmopolitan genus Fusarium, which is widespread in soil and plants, has been found in atmospheric aerosol and cloud water samples, and can be regarded as the best studied ice-nucleation-active (IN-active) fungus. The frequency and distribution of ice nucleation activity within Fusarium, however, remains elusive. Here, we tested more than 100 strains from 65 different Fusarium species for ice nucleation activity. In total, ∼11 % of all tested species included IN-active strains, and ∼16 % of all tested strains showed ice nucleation activity above −12 ∘C. Besides Fusarium species with known ice nucleation activity, F. armeniacum, F. begoniae, F. concentricum, and F. langsethiae were newly identified as IN-active. The cumulative number of IN per gram of mycelium for all tested Fusarium species was comparable to other biological IN like Sarocladium implicatum, Mortierella alpina, and Snomax®. Filtration experiments indicate that cell-free ice-nucleating macromolecules (INMs) from Fusarium are smaller than 100 kDa and that molecular aggregates can be formed in solution. Long-term storage and freeze–thaw cycle experiments revealed that the fungal IN in aqueous solution remain active over several months and in the course of repeated freezing and thawing. Exposure to ozone and nitrogen dioxide at atmospherically relevant concentration levels also did not affect the ice nucleation activity. Heat treatments at 40 to 98 ∘C, however, strongly reduced the observed IN concentrations, confirming earlier hypotheses that the INM in Fusarium largely consists of a proteinaceous compound. The frequency and the wide distribution of ice nucleation activity within the genus Fusarium, combined with the stability of the IN under atmospherically relevant conditions, suggest a larger implication of fungal IN on Earth’s water cycle and climate than previously assumed.

scholarly journals A laboratory investigation of the ice nucleation efficiency of three types of mineral and soil dust

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Paramonov ◽  
Robert O. David ◽  
Ruben Kretzschmar ◽  
Zamin A. Kanji
Keyword(s):  
Active Sites ◽  
Particle Surface ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Bet Surface Area ◽  
Soil Dust ◽  
Organic Components ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity ◽  
Soluble Material

Abstract. Surface-collected dust from three different locations around the world was examined with respect to its ice nucleation activity (INA) with the Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber (PINC). Ice nucleation experiments were conducted with particles of 200 and 400 nm in diameter in the temperature range of 233–243 K in both deposition nucleation and condensation freezing regimes. Several treatments were performed in order to investigate the effect of mineralogical composition, as well as the presence of biological and proteinaceous, organic and soluble compounds on the INA of mineral and soil dust. The INA of untreated dust particles correlated well with the total feldspar and K-feldspar content, corroborating previously published results. The removal of heat-sensitive proteinaceous and organic components from the particle surface with heat decreased the INA of dusts. However, the decrease in the INA was not proportional to the amount of these organic components, indicating that different proteinaceous and organic species have different ice nucleation activities, and the exact speciation is required in order to determine why dusts respond differently to the heating process. The INA of certain dusts increased after the removal of soluble material from the particle surface, demonstrating the low INA of the soluble compounds and/or the exposition of the underlying active sites. Similar to the proteinaceous organic compounds, soluble compounds seem to have different effects on the INA of surface-collected dusts, and a general conclusion about how the presence of soluble material on the particle surface affects its INA is not possible. The investigation of the heated and washed dusts revealed that mineralogy alone is not able to fully explain the observed INA of surface-collected dusts at the examined temperature and relative humidity conditions. The results showed that it is not possible to predict the INA of surface-collected soil dust based on the presence and amount of certain minerals or any particular class of compounds, such as soluble or proteinaceous/organic. Instead, at temperatures of 238–243 K the ice nucleation activity of the untreated, surface-collected soil dust in condensation freezing mode can be roughly approximated by one of the existing surrogates for atmospheric mineral dust, such as illite NX. Uncertainties associated with mechanical damage and possible changes to the mineralogy during treatments, as well as with the BET surface area and its immediate impact on the number of active sites ns,BET parameterisation, are addressed.

scholarly journals Birch leaves and branches as a source of ice-nucleating macromolecules

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Felgitsch ◽  
Philipp Baloh ◽  
Julia Burkart ◽  
Maximilian Mayr ◽  
Mohammed E. Momken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birch Pollen ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Pollen Extract ◽  
Sample Mean ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Birch Trees ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Freezing Temperatures ◽  
Secondary Wood ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Birch pollen are known to release ice-nucleating macromolecules (INM), but little is known about the production and release of INM from other tissues of the tree. We examined the ice nucleation activity of tissues from ten different birch trees (Betula spp.). Samples were taken from nine birch trees in Tyrol, Austria, and from one tree in a small urban park in Vienna, Austria. Filtered aqueous extracts of 30 samples of leaves, primary wood (new branch wood, green in colour, photosynthetically active), and secondary wood (older wood of a branch, brown in colour, with no photosynthetic activity) were analysed in terms of ice nucleation activity using VODCA (Vienna Optical Droplet Crystallization Analyser), a cryo microscope for emulsion samples. All samples contained ice nuclei in the submicron size range. Concentrations of ice nuclei ranged from 6.7*104 to 6.1*109 per mg sample. Mean freezing temperatures varied between −15.6 °C and −31.3 °C with the majority of the samples showing freezing temperatures close to those of birch pollen extract, indicating a relationship between the INM of wood, leaves and pollen. Extracts derived from secondary wood showed the highest concentrations of INM and the highest freezing temperatures. Extracts from the leaves exhibited the highest variation in INM and freezing temperatures. Infrared and fluorescence spectroscopy of the extracts suggest that the birch tissues tested contained chemical substances similar to birch pollen.

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