WorldWideScience

Sample records for biological ice nucleators

  1. Freezing nucleation apparatus puts new slant on study of biological ice nucleators in precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stopelli, E.; Conen, F.; Zimmermann, L.; Alewell, C.; Morris, C. E.

    2014-01-01

    For decades, drop-freezing instruments have contributed to a better understanding of biological ice nucleation and its likely implications for cloud and precipitation development. Yet, current instruments have limitations. Drops analysed on a cold stage are subject to evaporation and potential contamination. The use of closed tubes provides a partial solution to these problems, but freezing events are still difficult to be clearly detected. Here, we present a new apparatus where freezing in closed tubes is detected automatically by a change in light transmission upon ice development, caused by the formation of air bubbles and crystal facets that scatter light. Risks of contamination and introduction of biases linked to detecting the freezing temperature of a sample are then minimized. To illustrate the performance of the new apparatus we show initial results of two assays with snow samples. In one, we repeatedly analysed the sample (208 tubes) over the course of a month with storage at +4 °C, during which evidence for biological ice nucleation activity emerged through an increase in the number of ice nucleators active around -4 °C. In the second assay, we indicate the possibility of increasingly isolating a single ice nucleator from a precipitation sample, potentially determining the nature of a particle responsible for a nucleation activity measured directly in the sample. These two seminal approaches highlight the relevance of this handy apparatus for providing new points of view in biological ice nucleation research.

  2. The relevance of nanoscale biological fragments for ice nucleation in clouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    O‧Sullivan, D.; Murray, B. J.; Ross, J. F.; Whale, T. F.; Price, H. C.; Atkinson, J. D.; Umo, N. S.; Webb, M. E.

    2015-01-01

    Most studies of the role of biological entities as atmospheric ice-nucleating particles have focused on relatively rare supermicron particles such as bacterial cells, fungal spores and pollen grains. However, it is not clear that there are sufficient numbers of these particles in the atmosphere to strongly influence clouds. Here we show that the ice-nucleating activity of a fungus from the ubiquitous genus Fusarium is related to the presence of nanometre-scale particles which are far more numerous, and therefore potentially far more important for cloud glaciation than whole intact spores or hyphae. In addition, we quantify the ice-nucleating activity of nano-ice nucleating particles (nano-INPs) washed off pollen and also show that nano-INPs are present in a soil sample. Based on these results, we suggest that there is a reservoir of biological nano-INPs present in the environment which may, for example, become aerosolised in association with fertile soil dust particles.

  3. How important is biological ice nucleation in clouds on a global scale?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoose, C; Kristjansson, J E; Burrows, S M

    2010-01-01

    The high ice nucleating ability of some biological particles has led to speculations about living and dead organisms being involved in cloud ice and precipitation formation, exerting a possibly significant influence on weather and climate. In the present study, the role of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) as heterogeneous ice nuclei is investigated with a global model. Emission parametrizations for bacteria, fungal spores and pollen based on recent literature are introduced, as well as an immersion freezing parametrization based on classical nucleation theory and laboratory measurements. The simulated contribution of PBAPs to the global average ice nucleation rate is only 10 -5 %, with an uppermost estimate of 0.6%. At the same time, observed PBAP concentrations in air and biological ice nucleus concentrations in snow are reasonably well captured by the model. This implies that 'bioprecipitation' processes (snow and rain initiated by PBAPs) are of minor importance on the global scale.

  4. Urediospores of rust fungi are ice nucleation active at > -10 °C and harbor ice nucleation active bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, C. E.; Sands, D. C.; Glaux, C.; Samsatly, J.; Asaad, S.; Moukahel, A. R.; Gonçalves, F. L. T.; Bigg, E. K.

    2013-04-01

    Various features of the biology of the rust fungi and of the epidemiology of the plant diseases they cause illustrate the important role of rainfall in their life history. Based on this insight we have characterized the ice nucleation activity (INA) of the aerially disseminated spores (urediospores) of this group of fungi. Urediospores of this obligate plant parasite were collected from natural infections of 7 species of weeds in France, from coffee in Brazil and from field and greenhouse-grown wheat in France, the USA, Turkey and Syria. Immersion freezing was used to determine freezing onset temperatures and the abundance of ice nuclei in suspensions of washed spores. Microbiological analyses of spores from France, the USA and Brazil, and subsequent tests of the ice nucleation activity of the bacteria associated with spores were deployed to quantify the contribution of bacteria to the ice nucleation activity of the spores. All samples of spores were ice nucleation active, having freezing onset temperatures as high as -4 °C. Spores in most of the samples carried cells of ice nucleation-active strains of the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae (at rates of less than 1 bacterial cell per 100 urediospores), but bacterial INA accounted for only a small fraction of the INA observed in spore suspensions. Changes in the INA of spore suspensions after treatment with lysozyme suggest that the INA of urediospores involves a polysaccharide. Based on data from the literature, we have estimated the concentrations of urediospores in air at cloud height and in rainfall. These quantities are very similar to those reported for other biological ice nucleators in these same substrates. However, at cloud level convective activity leads to widely varying concentrations of particles of surface origin, so that mean concentrations can underestimate their possible effects on clouds. We propose that spatial and temporal concentrations of biological ice nucleators active at temperatures > -10

  5. Urediospores of Puccinia spp. and other rusts are warm-temperature ice nucleators and harbor ice nucleation active bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, C. E.; Sands, D. C.; Glaux, C.; Samsatly, J.; Asaad, S.; Moukahel, A. R.; Gonçalves, F. L. T.; Bigg, E. K.

    2012-10-01

    In light of various features of the biology of the rust fungi and of the epidemiology of the plant diseases they cause that illustrate the important role of rainfall in their life history, we have characterized the ice nucleation activity (INA) of the aerially disseminated spores (urediospores) of this group of fungi. Urediospores of this obligate plant parasite were collected from natural infections from 7 species of weeds in France, from coffee in Brazil and from field and greenhouse-grown wheat in France, the USA, Turkey and Syria. Immersion freezing was used to determine freezing onset temperatures and the abundance of ice nuclei in suspensions of washed spores. Microbiological analyses of spores and subsequent tests of the ice nucleation activity of the bacteria associated with spores were deployed to quantify the contribution of bacteria to the ice nucleation activity of the spores. All samples of spores were ice nucleation active having freezing onset temperatures as warm as -4 °C. Spores in most of the samples carried cells of ice nucleation-active strains of the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae (at rates of less than 1 bacterial cell per 100 urediospores), but bacterial INA accounted for only a small fraction of the INA observed in spore suspensions. Changes in the INA of spore suspensions after treatment with lysozyme suggest that the INA of urediospores involves a polysaccharide. Based on data from the literature, we have estimated the concentrations of urediospores in air at cloud height and in rainfall. These quantities are very similar to those reported for other biological ice nucleators in these same substrates. We suggest that air sampling techniques have ignored the spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric concentrations that occur under conditions propitious for precipitation that could increase their local abundance intermittently. Nevertheless, we propose that the relative low abundance of warm-temperature biological ice nucleators in the

  6. Ice nucleation activity of polysaccharides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bichler, Magdalena; Felgitsch, Laura; Haeusler, Thomas; Seidl-Seiboth, Verena; Grothe, Hinrich

    2015-04-01

    Heterogeneous ice nucleation is an important process in the atmosphere. It shows direct impact on our climate by triggering ice cloud formation and therefore it has much influence on the radiation balance of our planet (Lohmann et al. 2002; Mishchenko et al. 1996). The process itself is not completely understood so far and many questions remain open. Different substances have been found to exhibit ice nucleation activity (INA). Due to their vast differences in chemistry and morphology it is difficult to predict what substance will make good ice nuclei and which will not. Hence simple model substances must be found and be tested regarding INA. Our work aims at gaining to a deeper understanding of heterogeneous ice nucleation. We intend to find some reference standards with defined chemistry, which may explain the mechanisms of heterogeneous ice nucleation. A particular focus lies on biological carbohydrates in regards to their INA. Biological carbohydrates are widely distributed in all kingdoms of life. Mostly they are specific for certain organisms and have well defined purposes, e.g. structural polysaccharides like chitin (in fungi and insects) and pectin (in plants), which has also water-binding properties. Since they are widely distributed throughout our biosphere and mostly safe to use for nutrition purposes, they are well studied and easily accessible, rendering them ideal candidates as proxies. In our experiments we examined various carbohydrates, like the already mentioned chitin and pectin, as well as their chemical modifications. Lohmann U.; A Glaciation Indirect Aerosol Effect Caused by Soot Aerosols; J. Geoph. Res.; Vol. 24 No.4; pp 11-1 - 11-4; 2002 Mishchenko M.I., Rossow W.B., Macke A., Lacis A. A.; Sensitivity of Cirrus Cloud Albedo, Bidirectional Reflectance and Optical Thickness Retrieval Accuracy to Ice Particle Shape, J. Geoph. Res.; Vol. 101, No D12; pp. 16,973 - 16,985; 1996

  7. The Leipzig Ice Nucleation chamber Comparison (LINC): An overview of ice nucleation measurements observed with four on-line ice nucleation devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohn, Monika; Wex, Heike; Grawe, Sarah; Hartmann, Susan; Hellner, Lisa; Herenz, Paul; Welti, André; Stratmann, Frank; Lohmann, Ulrike; Kanji, Zamin A.

    2016-04-01

    Mixed-phase clouds (MPCs) are found to be the most relevant cloud type leading to precipitation in mid-latitudes. The formation of ice crystals in MPCs is not completely understood. To estimate the effect of aerosol particles on the radiative properties of clouds and to describe ice nucleation in models, the specific properties of aerosol particles acting as ice nucleating particles (INPs) still need to be identified. A number of devices are able to measure INPs in the lab and in the field. However, methods can be very different and need to be tested under controlled conditions with respect to aerosol generation and properties in order to standardize measurement and data analysis approaches for subsequent ambient measurements. Here, we present an overview of the LINC campaign hosted at TROPOS in September 2015. We compare four ice nucleation devices: PINC (Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber, Chou et al., 2011) and SPIN (SPectrometer for Ice Nuclei) are operated in deposition nucleation and condensation freezing mode. LACIS (Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator, Hartmann et al., 2011) and PIMCA (Portable Immersion Mode Cooling chamber) measure in the immersion freezing mode. PIMCA is used as a vertical extension to PINC and allows activation and droplet growth prior to exposure to the investigated ice nucleation temperature. Size-resolved measurements of multiple aerosol types were performed including pure mineral dust (K-feldspar, kaolinite) and biological particles (Birch pollen washing waters) as well as some of them after treatment with sulfuric or nitric acid prior to experiments. LACIS and PIMCA-PINC operated in the immersion freezing mode showed very good agreement in the measured frozen fraction (FF). For the comparison between PINC and SPIN, which were scanning relative humidity from below to above water vapor saturation, an agreement was found for the obtained INP concentration. However, some differences were observed, which may result from ice

  8. On the Ice Nucleation Spectrum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barahona, D.

    2012-01-01

    This work presents a novel formulation of the ice nucleation spectrum, i.e. the function relating the ice crystal concentration to cloud formation conditions and aerosol properties. The new formulation is physically-based and explicitly accounts for the dependency of the ice crystal concentration on temperature, supersaturation, cooling rate, and particle size, surface area and composition. This is achieved by introducing the concepts of ice nucleation coefficient (the number of ice germs present in a particle) and nucleation probability dispersion function (the distribution of ice nucleation coefficients within the aerosol population). The new formulation is used to generate ice nucleation parameterizations for the homogeneous freezing of cloud droplets and the heterogeneous deposition ice nucleation on dust and soot ice nuclei. For homogeneous freezing, it was found that by increasing the dispersion in the droplet volume distribution the fraction of supercooled droplets in the population increases. For heterogeneous ice nucleation the new formulation consistently describes singular and stochastic behavior within a single framework. Using a fundamentally stochastic approach, both cooling rate independence and constancy of the ice nucleation fraction over time, features typically associated with singular behavior, were reproduced. Analysis of the temporal dependency of the ice nucleation spectrum suggested that experimental methods that measure the ice nucleation fraction over few seconds would tend to underestimate the ice nuclei concentration. It is shown that inferring the aerosol heterogeneous ice nucleation properties from measurements of the onset supersaturation and temperature may carry significant error as the variability in ice nucleation properties within the aerosol population is not accounted for. This work provides a simple and rigorous ice nucleation framework where theoretical predictions, laboratory measurements and field campaign data can be

  9. Climate Impacts of Ice Nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gettelman, Andrew; Liu, Xiaohong; Barahona, Donifan; Lohmann, Ulrike; Chen, Celia

    2012-01-01

    Several different ice nucleation parameterizations in two different General Circulation Models (GCMs) are used to understand the effects of ice nucleation on the mean climate state, and the Aerosol Indirect Effects (AIE) of cirrus clouds on climate. Simulations have a range of ice microphysical states that are consistent with the spread of observations, but many simulations have higher present-day ice crystal number concentrations than in-situ observations. These different states result from different parameterizations of ice cloud nucleation processes, and feature different balances of homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation. Black carbon aerosols have a small (0.06 Wm(exp-2) and not statistically significant AIE when included as ice nuclei, for nucleation efficiencies within the range of laboratory measurements. Indirect effects of anthropogenic aerosols on cirrus clouds occur as a consequence of increasing anthropogenic sulfur emissions with different mechanisms important in different models. In one model this is due to increases in homogeneous nucleation fraction, and in the other due to increases in heterogeneous nucleation with coated dust. The magnitude of the effect is the same however. The resulting ice AIE does not seem strongly dependent on the balance between homogeneous and heterogeneous ice nucleation. Regional effects can reach several Wm2. Indirect effects are slightly larger for those states with less homogeneous nucleation and lower ice number concentration in the base state. The total ice AIE is estimated at 0.27 +/- 0.10 Wm(exp-2) (1 sigma uncertainty). This represents a 20% offset of the simulated total shortwave AIE for ice and liquid clouds of 1.6 Wm(sup-2).

  10. Ice nucleation active bacteria in precipitation are genetically diverse and nucleate ice by employing different mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Failor, K C; Schmale, D G; Vinatzer, B A; Monteil, C L

    2017-12-01

    A growing body of circumstantial evidence suggests that ice nucleation active (Ice + ) bacteria contribute to the initiation of precipitation by heterologous freezing of super-cooled water in clouds. However, little is known about the concentration of Ice + bacteria in precipitation, their genetic and phenotypic diversity, and their relationship to air mass trajectories and precipitation chemistry. In this study, 23 precipitation events were collected over 15 months in Virginia, USA. Air mass trajectories and water chemistry were determined and 33 134 isolates were screened for ice nucleation activity (INA) at -8 °C. Of 1144 isolates that tested positive during initial screening, 593 had confirmed INA at -8 °C in repeated tests. Concentrations of Ice + strains in precipitation were found to range from 0 to 13 219 colony forming units per liter, with a mean of 384±147. Most Ice + bacteria were identified as members of known and unknown Ice + species in the Pseudomonadaceae, Enterobacteriaceae and Xanthomonadaceae families, which nucleate ice employing the well-characterized membrane-bound INA protein. Two Ice + strains, however, were identified as Lysinibacillus, a Gram-positive genus not previously known to include Ice + bacteria. INA of the Lysinibacillus strains is due to a nanometer-sized molecule that is heat resistant, lysozyme and proteinase resistant, and secreted. Ice + bacteria and the INA mechanisms they employ are thus more diverse than expected. We discuss to what extent the concentration of culturable Ice + bacteria in precipitation and the identification of a new heat-resistant biological INA mechanism support a role for Ice + bacteria in the initiation of precipitation.

  11. Ice nucleation triggered by negative pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcolli, Claudia

    2017-11-30

    Homogeneous ice nucleation needs supercooling of more than 35 K to become effective. When pressure is applied to water, the melting and the freezing points both decrease. Conversely, melting and freezing temperatures increase under negative pressure, i.e. when water is stretched. This study presents an extrapolation of homogeneous ice nucleation temperatures from positive to negative pressures as a basis for further exploration of ice nucleation under negative pressure. It predicts that increasing negative pressure at temperatures below about 262 K eventually results in homogeneous ice nucleation while at warmer temperature homogeneous cavitation, i. e. bubble nucleation, dominates. Negative pressure occurs locally and briefly when water is stretched due to mechanical shock, sonic waves, or fragmentation. The occurrence of such transient negative pressure should suffice to trigger homogeneous ice nucleation at large supercooling in the absence of ice-nucleating surfaces. In addition, negative pressure can act together with ice-inducing surfaces to enhance their intrinsic ice nucleation efficiency. Dynamic ice nucleation can be used to improve properties and uniformity of frozen products by applying ultrasonic fields and might also be relevant for the freezing of large drops in rainclouds.

  12. Thermodynamic and Dynamic Aspects of Ice Nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barahona, Donifan

    2018-01-01

    It is known that ice nucleating particles (INP) immersed within supercooled droplets promote the formation of ice. Common theoretical models used to represent this process assume that the immersed particle lowers the work of ice nucleation without significantly affecting the dynamics of water in the vicinity of the particle. This is contrary to evidence showing that immersed surfaces significantly affect the viscosity and diffusivity of vicinal water. To study how this may affect ice formation this work introduces a model linking the ice nucleation rate to the modification of the dynamics and thermodynamics of vicinal water by immersed particles. It is shown that INP that significantly reduce the work of ice nucleation also pose strong limitations to the growth of the nascent ice germs. This leads to the onset of a new ice nucleation regime, called spinodal ice nucleation, where the dynamics of ice germ growth instead of the ice germ size determines the nucleation rate. Nucleation in this regime is characterized by an enhanced sensitivity to particle area and cooling rate. Comparison of the predicted ice nucleation rate against experimental measurements for a diverse set of species relevant to cloud formation suggests that spinodal ice nucleation may be common in nature.

  13. Identification & Characterization of Fungal Ice Nucleation Proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheel, Jan Frederik; Kunert, Anna Theresa; Kampf, Christopher Johannes; Mauri, Sergio; Weidner, Tobias; Pöschl, Ulrich; Fröhlich-Nowoisky, Janine

    2016-04-01

    Freezing of water at relatively warm subfreezing temperatures is dependent on ice nucleation catalysis facilitated by ice nuclei (IN). These IN can be of various origins and although extensive research was done and progress was achieved, the nature and mechanisms leading to an effective IN are to date still poorly understood. Some of the most important processes of our geosphere like the water cycle are highly dependent on effective ice nucleation at temperatures between -2°C - -8°C, a temperature range which is almost exclusively covered by biological IN (BioIN). BioIN are usually macromolecular structures of biological polymers. Sugars as well as proteins have been reported to serve as IN and the best characterized BioIN are ice nucleation proteins (IN-P) from gram negative bacteria. Fungal strains from Fusarium spp. were described to be effective IN at subfreezing temperatures up to -2°C already 25 years ago and more and more fungal species are described to serve as efficient IN. Fungal IN are also thought to be proteins or at least contain a proteinaceous compound, but to date the fungal IN-P primary structure as well as their coding genetic elements of all IN active fungi are unknown. The aim of this study is a.) to identify the proteins and their coding genetic elements from IN active fungi (F. acuminatum, F. avenaceum, M. alpina) and b.) to characterize the mechanisms by which fungal IN serve as effective IN. We designed an interdisciplinary approach using biological, analytical and physical methods to identify fungal IN-P and describe their biological, chemical, and physical properties.

  14. Role of stacking disorder in ice nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lupi, Laura; Hudait, Arpa; Peters, Baron; Grünwald, Michael; Gotchy Mullen, Ryan; Nguyen, Andrew H; Molinero, Valeria

    2017-11-08

    The freezing of water affects the processes that determine Earth's climate. Therefore, accurate weather and climate forecasts hinge on good predictions of ice nucleation rates. Such rate predictions are based on extrapolations using classical nucleation theory, which assumes that the structure of nanometre-sized ice crystallites corresponds to that of hexagonal ice, the thermodynamically stable form of bulk ice. However, simulations with various water models find that ice nucleated and grown under atmospheric temperatures is at all sizes stacking-disordered, consisting of random sequences of cubic and hexagonal ice layers. This implies that stacking-disordered ice crystallites either are more stable than hexagonal ice crystallites or form because of non-equilibrium dynamical effects. Both scenarios challenge central tenets of classical nucleation theory. Here we use rare-event sampling and free energy calculations with the mW water model to show that the entropy of mixing cubic and hexagonal layers makes stacking-disordered ice the stable phase for crystallites up to a size of at least 100,000 molecules. We find that stacking-disordered critical crystallites at 230 kelvin are about 14 kilojoules per mole of crystallite more stable than hexagonal crystallites, making their ice nucleation rates more than three orders of magnitude higher than predicted by classical nucleation theory. This effect on nucleation rates is temperature dependent, being the most pronounced at the warmest conditions, and should affect the modelling of cloud formation and ice particle numbers, which are very sensitive to the temperature dependence of ice nucleation rates. We conclude that classical nucleation theory needs to be corrected to include the dependence of the crystallization driving force on the size of the ice crystallite when interpreting and extrapolating ice nucleation rates from experimental laboratory conditions to the temperatures that occur in clouds.

  15. Ice nucleation properties of mineral dusts

    OpenAIRE

    Steinke, Isabelle

    2013-01-01

    Ice nucleation in clouds has a significant impact on the global hydrological cycle as well as on the radiative budget of the Earth. The AIDA cloud chamber was used to investigate the ice nucleation efficiency of various atmospherically relevant mineral dusts. From experiments with Arizona Test Dust (ATD) a humidity and temperature dependent ice nucleation active surface site density parameterization was developed to describe deposition nucleation at temperatures above 220 K. Based...

  16. Controlled ice nucleation using freeze-dried Pseudomonas syringae encapsulated in alginate beads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Lindong; Tessier, Shannon N; Swei, Anisa; Stott, Shannon L; Toner, Mehmet

    2017-04-01

    The control of ice nucleation is of fundamental significance in many process technologies related to food and pharmaceutical science and cryobiology. Mechanical perturbation, electromagnetic fields and ice-nucleating agents (INAs) have been known to induce ice nucleation in a controlled manner. But these ice-nucleating methods may suffer from cumbersome manual operations, safety concerns of external fields, and biocompatibility and recovery issues of INA particles, especially when used in living systems. Given the automatic ice-seeding nature of INAs, a promising solution to overcome some of the above limitations is to engineer a biocomposite that accommodates the INA particles but minimizes their interactions with biologics, as well as enabling the recovery of used particles. In this study, freeze-dried Pseudomonas syringae, a model ice-nucleating agent, was encapsulated into microliter-sized alginate beads. We evaluated the performance of the bacterial hydrogel beads to initiate ice nucleation in water and aqueous glycerol solution by investigating factors including the size and number of the beads and the local concentration of INA particles. In the aqueous sample of a fixed volume, the total mass of the INA particles (m) was found to be the governing parameter that is solely responsible for determining the ice nucleation performance of the bacterial hydrogel beads. The freezing temperature has a strong positive linear correlation with log 10 m. The findings in this study provide an effective, predictable approach to control ice nucleation, which can improve the outcome and standardization of many ice-assisted process technologies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Ice Nucleation Activity of Various Agricultural Soil Dust Aerosol Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiebel, Thea; Höhler, Kristina; Funk, Roger; Hill, Thomas C. J.; Levin, Ezra J. T.; Nadolny, Jens; Steinke, Isabelle; Suski, Kaitlyn J.; Ullrich, Romy; Wagner, Robert; Weber, Ines; DeMott, Paul J.; Möhler, Ottmar

    2016-04-01

    Recent investigations at the cloud simulation chamber AIDA (Aerosol Interactions and Dynamics in the Atmosphere) suggest that agricultural soil dust has an ice nucleation ability that is enhanced up to a factor of 10 compared to desert dust, especially at temperatures above -26 °C (Steinke et al., in preparation for submission). This enhancement might be caused by the contribution of very ice-active biological particles. In addition, soil dust aerosol particles often contain a considerably higher amount of organic matter compared to desert dust particles. To test agricultural soil dust as a source of ice nucleating particles, especially for ice formation in warm clouds, we conducted a series of laboratory measurements with different soil dust samples to extend the existing AIDA dataset. The AIDA has a volume of 84 m3 and operates under atmospherically relevant conditions over wide ranges of temperature, pressure and humidity. By controlled adiabatic expansions, the ascent of an air parcel in the troposphere can be simulated. As a supplement to the AIDA facility, we use the INKA (Ice Nucleation Instrument of the KArlsruhe Institute of Technology) continuous flow diffusion chamber based on the design by Rogers (1988) to expose the sampled aerosol particles to a continuously increasing saturation ratio by keeping the aerosol temperature constant. For our experiments, soil dust was dry dispersed into the AIDA vessel. First, fast saturation ratio scans at different temperatures were performed with INKA, sampling soil dust aerosol particles directly from the AIDA vessel. Then, we conducted the AIDA expansion experiment starting at a preset temperature. The combination of these two different methods provides a robust data set on the temperature-dependent ice activity of various agriculture soil dust aerosol particles with a special focus on relatively high temperatures. In addition, to extend the data set, we investigated the role of biological and organic matter in more

  18. Heterogeneous ice nucleation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bogdan, A. [Helsinki Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Physics

    1994-12-31

    The classical theory of heterogenous ice nucleation is reviewed in detail. The modelling of ice nucleation in the adsorbed water films on natural particles by analogous ice nucleation in adsorbed water films on the walls of porous media is discussed. Ice nucleation in adsorbed films of purewater and the HNO{sub 3}/H{sub 2}0 binary system on the surface of porous aerosol (SiO{sub 2}) was investigated using the method of NMR spectroscopy. The median freezing temperature and freezing temperature region were shown to be highly sensitive both to the average thickness of the adsorbed films and to the amount of adsorbed nitric acid. The character of the ice phase formation tends to approach that of bulk liquid with increasing adsorbed film thickness. Under the given conditions the thickness of the adsorbed films decreases with an increasing amount of adsorbed nitric acid molecules The molar concentration of nitric acid in the adsorbed films is very small (of the order of 10{sup -}3 10{sup -}2 (M/l)). Nitric acid molecules tend to adsorb on the surface of aerosol to a greater extent than in subsequent layers. The concentration is greatest in layers situated close to the surface and sharply decreases with the distance from the surface. The difference between the median freezing temperatures for adsorbed pure water and for the binary system was found to be about 9 K for films of equal thickness. This is about 150 times greater than the difference between the median freezing temperatures of bulk pure water and a solution with the same concentration of nitric acid. (orig.)

  19. Janus effect of antifreeze proteins on ice nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Kai; Wang, Chunlei; Ma, Ji; Shi, Guosheng; Yao, Xi; Fang, Haiping; Song, Yanlin; Wang, Jianjun

    2016-12-20

    The mechanism of ice nucleation at the molecular level remains largely unknown. Nature endows antifreeze proteins (AFPs) with the unique capability of controlling ice formation. However, the effect of AFPs on ice nucleation has been under debate. Here we report the observation of both depression and promotion effects of AFPs on ice nucleation via selectively binding the ice-binding face (IBF) and the non-ice-binding face (NIBF) of AFPs to solid substrates. Freezing temperature and delay time assays show that ice nucleation is depressed with the NIBF exposed to liquid water, whereas ice nucleation is facilitated with the IBF exposed to liquid water. The generality of this Janus effect is verified by investigating three representative AFPs. Molecular dynamics simulation analysis shows that the Janus effect can be established by the distinct structures of the hydration layer around IBF and NIBF. Our work greatly enhances the understanding of the mechanism of AFPs at the molecular level and brings insights to the fundamentals of heterogeneous ice nucleation.

  20. Sensitivity of ice-nucleating bacteria to ultraviolet irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Obata, Hitoshi; Tanahashi, Shinji; Kawahara, Hidehisa (Kansai Univ., Suita, Osaka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering)

    1992-01-01

    The effect of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on the ice-nucleating activity of the ice-nucleating bacteria was examined. Bacterial suspension was irradiated with UV (254 nm, 6Wx2) for 5 min at a distance of 20 cm from UV source. Although no viable cells were detected, the ice-nucreating activity of the cells was not affected. Furthermore, after UV irradiation for 3 hr, the ice-nucleating activity of Pseudomonas fluorescens and P. syringae was only slightly decreased, although that of P. viridiflava and Erwinia herbicola was significantly lowered. We succeeded in killing the ice-nucleating bacteria, while retaining their ice-nucleating activity with UV irradiation. (author).

  1. Modelling heterogeneous ice nucleation on mineral dust and soot with parameterizations based on laboratory experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoose, C.; Hande, L. B.; Mohler, O.; Niemand, M.; Paukert, M.; Reichardt, I.; Ullrich, R.

    2016-12-01

    Between 0 and -37°C, ice formation in clouds is triggered by aerosol particles acting as heterogeneous ice nuclei. At lower temperatures, heterogeneous ice nucleation on aerosols can occur at lower supersaturations than homogeneous freezing of solutes. In laboratory experiments, the ability of different aerosol species (e.g. desert dusts, soot, biological particles) has been studied in detail and quantified via various theoretical or empirical parameterization approaches. For experiments in the AIDA cloud chamber, we have quantified the ice nucleation efficiency via a temperature- and supersaturation dependent ice nucleation active site density. Here we present a new empirical parameterization scheme for immersion and deposition ice nucleation on desert dust and soot based on these experimental data. The application of this parameterization to the simulation of cirrus clouds, deep convective clouds and orographic clouds will be shown, including the extension of the scheme to the treatment of freezing of rain drops. The results are compared to other heterogeneous ice nucleation schemes. Furthermore, an aerosol-dependent parameterization of contact ice nucleation is presented.

  2. Immersion freezing of ice nucleation active protein complexes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Hartmann

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Utilising the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS, the immersion freezing behaviour of droplet ensembles containing monodisperse particles, generated from a Snomax™ solution/suspension, was investigated. Thereto ice fractions were measured in the temperature range between −5 °C to −38 °C. Snomax™ is an industrial product applied for artificial snow production and contains Pseudomonas syringae} bacteria which have long been used as model organism for atmospheric relevant ice nucleation active (INA bacteria. The ice nucleation activity of such bacteria is controlled by INA protein complexes in their outer membrane. In our experiments, ice fractions increased steeply in the temperature range from about −6 °C to about −10 °C and then levelled off at ice fractions smaller than one. The plateau implies that not all examined droplets contained an INA protein complex. Assuming the INA protein complexes to be Poisson distributed over the investigated droplet populations, we developed the CHESS model (stoCHastic modEl of similar and poiSSon distributed ice nuclei which allows for the calculation of ice fractions as function of temperature and time for a given nucleation rate. Matching calculated and measured ice fractions, we determined and parameterised the nucleation rate of INA protein complexes exhibiting class III ice nucleation behaviour. Utilising the CHESS model, together with the determined nucleation rate, we compared predictions from the model to experimental data from the literature and found good agreement. We found that (a the heterogeneous ice nucleation rate expression quantifying the ice nucleation behaviour of the INA protein complex is capable of describing the ice nucleation behaviour observed in various experiments for both, Snomax™ and P. syringae bacteria, (b the ice nucleation rate, and its temperature dependence, seem to be very similar regardless of whether the INA protein complexes inducing ice

  3. Investigation of heterogeneous ice nucleation in pollen suspensions and washing water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dreischmeier, Katharina; Budke, Carsten; Koop, Thomas

    2014-05-01

    Biological particles such as pollen often show ice nucleation activity at temperatures higher than -20 °C. Immersion freezing experiments of pollen washing water demonstrate comparable ice nucleation behaviour as water containing the whole pollen bodies (Pummer et al., 2012). It was suggested that polysaccharide molecules leached from the grains are responsible for the ice nucleation. Here, heterogeneous ice nucleation in birch pollen suspensions and their washing water was investigated by two different experimental methods. The optical freezing array BINARY (Bielefeld Ice Nucleation ARraY) allows the direct observation of freezing of microliter-sized droplets. The IN spectra obtained from such experiments with birch pollen suspensions over a large concentration range indicate several different ice nucleation active species, two of which are present also in the washing water. The latter was probed also in differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) experiments of emulsified sub-picoliter droplets. Due to the small droplet size in the emulsion samples and at small concentration of IN in the washing water, such DSC experiments can exhibit the ice nucleation behaviour of a single nucleus. The two heterogeneous freezing signals observed in the DSC thermograms can be assigned to two different kinds of ice nuclei, confirming the observation from the BINARY measurements, and also previous studies on Swedish birch pollen washing water (Augustin et al., 2012). The authors gratefully acknowledge funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the project BIOCLOUDS (KO 2944/1-1) and through the research unit INUIT (FOR 1525) under KO 2944/2-1. We particularly thank our INUIT partners for fruitful collaboration and sharing of ideas and IN samples. S. Augustin, H. Wex, D. Niedermeier, B. Pummer, H. Grothe, S. Hartmann, L. Tomsche, T. Clauss, J. Voigtländer, K. Ignatius, and F. Stratmann, Immersion freezing of birch pollen washing water, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10989

  4. Tuning Ice Nucleation with Supercharged Polypeptides

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yang, Huige; Ma, Chao; Li, Kaiyong; Liu, Kai; Loznik, Mark; Teeuwen, Rosalie; van Hest, Jan C. M.; Zhou, Xin; Herrmann, Andreas; Wang, Jianjun

    2016-01-01

    Supercharged unfolded polypeptides (SUPs) are exploited for controlling ice nucleation via tuning the nature of charge and charge density of SUPs. The results show that positively charged SUPs facilitate ice nucleation, while negatively charged ones suppress it. Moreover, the charge density of the

  5. Viscosity of interfacial water regulates ice nucleation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Kaiyong; Chen, Jing; Zhang, Qiaolan; Zhang, Yifan; Xu, Shun; Zhou, Xin; Cui, Dapeng; Wang, Jianjun; Song, Yanlin

    2014-01-01

    Ice formation on solid surfaces is an important phenomenon in many fields, such as cloud formation and atmospheric icing, and a key factor for applications in preventing freezing. Here, we report temperature-dependent nucleation rates of ice for hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The results show that hydrophilic surface presents a lower ice nucleation rate. We develop a strategy to extract the thermodynamic parameters, J 0 and Γ, in the context of classical nucleation theory. From the extracted J 0 and Γ, we reveal the dominant role played by interfacial water. The results provide an insight into freezing mechanism on solid surfaces

  6. Dynamics of ice nucleation on water repellent surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alizadeh, Azar; Yamada, Masako; Li, Ri; Shang, Wen; Otta, Shourya; Zhong, Sheng; Ge, Liehui; Dhinojwala, Ali; Conway, Ken R; Bahadur, Vaibhav; Vinciquerra, A Joseph; Stephens, Brian; Blohm, Margaret L

    2012-02-14

    Prevention of ice accretion and adhesion on surfaces is relevant to many applications, leading to improved operation safety, increased energy efficiency, and cost reduction. Development of passive nonicing coatings is highly desirable, since current antiicing strategies are energy and cost intensive. Superhydrophobicity has been proposed as a lead passive nonicing strategy, yet the exact mechanism of delayed icing on these surfaces is not clearly understood. In this work, we present an in-depth analysis of ice formation dynamics upon water droplet impact on surfaces with different wettabilities. We experimentally demonstrate that ice nucleation under low-humidity conditions can be delayed through control of surface chemistry and texture. Combining infrared (IR) thermometry and high-speed photography, we observe that the reduction of water-surface contact area on superhydrophobic surfaces plays a dual role in delaying nucleation: first by reducing heat transfer and second by reducing the probability of heterogeneous nucleation at the water-substrate interface. This work also includes an analysis (based on classical nucleation theory) to estimate various homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation rates in icing situations. The key finding is that ice nucleation delay on superhydrophobic surfaces is more prominent at moderate degrees of supercooling, while closer to the homogeneous nucleation temperature, bulk and air-water interface nucleation effects become equally important. The study presented here offers a comprehensive perspective on the efficacy of textured surfaces for nonicing applications.

  7. Impact of surface nanostructure on ice nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiang-Xiong; Chen, Min; Fu, Ming

    2014-09-28

    Nucleation of water on solid surface can be promoted noticeably when the lattice parameter of a surface matches well with the ice structure. However, the characteristic length of the surface lattice reported is generally less than 0.5 nm and is hardly tunable. In this paper, we show that a surface with nanoscale roughness can also remarkably promote ice nucleation if the characteristic length of the surface structure matches well with the ice crystal. A series of surfaces composed of periodic grooves with same depth but different widths are constructed in molecular dynamics simulations. Water cylinders are placed on the constructed surfaces and frozen at constant undercooling. The nucleation rates of the water cylinders are calculated in the simulation using the mean first-passage time method and then used to measure the nucleation promotion ability of the surfaces. Results suggest that the nucleation behavior of the supercooled water is significantly sensitive to the width of the groove. When the width of the groove matches well with the specific lengths of the ice crystal structure, the nucleation can be promoted remarkably. If the width does not match with the ice crystal, this kind of promotion disappears and the nucleation rate is even smaller than that on the smooth surface. Simulations also indicate that even when water molecules are adsorbed onto the surface structure in high-humidity environment, the solid surface can provide promising anti-icing ability as long as the characteristic length of the surface structure is carefully designed to avoid geometric match.

  8. A marine biogenic source of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilson, T. W.; Ladino, L. A.; Alpert, Peter A.; Breckels, M. N.; Brooks, I. M.; Browse, J.; Burrows, Susannah M.; Carslaw, K. S.; Huffman, J. A.; Judd, C.; Kilthau, W. P.; Mason, R. H.; McFiggans, Gordon; Miller, L. A.; Najera, J.; Polishchuk, E. A.; Rae, S.; Schiller, C. L.; Si, M.; Vergara Temprado, J.; Whale, Thomas; Wong, J P S; Wurl, O.; Yakobi-Hancock, J. D.; Abbatt, JPD; Aller, Josephine Y.; Bertram, Allan K.; Knopf, Daniel A.; Murray, Benjamin J.

    2015-09-09

    The formation of ice in clouds is facilitated by the presence of airborne ice nucleating particles1,2. Sea spray is one of the major global sources of atmospheric particles, but it is unclear to what extent these particles are capable of nucleating ice3–11. Here we show that material in the sea surface microlayer, which is enriched in surface active organic material representative of that found in sub-micron sea- spray aerosol12–21, nucleates ice under conditions that occur in mixed-phase clouds and high-altitude ice clouds. The ice active material is likely biogenic and is less than ~0.2 ?m in size. We also show that organic material (exudate) released by a common marine diatom nucleates ice when separated from cells and propose that organic material associated with phytoplankton cell exudates are a candidate for the observed ice nucleating ability of the microlayer samples. By combining our measurements with global model simulations of marine organic aerosol, we show that ice nucleating particles of marine origin are dominant in remote marine environments, such as the Southern Ocean, the North Pacific and the North Atlantic.

  9. Probing Individual Ice Nucleation Events with Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bingbing; China, Swarup; Knopf, Daniel; Gilles, Mary; Laskin, Alexander

    2016-04-01

    Heterogeneous ice nucleation is one of the processes of critical relevance to a range of topics in the fundamental and the applied science and technologies. Heterogeneous ice nucleation initiated by particles proceeds where microscopic properties of particle surfaces essentially control nucleation mechanisms. Ice nucleation in the atmosphere on particles governs the formation of ice and mixed phase clouds, which in turn influence the Earth's radiative budget and climate. Heterogeneous ice nucleation is still insufficiently understood and poses significant challenges in predictive understanding of climate change. We present a novel microscopy platform allowing observation of individual ice nucleation events at temperature range of 193-273 K and relative humidity relevant for ice formation in the atmospheric clouds. The approach utilizes a home built novel ice nucleation cell interfaced with Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (IN-ESEM system). The IN-ESEM system is applied for direct observation of individual ice formation events, determining ice nucleation mechanisms, freezing temperatures, and relative humidity onsets. Reported microanalysis of the ice nucleating particles (INP) include elemental composition detected by the energy dispersed analysis of X-rays (EDX), and advanced speciation of the organic content in particles using scanning transmission x-ray microscopy with near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (STXM/NEXAFS). The performance of the IN-ESEM system is validated through a set of experiments with kaolinite particles with known ice nucleation propensity. We demonstrate an application of the IN-ESEM system to identify and characterize individual INP within a complex mixture of ambient particles.

  10. Ice nucleating particles in the Saharan Air Layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Boose

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This study aims at quantifying the ice nucleation properties of desert dust in the Saharan Air Layer (SAL, the warm, dry and dust-laden layer that expands from North Africa to the Americas. By measuring close to the dust's emission source, before aging processes during the transatlantic advection potentially modify the dust properties, the study fills a gap between in situ measurements of dust ice nucleating particles (INPs far away from the Sahara and laboratory studies of ground-collected soil. Two months of online INP concentration measurements are presented, which were part of the two CALIMA campaigns at the Izaña observatory in Tenerife, Spain (2373 m a.s.l., in the summers of 2013 and 2014. INP concentrations were measured in the deposition and condensation mode at temperatures between 233 and 253 K with the Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber (PINC. Additional aerosol information such as bulk chemical composition, concentration of fluorescent biological particles as well as the particle size distribution was used to investigate observed variations in the INP concentration. The concentration of INPs was found to range between 0.2 std L−1 in the deposition mode and up to 2500 std L−1 in the condensation mode at 240 K. It correlates well with the abundance of aluminum, iron, magnesium and manganese (R: 0.43–0.67 and less with that of calcium, sodium or carbonate. These observations are consistent with earlier results from laboratory studies which showed a higher ice nucleation efficiency of certain feldspar and clay minerals compared to other types of mineral dust. We find that an increase of ammonium sulfate, linked to anthropogenic emissions in upwind distant anthropogenic sources, mixed with the desert dust has a small positive effect on the condensation mode INP per dust mass ratio but no effect on the deposition mode INP. Furthermore, the relative abundance of biological particles was found to be significantly higher

  11. International Workshop on Comparing Ice Nucleation Measuring Systems 2014

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cziczo, Daniel [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

    2016-04-30

    The relationship of ambient aerosol particles to the formation of ice-containing clouds is one of the largest uncertainties in understanding the Earth’s climate. The uncertainty is due to several poorly understood processes and measurements including, but not limited to: (1) the microphysics of how particles nucleate ice, (2) the number of ice forming particles as a function of atmospheric properties such as temperature and relative humidity, (3) the atmospheric distribution of ice forming particles and (4) the role of anthropogenic activities in producing or changing the behavior of ice forming particles. The ways in which ice forming particles can impact climate is also multi-faceted. More ice forming particles can lead to clouds with more ice crystals and different optical properties than clouds with less ice forming particles. More effective ice forming particles can lead to ice at higher temperature and/or lower saturation, resulting in clouds at lower altitude or latitude which also changes the Earth’s radiative balance. Ice nucleation also initiates most of the Earth’s precipitation, even in the mid- and low-latitudes, since cloud-top temperatures are often below freezing. The limited measurements and lack of understanding directly translates to restrictions in our ability to model atmospheric ice formation and project changes into the future. The importance of ice nucleation research is further exemplified by Figure 1 which shows the publications per decade and citations per year on the topic of ice nucleation [DeMott et al., 2011]. After a lull at the end of the last century, there has been a dramatic increase in both publications and citations related to ice nucleation; this directly corresponds to the importance of ice nucleation on the Earth’s climate and the uncertainty in this area noted by the Solomon [2007].

  12. New species of ice nucleating fungi in soil and air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fröhlich-Nowoisky, Janine; Hill, Thomas C. J.; Pummer, Bernhard G.; Franc, Gray D.; Pöschl, Ulrich

    2014-05-01

    Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) are ubiquitous in the atmosphere (1,2). Several types of PBAP have been identified as ice nuclei (IN) that can initiate the formation of ice at relatively high temperatures (3, 4). The best-known biological IN are common plant-associated bacteria. The IN activity of these bacteria is due to a surface protein on the outer cell membrane that catalyses ice formation, for which the corresponding gene has been identified and detected by DNA analysis (3). Fungal spores or hyphae can also act as IN, but the biological structures responsible for their IN activity have not yet been elucidated. Furthermore, the abundance, diversity, sources, seasonality, properties, and effects of fungal IN in the atmosphere have neither been characterized nor quantified. Recent studies have shown that airborne fungi are highly diverse (1), and that atmospheric transport leads to efficient exchange of species among different ecosystems (5, 6). The results presented in Fröhlich-Nowoisky et al. 2012 (7) clearly demonstrate the presence of geographic boundaries in the global distribution of microbial taxa in air, and indicate that regional differences may be important for the effects of microorganisms on climate and public health. DNA analyses of aerosol samples collected during rain events showed higher diversity and frequency of occurrence for fungi belonging to the Sordariomycetes, than samples that were collected under dry conditions (8). Sordariomycetes is the class that comprises known ice nucleation active species (Fusarium spp.). By determination of freezing ability of fungal colonies isolated from air samples two species of ice nucleation active fungi that were not previously known as biological ice nucleators were found. By DNA-analysis they were identified as Isaria farinosa and Acremonium implicatum. Both fungi belong to the phylum Ascomycota, produce fluorescent spores in the range of 1-4 µm in diameter, and induced freezing at -4 and

  13. Homogeneous ice nucleation from aqueous inorganic/organic particles representative of biomass burning: water activity, freezing temperatures, nucleation rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knopf, Daniel A; Rigg, Yannick J

    2011-02-10

    Homogeneous ice nucleation plays an important role in the formation of cirrus clouds with subsequent effects on the global radiative budget. Here we report on homogeneous ice nucleation temperatures and corresponding nucleation rate coefficients of aqueous droplets serving as surrogates of biomass burning aerosol. Micrometer-sized (NH(4))(2)SO(4)/levoglucosan droplets with mass ratios of 10:1, 1:1, 1:5, and 1:10 and aqueous multicomponent organic droplets with and without (NH(4))(2)SO(4) under typical tropospheric temperatures and relative humidities are investigated experimentally using a droplet conditioning and ice nucleation apparatus coupled to an optical microscope with image analysis. Homogeneous freezing was determined as a function of temperature and water activity, a(w), which was set at droplet preparation conditions. The ice nucleation data indicate that minor addition of (NH(4))(2)SO(4) to the aqueous organic droplets renders the temperature dependency of water activity negligible in contrast to the case of aqueous organic solution droplets. The mean homogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient derived from 8 different aqueous droplet compositions with average diameters of ∼60 μm for temperatures as low as 195 K and a(w) of 0.82-1 is 2.18 × 10(6) cm(-3) s(-1). The experimentally derived freezing temperatures and homogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficients are in agreement with predictions of the water activity-based homogeneous ice nucleation theory when taking predictive uncertainties into account. However, the presented ice nucleation data indicate that the water activity-based homogeneous ice nucleation theory overpredicts the freezing temperatures by up to 3 K and corresponding ice nucleation rate coefficients by up to ∼2 orders of magnitude. A shift of 0.01 in a(w), which is well within the uncertainty of typical field and laboratory relative humidity measurements, brings experimental and predicted freezing temperatures and homogeneous ice

  14. Direct calculation of ice homogeneous nucleation rate for a molecular model of water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haji-Akbari, Amir; Debenedetti, Pablo G.

    2015-01-01

    Ice formation is ubiquitous in nature, with important consequences in a variety of environments, including biological cells, soil, aircraft, transportation infrastructure, and atmospheric clouds. However, its intrinsic kinetics and microscopic mechanism are difficult to discern with current experiments. Molecular simulations of ice nucleation are also challenging, and direct rate calculations have only been performed for coarse-grained models of water. For molecular models, only indirect estimates have been obtained, e.g., by assuming the validity of classical nucleation theory. We use a path sampling approach to perform, to our knowledge, the first direct rate calculation of homogeneous nucleation of ice in a molecular model of water. We use TIP4P/Ice, the most accurate among existing molecular models for studying ice polymorphs. By using a novel topological approach to distinguish different polymorphs, we are able to identify a freezing mechanism that involves a competition between cubic and hexagonal ice in the early stages of nucleation. In this competition, the cubic polymorph takes over because the addition of new topological structural motifs consistent with cubic ice leads to the formation of more compact crystallites. This is not true for topological hexagonal motifs, which give rise to elongated crystallites that are not able to grow. This leads to transition states that are rich in cubic ice, and not the thermodynamically stable hexagonal polymorph. This mechanism provides a molecular explanation for the earlier experimental and computational observations of the preference for cubic ice in the literature. PMID:26240318

  15. Ice nucleation efficiency of AgI: review and new insights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Marcolli

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available AgI is one of the best-investigated ice-nucleating substances. It has relevance for the atmosphere since it is used for glaciogenic cloud seeding. Theoretical and experimental studies over the last 60 years provide a complex picture of silver iodide as an ice-nucleating agent with conflicting and inconsistent results. This review compares experimental ice nucleation studies in order to analyze the factors that influence the ice nucleation ability of AgI. The following picture emerges from this analysis: the ice nucleation ability of AgI seems to be enhanced when the AgI particle is on the surface of a droplet, which is indeed the position that a particle takes when it can freely move in a droplet. The ice nucleation by particles with surfaces exposed to air depends on water adsorption. AgI surfaces seem to be most efficient at nucleating ice when they are exposed to relative humidity at or even above water saturation. For AgI particles that are completely immersed in water, the freezing temperature increases with increasing AgI surface area. Higher threshold freezing temperatures seem to correlate with improved lattice matches as can be seen for AgI–AgCl solid solutions and 3AgI·NH4I·6H2O, which have slightly better lattice matches with ice than AgI and also higher threshold freezing temperatures. However, the effect of a good lattice match is annihilated when the surfaces have charges. Also, the ice nucleation ability seems to decrease during dissolution of AgI particles. This introduces an additional history and time dependence for ice nucleation in cloud chambers with short residence times.

  16. Major new sources of biological ice nuclei

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moffett, B. F.; Hill, T.; Henderson-Begg, S. K.

    2009-12-01

    Almost all research on biological ice nucleation has focussed on a limited number of bacteria. Here we characterise several major new sources of biogenic ice nuclei. These include mosses, hornworts, liverworts and cyanobacteria. Ice nucleation in the eukaryotic bryophytes appears to be ubiquitous. The temperature at which these organisms nucleate is that at which the difference in vapour pressure over ice and water is at or close to its maximum. At these temperatures (-8 to -18 degrees C) ice will grow at the expense of supercooled water. These organisms are dependent for their water on occult precipitation - fog, dew and cloudwater which by its nature is not collected in conventional rain gauges. Therefore we suggest that these organism produce ice nuclei as a water harvesting mechanism. Since the same mechanism would also drive the Bergeron-Findeisen process, and as moss is known to become airborne, these nuclei may have a role in the initiation of precipitation. The properties of these ice nuclei are very different from the well characterised bacterial nuclei. We will also present DNA sequence data showing that, although related, the proteins responsible are only very distantly related to the classical bacterial ice nuclei.

  17. Understanding ice nucleation characteristics of selective mineral dusts suspended in solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Anand; Marcolli, Claudia; Kaufmann, Lukas; Krieger, Ulrich; Peter, Thomas

    2016-04-01

    Introduction & Objectives Freezing of liquid droplets and subsequent ice crystal growth affects optical properties of clouds and precipitation. Field measurements show that ice formation in cumulus and stratiform clouds begins at temperatures much warmer than those associated with homogeneous ice nucleation in pure water, which is ascribed to heterogeneous ice nucleation occurring on the foreign surfaces of ice nuclei (IN). Various insoluble particles such as mineral dust, soot, metallic particles, volcanic ash, or primary biological particles have been suggested as IN. Among these the suitability of mineral dusts is best established. The ice nucleation ability of mineral dust particles may be modified when secondary organic or inorganic substances are accumulating on the dust during atmospheric transport. If the coating is completely wetting the mineral dust particles, heterogeneous ice nucleation occurs in immersion mode also below 100 % RH. A previous study by Kaufmann (PhD Thesis 2015, ETHZ) with Hoggar Mountain dust suspensions in various solutes (ammonium sulfate, PEG, malonic acid and glucose) showed reduced ice nucleation efficiency (in immersion mode) of the particles. Though it is still quite unclear of how surface modifications and coatings influence the ice nucleation activity of the components present in natural dust samples. In view of these results we run freezing experiments using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) with the following mineral dust particles suspended in pure water and ammonium sulfate solutions: Arizona Test Dust (ATD), microcline, and kaolinite (KGa-2, Clay Mineral Society). Methodology Suspensions of mineral dust samples (ATD: 2 weight%, microcline: 5% weight, KGa-2: 5% weight) are prepared in pure water with varying solute concentrations (ammonium sulfate: 0 - 10% weight). 20 vol% of this suspension plus 80 vol% of a mixture of 95 wt% mineral oil (Aldrich Chemical) and 5 wt% lanolin (Fluka Chemical) is emulsified with a

  18. Chlorine-containing salts as water ice nucleating particles on Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santiago-Materese, D. L.; Iraci, L. T.; Clapham, M. E.; Chuang, P. Y.

    2018-03-01

    Water ice cloud formation on Mars largely is expected to occur on the most efficient ice nucleating particle available. Salts have been observed on the Martian surface and have been known to facilitate water cloud formation on Earth. We examined heterogeneous ice nucleation onto sodium chloride and sodium perchlorate substrates under Martian atmospheric conditions, in the range of 150 to 180 K and 10-7 to 10-5 Torr water partial pressure. Sub-155 K data for the critical saturation ratio (Scrit) suggests an exponential model best describes the temperature-dependence of nucleation onset of water ice for all substrates tested. While sodium chloride does not facilitate water ice nucleation more easily than bare silicon, sodium perchlorate does support depositional nucleation at lower saturation levels than other substrates shown and is comparable to smectite-rich clay in its ability to support cloud initiation. Perchlorates could nucleate water ice at partial pressures up to 40% lower than other substrates examined to date under Martian atmospheric conditions. These findings suggest air masses on Mars containing uplifted salts such as perchlorates could form water ice clouds at lower saturation ratios than in air masses absent similar particles.

  19. Heterogeneous nucleation of ice in the atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicosia, A; Piazza, M; Santachiara, G; Belosi, F

    2017-01-01

    The occurrence of ice-nucleating aerosols in the atmosphere has a profound impact on the properties of clouds, and in turn, influences our understanding on weather and climate. Research on this topic has grown constantly over the last decades, driven by advances in online and offline instruments capable of measuring the characteristics of these cloud-modifying aerosol particles. This article presents different aspects to the understanding of how aerosol particles can trigger the nucleation of ice in clouds. In addition, we present some experimental results obtained with the Dynamic Filter Processing Chamber, an off-line instrument that has been applied extensively in the last years and that circumvents some of the problems related to the measurement of Ice Nucleating Particles properties. (paper)

  20. Bioinspired Materials for Controlling Ice Nucleation, Growth, and Recrystallization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Zhiyuan; Liu, Kai; Wang, Jianjun

    2018-05-15

    Ice formation, mainly consisting of ice nucleation, ice growth, and ice recrystallization, is ubiquitous and crucial in wide-ranging fields from cryobiology to atmospheric physics. Despite active research for more than a century, the mechanism of ice formation is still far from satisfactory. Meanwhile, nature has unique ways of controlling ice formation and can provide resourceful avenues to unravel the mechanism of ice formation. For instance, antifreeze proteins (AFPs) protect living organisms from freezing damage via controlling ice formation, for example, tuning ice nucleation, shaping ice crystals, and inhibiting ice growth and recrystallization. In addition, AFP mimics can have applications in cryopreservation of cells, tissues, and organs, food storage, and anti-icing materials. Therefore, continuous efforts have been made to understand the mechanism of AFPs and design AFP inspired materials. In this Account, we first review our recent research progress in understanding the mechanism of AFPs in controlling ice formation. A Janus effect of AFPs on ice nucleation was discovered, which was achieved via selectively tethering the ice-binding face (IBF) or the non-ice-binding face (NIBF) of AFPs to solid surfaces and investigating specifically the effect of the other face on ice nucleation. Through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation analysis, we observed ordered hexagonal ice-like water structure atop the IBF and disordered water structure atop the NIBF. Therefore, we conclude that the interfacial water plays a critical role in controlling ice formation. Next, we discuss the design and fabrication of AFP mimics with capabilities in tuning ice nucleation and controlling ice shape and growth, as well as inhibiting ice recrystallization. For example, we tuned ice nucleation via modifying solid surfaces with supercharged unfolded polypeptides (SUPs) and polyelectrolyte brushes (PBs) with different counterions. We found graphene oxide (GO) and oxidized quasi

  1. Understanding the ice nucleation characteristics of feldspars suspended in solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Anand; Marcolli, Claudia; Kaufmann, Lukas; Krieger, Ulrich; Peter, Thomas

    2017-04-01

    Freezing of liquid droplets and subsequent ice crystal growth affects optical properties of clouds and precipitation. Field measurements show that ice formation in cumulus and stratiform clouds begins at temperatures much warmer than those associated with homogeneous ice nucleation in pure water, which is ascribed to heterogeneous ice nucleation occurring on the foreign surfaces of ice nuclei (IN). Various insoluble particles such as mineral dust, soot, metallic particles, volcanic ash, or primary biological particles have been suggested as IN. Among these the suitability of mineral dusts is best established. The ice nucleation ability of mineral dust particles may be modified when secondary organic or inorganic substances are accumulating on the dust during atmospheric transport. If the coating is completely wetting the mineral dust particles, heterogeneous ice nucleation occurs in immersion mode also below 100 % RH. A previous study by Zobrist et al. (2008) Arizona test dust, silver iodide, nonadecanol and silicon dioxide suspensions in various solutes showed reduced ice nucleation efficiency (in immersion mode) of the particles. Though it is still quite unclear how surface modifications and coatings influence the ice nucleation activity of the components present in natural dust particles at a microphysical scale. To improve our understanding how solute and mineral dust particle surface interaction, we run freezing experiments using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) with microcline, sanidine, plagioclase, kaolinite and quartz particles suspended in pure water and solutions containing ammonia, ammonium bisulfate, ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrate, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, sodium sulfate and sulfuric acid. Methodology Suspensions of mineral dust samples (2 - 5 wt%) are prepared in water with varying solute concentrations (0 - 15 wt%). 20 vol% of this suspension plus 80 vol% of a mixture of 95 wt% mineral oil (Aldrich

  2. The enhancement and suppression of immersion mode heterogeneous ice-nucleation by solutes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whale, Thomas F; Holden, Mark A; Wilson, Theodore W; O'Sullivan, Daniel; Murray, Benjamin J

    2018-05-07

    Heterogeneous nucleation of ice from aqueous solutions is an important yet poorly understood process in multiple fields, not least the atmospheric sciences where it impacts the formation and properties of clouds. In the atmosphere ice-nucleating particles are usually, if not always, mixed with soluble material. However, the impact of this soluble material on ice nucleation is poorly understood. In the atmospheric community the current paradigm for freezing under mixed phase cloud conditions is that dilute solutions will not influence heterogeneous freezing. By testing combinations of nucleators and solute molecules we have demonstrated that 0.015 M solutions (predicted melting point depression nucleate ice up to around 3 °C warmer than they do in pure water. In contrast, dilute solutions of certain alkali metal halides can dramatically depress freezing points for the same nucleators. At 0.015 M, solutes can enhance or deactivate the ice-nucleating ability of a microcline feldspar across a range of more than 10 °C, which corresponds to a change in active site density of more than a factor of 10 5 . This concentration was chosen for a survey across multiple solutes-nucleant combinations since it had a minimal colligative impact on freezing and is relevant for activating cloud droplets. Other nucleators, for instance a silica gel, are unaffected by these 'solute effects', to within experimental uncertainty. This split in response to the presence of solutes indicates that different mechanisms of ice nucleation occur on the different nucleators or that surface modification of relevance to ice nucleation proceeds in different ways for different nucleators. These solute effects on immersion mode ice nucleation may be of importance in the atmosphere as sea salt and ammonium sulphate are common cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) for cloud droplets and are internally mixed with ice-nucleating particles in mixed-phase clouds. In addition, we propose a pathway dependence where

  3. The effects of ice on methane hydrate nucleation: a microcanonical molecular dynamics study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhengcai; Guo, Guang-Jun

    2017-07-26

    Although ice powders are widely used in gas hydrate formation experiments, the effects of ice on hydrate nucleation and what happens in the quasi-liquid layer of ice are still not well understood. Here, we used high-precision constant energy molecular dynamics simulations to study methane hydrate nucleation from vapor-liquid mixtures exposed to the basal, prismatic, and secondary prismatic planes of hexagonal ice (ice Ih). Although no significant difference is observed in hydrate nucleation processes for these different crystal planes, it is found, more interestingly, that methane hydrate can nucleate either on the ice surface heterogeneously or in the bulk solution phase homogeneously. Several factors are mentioned to be able to promote the heterogeneous nucleation of hydrates, including the adsorption of methane molecules at the solid-liquid interface, hydrogen bonding between hydrate cages and the ice structure, the stronger ability of ice to transfer heat than that of the aqueous solution, and the higher occurrence probability of hydrate cages in the vicinity of the ice surface than in the bulk solution. Meanwhile, however, the other factors including the hydrophilicity of ice and the ice lattice mismatch with clathrate hydrates can inhibit heterogeneous nucleation on the ice surface and virtually promote homogeneous nucleation in the bulk solution. Certainly, the efficiency of ice as a promoter and as an inhibitor for heterogeneous nucleation is different. We estimate that the former is larger than the latter under the working conditions. Additionally, utilizing the benefit of ice to absorb heat, the NVE simulation of hydrate formation with ice can mimic the phenomenon of ice shrinking during the heterogeneous nucleation of hydrates and lower the overly large temperature increase during homogeneous nucleation. These results are helpful in understanding the nucleation mechanism of methane hydrate in the presence of ice.

  4. Soot Aerosol Particles as Cloud Condensation Nuclei: from Ice Nucleation Activity to Ice Crystal Morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pirim, Claire; Ikhenazene, Raouf; Ortega, Isamel Kenneth; Carpentier, Yvain; Focsa, Cristian; Chazallon, Bertrand; Ouf, François-Xavier

    2016-04-01

    Emissions of solid-state particles (soot) from engine exhausts due to incomplete fuel combustion is considered to influence ice and liquid water cloud droplet activation [1]. The activity of these aerosols would originate from their ability to be important centers of ice-particle nucleation, as they would promote ice formation above water homogeneous freezing point. Soot particles are reported to be generally worse ice nuclei than mineral dust because they activate nucleation at higher ice-supersaturations for deposition nucleation and at lower temperatures for immersion freezing than ratios usually expected for homogeneous nucleation [2]. In fact, there are still numerous opened questions as to whether and how soot's physico-chemical properties (structure, morphology and chemical composition) can influence their nucleation ability. Therefore, systematic investigations of soot aerosol nucleation activity via one specific nucleation mode, here deposition nucleation, combined with thorough structural and compositional analyzes are needed in order to establish any association between the particles' activity and their physico-chemical properties. In addition, since the morphology of the ice crystals can influence their radiative properties [3], we investigated their morphology as they grow over both soot and pristine substrates at different temperatures and humidity ratios. In the present work, Combustion Aerosol STandart soot samples were produced from propane using various experimental conditions. Their nucleation activity was studied in deposition mode (from water vapor), and monitored using a temperature-controlled reactor in which the sample's relative humidity is precisely measured with a cryo-hygrometer. Formation of water/ice onto the particles is followed both optically and spectroscopically, using a microscope coupled to a Raman spectrometer. Vibrational signatures of hydroxyls (O-H) emerge when the particle becomes hydrated and are used to characterize ice

  5. Thermodynamic Derivation of the Activation Energy for Ice Nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barahona, D.

    2015-01-01

    Cirrus clouds play a key role in the radiative and hydrological balance of the upper troposphere. Their correct representation in atmospheric models requires an understanding of the microscopic processes leading to ice nucleation. A key parameter in the theoretical description of ice nucleation is the activation energy, which controls the flux of water molecules from the bulk of the liquid to the solid during the early stages of ice formation. In most studies it is estimated by direct association with the bulk properties of water, typically viscosity and self-diffusivity. As the environment in the ice-liquid interface may differ from that of the bulk, this approach may introduce bias in calculated nucleation rates. In this work a theoretical model is proposed to describe the transfer of water molecules across the ice-liquid interface. Within this framework the activation energy naturally emerges from the combination of the energy required to break hydrogen bonds in the liquid, i.e., the bulk diffusion process, and the work dissipated from the molecular rearrangement of water molecules within the ice-liquid interface. The new expression is introduced into a generalized form of classical nucleation theory. Even though no nucleation rate measurements are used to fit any of the parameters of the theory the predicted nucleation rate is in good agreement with experimental results, even at temperature as low as 190 K, where it tends to be underestimated by most models. It is shown that the activation energy has a strong dependency on temperature and a weak dependency on water activity. Such dependencies are masked by thermodynamic effects at temperatures typical of homogeneous freezing of cloud droplets; however, they may affect the formation of ice in haze aerosol particles. The new model provides an independent estimation of the activation energy and the homogeneous ice nucleation rate, and it may help to improve the interpretation of experimental results and the

  6. Heterogeneous ice nucleation in aqueous solutions: the role of water activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zobrist, B; Marcolli, C; Peter, T; Koop, T

    2008-05-01

    Heterogeneous ice nucleation experiments have been performed with four different ice nuclei (IN), namely nonadecanol, silica, silver iodide and Arizona test dust. All IN are either immersed in the droplets or located at the droplets surface. The IN were exposed to various aqueous solutions, which consist of (NH4)2SO4, H2SO4, MgCl2, NaCl, LiCl, Ca(NO3)2, K2CO3, CH3COONa, ethylene glycol, glycerol, malonic acid, PEG300 or a NaCl/malonic acid mixture. Freezing was studied using a differential scanning calorimeter and a cold finger cell. The results show that the heterogeneous ice freezing temperatures decrease with increasing solute concentration; however, the magnitude of this effect is solute dependent. In contrast, when the results are analyzed in terms of the solution water activity a very consistent behavior emerges: heterogeneous ice nucleation temperatures for all four IN converge each onto a single line, irrespective of the nature of the solute. We find that a constant offset with respect to the ice melting point curve, Deltaaw,het, can describe the observed freezing temperatures for each IN. Such a behavior is well-known for homogeneous ice nucleation from supercooled liquid droplets and has led to the development of water-activity-based ice nucleation theory. The large variety of investigated solutes together with different general types of ice nuclei studied (monolayers, ionic crystals, covalently bound network-forming compounds, and a mixture of chemically different crystallites) underlines the general applicability of water-activity-based ice nucleation theory also for heterogeneous ice nucleation in the immersion mode. Finally, the ice nucleation efficiencies of the various IN, as well as the atmospheric implication of the developed parametrization are discussed.

  7. Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation: Interplay of Surface Properties and Their Impact on Water Orientations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glatz, Brittany; Sarupria, Sapna

    2018-01-23

    Ice is ubiquitous in nature, and heterogeneous ice nucleation is the most common pathway of ice formation. How surface properties affect the propensity to observe ice nucleation on that surface remains an open question. We present results of molecular dynamics studies of heterogeneous ice nucleation on model surfaces. The models surfaces considered emulate the chemistry of kaolinite, an abundant component of mineral dust. We investigate the interplay of surface lattice and hydrogen bonding properties in affecting ice nucleation. We find that lattice matching and hydrogen bonding are necessary but not sufficient conditions for observing ice nucleation at these surfaces. We correlate this behavior to the orientations sampled by the metastable supercooled water in contact with the surfaces. We find that ice is observed in cases where water molecules not only sample orientations favorable for bilayer formation but also do not sample unfavorable orientations. This distribution depends on both surface-water and water-water interactions and can change with subtle modifications to the surface properties. Our results provide insights into the diverse behavior of ice nucleation observed at different surfaces and highlight the complexity in elucidating heterogeneous ice nucleation.

  8. Ice cloud processing of ultra-viscous/glassy aerosol particles leads to enhanced ice nucleation ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Wagner

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The ice nucleation potential of airborne glassy aqueous aerosol particles has been investigated by controlled expansion cooling cycles in the AIDA aerosol and cloud chamber of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology at temperatures between 247 and 216 K. Four different solutes were used as proxies for oxygenated organic matter found in the atmosphere: raffinose, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-DL-mandelic acid (HMMA, levoglucosan, and a multi-component mixture of raffinose with five dicarboxylic acids and ammonium sulphate. Similar to previous experiments with citric acid aerosols, all particles were found to nucleate ice heterogeneously before reaching the homogeneous freezing threshold provided that the freezing cycles were started well below the respective glass transition temperatures of the compounds; this is discussed in detail in a separate article. In this contribution, we identify a further mechanism by which glassy aerosols can promote ice nucleation below the homogeneous freezing limit. If the glassy aerosol particles are probed in freezing cycles started only a few degrees below their respective glass transition temperatures, they enter the liquid regime of the state diagram upon increasing relative humidity (moisture-induced glass-to-liquid transition before being able to act as heterogeneous ice nuclei. Ice formation then only occurs by homogeneous freezing at elevated supersaturation levels. When ice forms the remaining solution freeze concentrates and re-vitrifies. If these ice cloud processed glassy aerosol particles are then probed in a second freezing cycle at the same temperature, they catalyse ice formation at a supersaturation threshold between 5 and 30% with respect to ice. By analogy with the enhanced ice nucleation ability of insoluble ice nuclei like mineral dusts after they nucleate ice once, we refer to this phenomenon as pre-activation. We propose a number of possible explanations for why glassy aerosol particles that have re

  9. A simulation study of homogeneous ice nucleation in supercooled salty water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soria, Guiomar D.; Espinosa, Jorge R.; Ramirez, Jorge; Valeriani, Chantal; Vega, Carlos; Sanz, Eduardo

    2018-06-01

    We use computer simulations to investigate the effect of salt on homogeneous ice nucleation. The melting point of the employed solution model was obtained both by direct coexistence simulations and by thermodynamic integration from previous calculations of the water chemical potential. Using a seeding approach, in which we simulate ice seeds embedded in a supercooled aqueous solution, we compute the nucleation rate as a function of temperature for a 1.85 NaCl mol per water kilogram solution at 1 bar. To improve the accuracy and reliability of our calculations, we combine seeding with the direct computation of the ice-solution interfacial free energy at coexistence using the Mold Integration method. We compare the results with previous simulation work on pure water to understand the effect caused by the solute. The model captures the experimental trend that the nucleation rate at a given supercooling decreases when adding salt. Despite the fact that the thermodynamic driving force for ice nucleation is higher for salty water for a given supercooling, the nucleation rate slows down with salt due to a significant increase of the ice-fluid interfacial free energy. The salty water model predicts an ice nucleation rate that is in good agreement with experimental measurements, bringing confidence in the predictive ability of the model. We expect that the combination of state-of-the-art simulation methods here employed to study ice nucleation from solution will be of much use in forthcoming numerical investigations of crystallization in mixtures.

  10. Direct Quantification of Ice Nucleation Active Bacteria in Aerosols and Precipitation: Their Potential Contribution as Ice Nuclei

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, T. C.; DeMott, P. J.; Garcia, E.; Moffett, B. F.; Prenni, A. J.; Kreidenweis, S. M.; Franc, G. D.

    2013-12-01

    Ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria are a potentially prodigious source of highly active (≥-12°C) atmospheric ice nuclei, especially from agricultural land. However, we know little about the conditions that promote their release (eg, daily or seasonal cycles, precipitation, harvesting or post-harvest decay of litter) or their typical contribution to the pool of boundary layer ice nucleating particles (INP). To initiate these investigations we developed a quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) test of the ina gene, the gene that codes for the ice nucleating protein, to directly count INA bacteria in environmental samples. The qPCR test amplifies most forms of the gene and is highly sensitive, able to detect perhaps a single gene copy (ie, a single bacterium) in DNA extracted from precipitation. Direct measurement of the INA bacteria is essential because environmental populations will be a mixture of living, viable-but-not culturable, moribund and dead cells, all of which may retain ice nucleating proteins. Using the qPCR test on leaf washings of plants from three farms in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska we found INA bacteria to be abundant on crops, especially on cereals. Mid-summer populations on wheat and barley were ~108/g fresh weigh of foliage. Broadleaf crops, such as corn, alfalfa, sugar beet and potato supported 105-107/g. Unexpectedly, however, in the absence of a significant physical disturbance, such as harvesting, we were unable to detect the ina gene in aerosols sampled above the crops. Likewise, in fresh snow samples taken over two winters, ina genes from a range of INA bacteria were detected in about half the samples but at abundances that equated to INA bacterial numbers that accounted for only a minor proportion of INP active at -10°C. By contrast, in a hail sample from a summer thunderstorm we found 0.3 INA bacteria per INP at -10°C and ~0.5 per hail stone. Although the role of the INA bacteria as warm-temperature INP in these samples

  11. Inhibition of nucleation and growth of ice by poly(vinyl alcohol) in vitrification solution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hai-Yan; Inada, Takaaki; Funakoshi, Kunio; Lu, Shu-Shen

    2009-08-01

    Control of ice formation is crucial in cryopreservation of biological substances. Successful vitrification using several additives that inhibit ice nucleation in vitrification solutions has previously been reported. Among these additives, here we focused on a synthetic polymer, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and investigated the effects of PVA on nucleation and growth of ice in 35% (w/w) aqueous 1,2-propanediol solution by using a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) system equipped with a cryomicroscope. First, the freezing temperature of the solution was measured using the DSC system, and then the change in ice fraction in the solution during cooling was evaluated based on images obtained using the cryomicroscope, at different concentrations of PVA between 0% and 3% (w/w). Based on the ice fraction, the change in residual solution concentration during cooling was also evaluated and then plotted on the state diagram of aqueous 1,2-propanediol solution. Results indicated that, when the partially glassy and partially frozen state was intentionally allowed, the addition of PVA effectively inhibited not only ice nucleation but also ice growth in the vitrification solution. The effect of PVA on ice growth in the vitrification solution was explained based on kinetic limitations mainly due to mass transport. The interfacial kinetics also might limit ice growth in the vitrification solution only when the ice growth rate decreased below a critical value. This coincides with the fact that PVA exhibits a unique antifreeze activity in the same manner as antifreeze proteins when ice growth rate is lower than a critical value.

  12. Molecular sizes of lichen ice nucleation sites determined by gamma radiation inactivation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kieft, T.L.; Ruscetti, T.

    1992-01-01

    It has previously been shown that some species of lichen fungi contain proteinaceous ice nuclei which are active at temperatures as warm as −2 °C. This experiment was undertaken to determine the molecular sizes of ice nuclei in the lichen fungus Rhizoplaca chrysoleuca and to compare them to bacterial ice nuclei from Pseudomonas syringae. Gamma radiation inactivation analysis was used to determine molecular weights. Radiation inactivation analysis is based on target theory, which states that the likelihood of a molecule being inactivated by gamma rays increases as its size increases. Three different sources of ice nuclei from the lichen R. chrysoleuca were tested: field-collected lichens, extract of lichen fungus, and a pure culture of the fungus R. chrysoleuca. P. syringae strain Cit7 was used as a source of bacterial ice nuclei. Samples were lyophilized, irradiated with gamma doses ranging from 0 to 10.4 Mrads, and then tested for ice nucleation activity using a droplet-freezing assay. Data for all four types of samples were in rough agreement; sizes of nucleation sites increased logarithmically with increasing temperatures of ice nucleation activity. Molecular weights of nucleation sites active between −3 and −4 °C from the bacteria and from the field-collected lichens were approximately 1.0 × 10 6 Da. Nuclei from the lichen fungus and in the lichen extract appeared to be slightly smaller but followed the same log-normal pattern with temperature of ice nucleation activity. The data for both the bacterial and lichen ice nuclei are in agreement with ice nucleation theory which states that the size of ice nucleation sites increases logarithmically as the temperature of nucleation increases linearly. This suggests that although some differences exist between bacterial and lichen ice nucleation sites, their molecular sizes are quite similar

  13. The Effect of Volcanic Ash Composition on Ice Nucleation Affinity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genareau, K. D.; Cloer, S.; Primm, K.; Woods, T.; Tolbert, M. A.

    2017-12-01

    Understanding the role that volcanic ash plays in ice nucleation is important for knowledge of lightning generation in both volcanic plumes and in clouds developing downwind from active volcanoes. Volcanic ash has long been suggested to influence heterogeneous ice nucleation following explosive eruptions, but determining precisely how composition and mineralogy affects ice nucleation affinity (INA) is poorly constrained. For the study presented here, volcanic ash samples with different compositions and mineral/glass contents were tested in both the deposition and immersion modes, following the methods presented in Schill et al. (2015). Bulk composition was determined with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), grain size distribution was determined with laser diffraction particle size analysis (LDPSA), and mineralogy was determined with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results of the deposition-mode experiments reveal that there is no relationship between ice saturation ratios (Sice) and either mineralogy or bulk ash composition, as all samples have similar Sice ratios. In the immersion-mode experiments, frozen fractions were determined from -20 °C to -50 °C using three different amounts of ash (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 wt% of slurry). Results from the immersion freezing reveal that the rhyolitic samples (73 wt% SiO2) nucleate ice at higher temperatures compared to the basaltic samples (49 wt% SiO2). There is no observed correlation between frozen fractions and mineral content of ash samples, but the two most efficient ice nuclei are rhyolites that contain the greatest proportion of amorphous glass (> 90 %), and are enriched in K2O relative to transition metals (MnO and TiO2), the latter of which show a negative correlation with frozen fraction. Higher ash abundance in water droplets increases the frozen fraction at all temperatures, indicating that ash amount plays the biggest role in ice nucleation. If volcanic ash can reach sufficient abundance (

  14. Laboratory, Computational and Theoretical Investigations of Ice Nucleation and its Implications for Mixed Phase Clouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fan

    Ice particles in atmospheric clouds play an important role in determining cloud lifetime, precipitation and radiation. It is therefore important to understand the whole life cycle of ice particles in the atmosphere, e.g., where they come from (nucleation), how they evolve (growth), and where they go (precipitation). Ice nucleation is the crucial step for ice formation, and in this study, we will mainly focus on ice nucleation in the lab and its effect on mixed-phase stratiform clouds. In the first half of this study, we investigate the relevance of moving contact lines (i.e., the region where three or more phases meet) on the phenomenon of contact nucleation. High speed video is used to investigate heterogeneous ice nucleation in supercooled droplets resting on cold substrates under two different dynamic conditions: droplet electrowetting and droplet vibration. The results show that contact-line motion is not a sufficient condition to trigger ice nucleation, while locally curved contact lines that can result from contact-line motion are strongly related to ice nucleation. We propose that pressure perturbations due to locally curved contact lines can strongly enhance the ice nucleation rate, which gives another interpretation for the mechanism for contact nucleation. Corresponding theoretical results provide a quantitative connection between pressure perturbations and temperature, providing a useful tool for ice nucleation calculations in atmospheric models. In this second half of the study, we build a minimalist model for long lifetime mixed-phase stratiform clouds based on stochastic ice nucleation. Our result shows that there is a non-linear relationship between ice water contact and ice number concentration in the mixed-phase cloud, as long as the volume ice nucleation rate is constant. This statistical property may help identify the source of ice nuclei in mixed-phase clouds. In addition, results from Lagrangian ice particle tracking in time dependent fields

  15. Using Ice Nucleating Particles to Enable Desublimation on Chilled Substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, Julia; Failor, Kevin; Bisbano, Caitlin; Mulroe, Megan; Nath, Saurabh; Vinatzer, Boris; Boreyko, Jonathan

    2017-11-01

    On a subfreezing surface, nucleating embryos usually form as supercooled condensate that later freeze into ice, as opposed to desublimation. Ice nucleating particles (INPs) have been widely used to freeze existing water; however, nobody has studied how they might affect the initial mode of nucleation. Here, we show that INPs deposited on a substrate can switch the mode of embryo nucleation to desublimation, rather than supercooled condensation. Deposition was achieved by evaporating a water droplet containing INPs on a hydrophobic silicon wafer. A Peltier stage was used to cool the wafer down inside of a controlled humidity chamber, such that the desired set point temperature correlated with the dew point and onset of nucleation. Beneath a critical surface temperature, microscopy indicated that desublimation occurred on the circular patch of deposited INPs, compared to supercooled condensation outside the circle. The hydrophobic surface was then patterned with hydrophilic stripe arrays, which facilitated the deposition of stripes of INPs via the same evaporation method. The resulting array of desublimating ice stripes created dry zones free of condensation or frost in the intermediate areas, as the hygroscopic ice stripes served as overlapping humidity sinks.

  16. A theory-based parameterization for heterogeneous ice nucleation and implications for the simulation of ice processes in atmospheric models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savre, J.; Ekman, A. M. L.

    2015-05-01

    A new parameterization for heterogeneous ice nucleation constrained by laboratory data and based on classical nucleation theory is introduced. Key features of the parameterization include the following: a consistent and modular modeling framework for treating condensation/immersion and deposition freezing, the possibility to consider various potential ice nucleating particle types (e.g., dust, black carbon, and bacteria), and the possibility to account for an aerosol size distribution. The ice nucleating ability of each aerosol type is described using a contact angle (θ) probability density function (PDF). A new modeling strategy is described to allow the θ PDF to evolve in time so that the most efficient ice nuclei (associated with the lowest θ values) are progressively removed as they nucleate ice. A computationally efficient quasi Monte Carlo method is used to integrate the computed ice nucleation rates over both size and contact angle distributions. The parameterization is employed in a parcel model, forced by an ensemble of Lagrangian trajectories extracted from a three-dimensional simulation of a springtime low-level Arctic mixed-phase cloud, in order to evaluate the accuracy and convergence of the method using different settings. The same model setup is then employed to examine the importance of various parameters for the simulated ice production. Modeling the time evolution of the θ PDF is found to be particularly crucial; assuming a time-independent θ PDF significantly overestimates the ice nucleation rates. It is stressed that the capacity of black carbon (BC) to form ice in the condensation/immersion freezing mode is highly uncertain, in particular at temperatures warmer than -20°C. In its current version, the parameterization most likely overestimates ice initiation by BC.

  17. Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation Ability of NaCl and Sea Salt Aerosol Particles at Cirrus Temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Robert; Kaufmann, Julia; Möhler, Ottmar; Saathoff, Harald; Schnaiter, Martin; Ullrich, Romy; Leisner, Thomas

    2018-03-01

    In situ measurements of the composition of heterogeneous cirrus ice cloud residuals have indicated a substantial contribution of sea salt in sampling regions above the ocean. We have investigated the heterogeneous ice nucleation ability of sodium chloride (NaCl) and sea salt aerosol (SSA) particles at cirrus cloud temperatures between 235 and 200 K in the Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere aerosol and cloud chamber. Effloresced NaCl particles were found to act as ice nucleating particles in the deposition nucleation mode at temperatures below about 225 K, with freezing onsets in terms of the ice saturation ratio, Sice, between 1.28 and 1.40. Above 225 K, the crystalline NaCl particles deliquesced and nucleated ice homogeneously. The heterogeneous ice nucleation efficiency was rather similar for the two crystalline forms of NaCl (anhydrous NaCl and NaCl dihydrate). Mixed-phase (solid/liquid) SSA particles were found to act as ice nucleating particles in the immersion freezing mode at temperatures below about 220 K, with freezing onsets in terms of Sice between 1.24 and 1.42. Above 220 K, the SSA particles fully deliquesced and nucleated ice homogeneously. Ice nucleation active surface site densities of the SSA particles were found to be in the range between 1.0 · 1010 and 1.0 · 1011 m-2 at T < 220 K. These values are of the same order of magnitude as ice nucleation active surface site densities recently determined for desert dust, suggesting a potential contribution of SSA particles to low-temperature heterogeneous ice nucleation in the atmosphere.

  18. Inhibition of ice nucleation by slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Peter W; Lu, Weizhe; Xu, Haojun; Kim, Philseok; Kreder, Michael J; Alvarenga, Jack; Aizenberg, Joanna

    2013-01-14

    Ice repellent coatings have been studied and keenly sought after for many years, where any advances in the durability of such coatings will result in huge energy savings across many fields. Progress in creating anti-ice and anti-frost surfaces has been particularly rapid since the discovery and development of slippery, liquid infused porous surfaces (SLIPS). Here we use SLIPS-coated differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) pans to investigate the effects of the surface modification on the nucleation of supercooled water. This investigation is inherently different from previous studies which looked at the adhesion of ice to SLIPS surfaces, or the formation of ice under high humidity conditions. Given the stochastic nature of nucleation of ice from supercooled water, multiple runs on the same sample are needed to determine if a given surface coating has a real and statistically significant effect on the nucleation temperature. We have cycled supercooling to freezing and then thawing of deionized water in hydrophilic (untreated aluminum), hydrophobic, superhydrophobic, and SLIPS-treated DSC pans multiple times to determine the effects of surface treatment on the nucleation and subsequent growth of ice. We find that SLIPS coatings lower the nucleation temperature of supercooled water in contact with statistical significance and show no deterioration or change in the coating performance even after 150 freeze-thaw cycles.

  19. Immersion Freezing of Aluminas: The Effect of Crystallographic Properties on Ice Nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, M.; Chong, E.; Freedman, M. A.

    2017-12-01

    Atmospheric aerosol particles serve as the nuclei for heterogeneous ice nucleation, a process that allows for ice to form at higher temperatures and lower supersaturations with respect to ice. This process is essential to the formation of ice in cirrus clouds. Heterogeneous ice nucleation is affected by many factors including the composition, crystal structure, porosity, and surface area of the particles. However, these factors are not well understood and, as such, are difficult to account for in climate models. To test the effects of crystal structure on ice nucleation, a system of transition aluminas (Al2O3) that differ only in their crystal structure, despite being compositionally similar, were tested using immersion freezing. Particles were immersed in water and placed into a temperature controlled chamber. Freezing events were then recorded as the chamber was cooled to negative 30 °. Alpha-alumina, which is a member of the hexagonal crystal system, showed a significantly higher temperature at which all particles froze in comparison to other samples. This supports the hypothesis that, since a hexagonal crystal structure is the lowest energy state for ice, hexagonal surface structures would best facilitate ice nucleation. However, a similar sample of hexagonal chi-alumina did not show the same results. Further analysis of the samples will be done to characterize surface structures and composition. These conflicting data sets raise interesting questions about the effect of other surface features, such as surface area and porosity, on ice nucleation.

  20. The barrier to ice nucleation in monatomic water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prestipino, Santi

    2018-03-01

    Crystallization from a supercooled liquid initially proceeds via the formation of a small solid embryo (nucleus), which requires surmounting an activation barrier. This phenomenon is most easily studied by numerical simulation, using specialized biased-sampling techniques to overcome the limitations imposed by the rarity of nucleation events. Here, I focus on the barrier to homogeneous ice nucleation in supercooled water, as represented by the monatomic-water model, which in the bulk exhibits a complex interplay between different ice structures. I consider various protocols to identify solidlike particles on a computer, which perform well enough for the Lennard-Jones model, and compare their respective impact on the shape and height of the nucleation barrier. It turns out that the effect is stronger on the nucleus size than on the barrier height. As a by-product of the analysis, I determine the structure of the nucleation cluster, finding that the relative amount of ice phases in the cluster heavily depends on the method used for classifying solidlike particles. Moreover, the phase which is most favored during the earlier stages of crystallization may happen, depending on the nucleation coordinate adopted, to be different from the stable polymorph. Therefore, the quality of a reaction coordinate cannot be assessed simply on the basis of the barrier height obtained. I explain how this outcome is possible and why it just points out the shortcoming of collective variables appropriate to simple fluids in providing a robust method of particle classification for monatomic water.

  1. Ice nucleation properties of atmospheric aerosol particles collected during a field campaign in Cyprus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yordanova, Petya; Maier, Stefanie; Lang-Yona, Naama; Tamm, Alexandra; Meusel, Hannah; Pöschl, Ulrich; Weber, Bettina; Fröhlich-Nowoisky, Janine

    2017-04-01

    Atmospheric aerosol particles, including desert and soil dust as well as marine aerosols, are well known to act as ice nuclei (IN) and thus have been investigated in numerous ice nucleation studies. Based on their cloud condensation nuclei potential and their impacts on radiative properties of clouds (via scattering and absorption of solar radiation), aerosol particles may significantly affect the cloud and precipitation development. Atmospheric aerosols of the Eastern Mediterranean have been described to be dominated by desert dust, but only little is known on their composition and ice nucleating properties. In this study we investigated the ice nucleating ability of total suspended particles (TSP), collected at the remote site Agia Marina Xyliatou on Cyprus during a field campaign in April 2016. Airborne TSP samples containing air masses of various types such as African (Saharan) and Arabian dust and European and Middle Eastern pollution were collected on glass fiber filters at 24 h intervals. Sampling was performed ˜5 m above ground level and ˜521 m above sea level. During the sampling period, two major dust storms (PM 10max 118 μg/m3 and 66 μg/m3) and a rain event (rainfall amount: 3.4 mm) were documented. Chemical and physical characterizations of the particles were analyzed experimentally through filtration, thermal, chemical and enzyme treatments. Immersion freezing experiments were performed at relatively high subzero temperatures (-1 to -15˚ C) using the mono ice nucleation array. Preliminary results indicate that highest IN particle numbers (INPs) occurred during the second dust storm event with lower particle concentrations. Treatments at 60˚ C lead to a gradual IN deactivation, indicating the presence of biological INPs, which were observed to be larger than 300 kDa. Additional results originating from this study will be shown. Acknowledgement: This work was funded by the DFG Ice Nuclei Research Unit (INUIT).

  2. A new temperature and humidity dependent surface site density approach for deposition ice nucleation

    OpenAIRE

    I. Steinke; C. Hoose; O. Möhler; P. Connolly; T. Leisner

    2014-01-01

    Deposition nucleation experiments with Arizona Test Dust (ATD) as a surrogate for mineral dusts were conducted at the AIDA cloud chamber at temperatures between 220 and 250 K. The influence of the aerosol size distribution and the cooling rate on the ice nucleation efficiencies was investigated. Ice nucleation active surface site (INAS) densities were calculated to quantify the ice nucleation efficiency as a function of temperature, humidity and the aerosol ...

  3. Effect of Controlled Ice Nucleation on Stability of Lactate Dehydrogenase During Freeze-Drying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Rui; Tanaka, Kazunari; Mudhivarthi, Vamsi; Bogner, Robin H; Pikal, Michael J

    2018-03-01

    Several controlled ice nucleation techniques have been developed to increase the efficiency of the freeze-drying process as well as to improve the quality of pharmaceutical products. Owing to the reduction in ice surface area, these techniques have the potential to reduce the degradation of proteins labile during freezing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of ice nucleation temperature on the in-process stability of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). LDH in potassium phosphate buffer was nucleated at -4°C, -8°C, and -12°C using ControLyo™ or allowed to nucleate spontaneously. Both the enzymatic activity and tetramer recovery after freeze-thawing linearly correlated with product ice nucleation temperature (n = 24). Controlled nucleation also significantly improved batch homogeneity as reflected by reduced inter-vial variation in activity and tetramer recovery. With the correlation established in the laboratory, the degradation of protein in manufacturing arising from ice nucleation temperature differences can be quantitatively predicted. The results show that controlled nucleation reduced the degradation of LDH during the freezing process, but this does not necessarily translate to vastly superior stability during the entire freeze-drying process. The capability of improving batch homogeneity provides potential advantages in scaling-up from lab to manufacturing scale. Copyright © 2018 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Ice nucleation on nanotextured surfaces: the influence of surface fraction, pillar height and wetting states.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metya, Atanu K; Singh, Jayant K; Müller-Plathe, Florian

    2016-09-29

    In this work, we address the nucleation behavior of a supercooled monatomic cylindrical water droplet on nanoscale textured surfaces using molecular dynamics simulations. The ice nucleation rate at 203 K on graphite based textured surfaces with nanoscale roughness is evaluated using the mean fast-passage time method. The simulation results show that the nucleation rate depends on the surface fraction as well as the wetting states. The nucleation rate enhances with increasing surface fraction for water in the Cassie-Baxter state, while contrary behavior is observed for the case of Wenzel state. Based on the spatial histogram distribution of ice formation, we observed two pathways for ice nucleation. Heterogeneous nucleation is observed at a high surface fraction. However, the probability of homogeneous ice nucleation events increases with decreasing surface fraction. We further investigate the role of the nanopillar height in ice nucleation. The nucleation rate is enhanced with increasing nanopillar height. This is attributed to the enhanced contact area with increasing nanopillar height and the shift in nucleation events towards the three-phase contact line associated with the nanotextured surface. The ice-surface work of adhesion for the Wenzel state is found to be 1-2 times higher than that in the Cassie-Baxter state. Furthermore, the work of adhesion of ice in the Wenzel state is found to be linearly dependent on the contour length of the droplet, which is in line with that reported for liquid droplets.

  5. Snow-borne nanosized particles: Abundance, distribution, composition, and significance in ice nucleation processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangel-Alvarado, Rodrigo Benjamin; Nazarenko, Yevgen; Ariya, Parisa A.

    2015-11-01

    Physicochemical processes of nucleation constitute a major uncertainty in understanding aerosol-cloud interactions. To improve the knowledge of the ice nucleation process, we characterized physical, chemical, and biological properties of fresh snow using a suite of state-of-the-art techniques based on mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, chromatography, and optical particle sizing. Samples were collected at two North American Arctic sites, as part of international campaigns (2006 and 2009), and in the city of Montreal, Canada, over the last decade. Particle size distribution analyses, in the range of 3 nm to 10 µm, showed that nanosized particles are the most numerous (38-71%) in fresh snow, with a significant portion (11 to 19%) less than 100 nm in size. Particles with diameters less than 200 nm consistently exhibited relatively high ice-nucleating properties (on average ranged from -19.6 ± 2.4 to -8.1 ± 2.6°C). Chemical analysis of the nanosized fraction suggests that they contain bioorganic materials, such as amino acids, as well as inorganic compounds with similar characteristics to mineral dust. The implication of nanoparticle ubiquity and abundance in diverse snow ecosystems are discussed in the context of their importance in understanding atmospheric nucleation processes.

  6. An improved model for nucleation-limited ice formation in living cells during freezing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingru Yi

    Full Text Available Ice formation in living cells is a lethal event during freezing and its characterization is important to the development of optimal protocols for not only cryopreservation but also cryotherapy applications. Although the model for probability of ice formation (PIF in cells developed by Toner et al. has been widely used to predict nucleation-limited intracellular ice formation (IIF, our data of freezing Hela cells suggest that this model could give misleading prediction of PIF when the maximum PIF in cells during freezing is less than 1 (PIF ranges from 0 to 1. We introduce a new model to overcome this problem by incorporating a critical cell volume to modify the Toner's original model. We further reveal that this critical cell volume is dependent on the mechanisms of ice nucleation in cells during freezing, i.e., surface-catalyzed nucleation (SCN and volume-catalyzed nucleation (VCN. Taken together, the improved PIF model may be valuable for better understanding of the mechanisms of ice nucleation in cells during freezing and more accurate prediction of PIF for cryopreservation and cryotherapy applications.

  7. Bioprecipitation: a feedback cycle linking earth history, ecosystem dynamics and land use through biological ice nucleators in the atmosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Cindy E; Conen, Franz; Alex Huffman, J; Phillips, Vaughan; Pöschl, Ulrich; Sands, David C

    2014-02-01

    Landscapes influence precipitation via the water vapor and energy fluxes they generate. Biologically active landscapes also generate aerosols containing microorganisms, some being capable of catalyzing ice formation and crystal growth in clouds at temperatures near 0 °C. The resulting precipitation is beneficial for the growth of plants and microorganisms. Mounting evidence from observations and numerical simulations support the plausibility of a bioprecipitation feedback cycle involving vegetated landscapes and the microorganisms they host. Furthermore, the evolutionary history of ice nucleation-active bacteria such as Pseudomonas syringae supports that they have been part of this process on geological time scales since the emergence of land plants. Elucidation of bioprecipitation feedbacks involving landscapes and their microflora could contribute to appraising the impact that modified landscapes have on regional weather and biodiversity, and to avoiding inadvertent, negative consequences of landscape management. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Glassy aerosols with a range of compositions nucleate ice heterogeneously at cirrus temperatures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. W. Wilson

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric secondary organic aerosol (SOA is likely to exist in a semi-solid or glassy state, particularly at low temperatures and humidities. Previously, it has been shown that glassy aqueous citric acid aerosol is able to nucleate ice heterogeneously under conditions relevant to cirrus in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL. In this study we test if glassy aerosol distributions with a range of chemical compositions heterogeneously nucleate ice under cirrus conditions. Three single component aqueous solution aerosols (raffinose, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-DL-mandelic acid (HMMA and levoglucosan and one multi component aqueous solution aerosol (raffinose mixed with five dicarboxylic acids and ammonium sulphate were studied in both the liquid and glassy states at a large cloud simulation chamber. The investigated organic compounds have similar functionality to oxidised organic material found in atmospheric aerosol and have estimated temperature/humidity induced glass transition thresholds that fall within the range predicted for atmospheric SOA. A small fraction of aerosol particles of all compositions were found to nucleate ice heterogeneously in the deposition mode at temperatures relevant to the TTL (<200 K. Raffinose and HMMA, which form glasses at higher temperatures, nucleated ice heterogeneously at temperatures as high as 214.6 and 218.5 K respectively. We present the calculated ice active surface site density, ns, of the aerosols tested here and also of glassy citric acid aerosol as a function of relative humidity with respect to ice (RHi. We also propose a parameterisation which can be used to estimate heterogeneous ice nucleation by glassy aerosol for use in cirrus cloud models up to ~220 K. Finally, we show that heterogeneous nucleation by glassy aerosol may compete with ice nucleation on mineral dust particles in mid-latitudes cirrus.

  9. Single Particle Laser Mass Spectrometry Applied to Differential Ice Nucleation Experiments at the AIDA Chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallavardin, S. J.; Froyd, Karl D.; Lohmann, U.; Moehler, Ottmar; Murphy, Daniel M.; Cziczo, Dan

    2008-01-01

    Experiments conducted at the Aerosol Interactions and Dynamics in the Atmosphere (AIDA) chamber located in Karlsruhe, Germany permit investigation of particle properties that affect the nucleation of ice at temperature and water vapor conditions relevant to cloud microphysics and climate issues. Ice clouds were generated by heterogeneous nucleation of Arizona test dust (ATD), illite, and hematite and homogeneous nucleation of sulfuric acid. Ice crystals formed in the chamber were inertially separated from unactivated, or 'interstitial' aerosol particles with a pumped counterflow virtual impactor (PCVI), then evaporated. The ice residue (i.e., the aerosol which initiated ice nucleation plus any material which was scavenged from the gas- and/or particle-phase), was chemically characterized at the single particle level using a laser ionization mass spectrometer. In this manner the species that first nucleated ice could be identified out of a mixed aerosol population in the chamber. Bare mineral dust particles were more effective ice nuclei (IN) than similar particles with a coating. Metallic particles from contamination in the chamber initiated ice nucleation before other species but there were few enough that they did not compromise the experiments. Nitrate, sulfate, and organics were often detected on particles and ice residue, evidently from scavenging of trace gas-phase species in the chamber. Hematite was a more effective ice nucleus than illite. Ice residue was frequently larger than unactivated test aerosol due to the formation of aggregates due to scavenging, condensation of contaminant gases, and the predominance of larger aerosol in nucleation

  10. Efficiency of the deposition mode ice nucleation on mineral dust particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Möhler

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The deposition mode ice nucleation efficiency of various dust aerosols was investigated at cirrus cloud temperatures between 196 and 223 K using the aerosol and cloud chamber facility AIDA (Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere. Arizona test dust (ATD as a reference material and two dust samples from the Takla Makan desert in Asia (AD1 and the Sahara (SD2 were used for the experiments at simulated cloud conditions. The dust particle sizes were almost lognormally distributed with mode diameters between 0.3 and 0.5 μm and geometric standard deviations between 1.6 and 1.9. Deposition ice nucleation was most efficient on ATD particles with ice-active particle fractions of about 0.6 and 0.8 at an ice saturation ratio SiSiSi. This indicates that deposition ice nucleation on mineral particles may not be treated in the same stochastic sense as homogeneous freezing. The suggested formulation of ice activation spectra may be used to calculate the formation rate of ice crystals in models, if the number concentration of dust particles is known. More experimental work is needed to quantify the variability of the ice activation spectra as function of the temperature and dust particle properties.

  11. Nonthermal ice nucleation observed at distorted contact lines of supercooled water drops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fan; Cruikshank, Owen; He, Weilue; Kostinski, Alex; Shaw, Raymond A

    2018-02-01

    Ice nucleation is the crucial step for ice formation in atmospheric clouds and therefore underlies climatologically relevant precipitation and radiative properties. Progress has been made in understanding the roles of temperature, supersaturation, and material properties, but an explanation for the efficient ice nucleation occurring when a particle contacts a supercooled water drop has been elusive for over half a century. Here, we explore ice nucleation initiated at constant temperature and observe that mechanical agitation induces freezing of supercooled water drops at distorted contact lines. Results show that symmetric motion of supercooled water on a vertically oscillating substrate does not freeze, no matter how we agitate it. However, when the moving contact line is distorted with the help of trace amounts of oil or inhomogeneous pinning on the substrate, freezing can occur at temperatures much higher than in a static droplet, equivalent to ∼10^{10} increase in nucleation rate. Several possible mechanisms are proposed to explain the observations. One plausible explanation among them, decreased pressure due to interface curvature, is explored theoretically and compared with the observational results quasiquantitatively. Indeed, the observed freezing-temperature increase scales with contact line speed in a manner consistent with the pressure hypothesis. Whatever the mechanism, the experiments demonstrate a strong preference for ice nucleation at three-phase contact lines compared to the two-phase interface, and they also show that movement and distortion of the contact line are necessary contributions to stimulating the nucleation process.

  12. Small particles big effect? - Investigating ice nucleation abilities of soot particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahrt, Fabian; David, Robert O.; Lohmann, Ulrike; Stopford, Chris; Wu, Zhijun; Kanji, Zamin A.

    2017-04-01

    Atmospheric soot particles are primary particles produced by incomplete combustion of biomass and/or fossil fuels. Thus soot mainly originates from anthropogenic emissions, stemming from combustion related processes in transport vehicles, industrial and residential uses. Such soot particles are generally complex mixtures of black carbon (BC) and organic matter (OM) (Bond et al., 2013; Petzold et al., 2013), depending on the sources and the interaction of the primary particles with other atmospheric matter and/or gases BC absorbs solar radiation having a warming effect on global climate. It can also act as a heterogeneous ice nucleating particle (INP) and thus impact cloud-radiation interactions, potentially cooling the climate (Lohmann, 2002). Previous studies, however, have shown conflicting results concerning the ice nucleation ability of soot, limiting the ability to predict its effects on Earth's radiation budget. Here we present a laboratory study where we systematically investigate the ice nucleation behavior of different soot particles. Commercial soot samples are used, including an amorphous, industrial carbon frequently used in coatings and coloring (FW 200, Orion Engineered Carbons) and a fullerene soot (572497 ALDRICH), e.g. used as catalyst. In addition, we use soot generated from a propane flame Combustion Aerosol Standard Generator (miniCAST, JING AG), as a proxy for atmospheric soot particles. The ice nucleation ability of these soot types is tested on size-selected particles for a wide temperature range from 253 K to 218 K, using the Horizontal Ice Nucleation Chamber (HINC), a Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber (CFDC) (Kanji and Abbatt, 2009). Ice nucleation results from these soot surrogates will be compared to chemically more complex real world samples, collected on filters. Filters will be collected during the 2016/2017 winter haze periods in Beijing, China and represent atmospheric soot particles with sources from both industrial and residential

  13. Understanding Cirrus Ice Crystal Number Variability for Different Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation Spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Sylvia C.; Betancourt, Ricardo Morales; Barahona, Donifan; Nenes, Athanasios

    2016-01-01

    Along with minimizing parameter uncertainty, understanding the cause of temporal and spatial variability of the nucleated ice crystal number, Ni, is key to improving the representation of cirrus clouds in climate models. To this end, sensitivities of Ni to input variables like aerosol number and diameter provide valuable information about nucleation regime and efficiency for a given model formulation. Here we use the adjoint model of the adjoint of a cirrus formation parameterization (Barahona and Nenes, 2009b) to understand Ni variability for various ice-nucleating particle (INP) spectra. Inputs are generated with the Community Atmosphere Model version 5, and simulations are done with a theoretically derived spectrum, an empirical lab-based spectrum and two field-based empirical spectra that differ in the nucleation threshold for black carbon particles and in the active site density for dust. The magnitude and sign of Ni sensitivity to insoluble aerosol number can be directly linked to nucleation regime and efficiency of various INP. The lab-based spectrum calculates much higher INP efficiencies than field-based ones, which reveals a disparity in aerosol surface properties. Ni sensitivity to temperature tends to be low, due to the compensating effects of temperature on INP spectrum parameters; this low temperature sensitivity regime has been experimentally reported before but never deconstructed as done here.

  14. Functional display of ice nucleation protein InaZ on the surface of bacterial ghosts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kassmannhuber, Johannes; Rauscher, Mascha; Schöner, Lea; Witte, Angela; Lubitz, Werner

    2017-09-03

    In a concept study the ability to induce heterogeneous ice formation by Bacterial Ghosts (BGs) from Escherichia coli carrying ice nucleation protein InaZ from Pseudomonas syringae in their outer membrane was investigated by a droplet-freezing assay of ultra-pure water. As determined by the median freezing temperature and cumulative ice nucleation spectra it could be demonstrated that both the living recombinant E. coli and their corresponding BGs functionally display InaZ on their surface. Under the production conditions chosen both samples belong to type II ice-nucleation particles inducing ice formation at a temperature range of between -5.6 °C and -6.7 °C, respectively. One advantage for the application of such BGs over their living recombinant mother bacteria is that they are non-living native cell envelopes retaining the biophysical properties of ice nucleation and do no longer represent genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

  15. Heterogeneous ice nucleation of viscous secondary organic aerosol produced from ozonolysis of α-pinene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ignatius, Karoliina; Kristensen, Thomas B.; Järvinen, Emma; Nichman, Leonid; Fuchs, Claudia; Gordon, Hamish; Herenz, Paul; Hoyle, Christopher R.; Duplissy, Jonathan; Garimella, Sarvesh; Dias, Antonio; Frege, Carla; Höppel, Niko; Tröstl, Jasmin; Wagner, Robert; Yan, Chao; Amorim, Antonio; Baltensperger, Urs; Curtius, Joachim; Donahue, Neil M.; Gallagher, Martin W.; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku; Möhler, Ottmar; Saathoff, Harald; Schnaiter, Martin; Tomé, Antonio; Virtanen, Annele; Worsnop, Douglas; Stratmann, Frank

    2016-05-01

    There are strong indications that particles containing secondary organic aerosol (SOA) exhibit amorphous solid or semi-solid phase states in the atmosphere. This may facilitate heterogeneous ice nucleation and thus influence cloud properties. However, experimental ice nucleation studies of biogenic SOA are scarce. Here, we investigated the ice nucleation ability of viscous SOA particles. The SOA particles were produced from the ozone initiated oxidation of α-pinene in an aerosol chamber at temperatures in the range from -38 to -10 °C at 5-15 % relative humidity with respect to water to ensure their formation in a highly viscous phase state, i.e. semi-solid or glassy. The ice nucleation ability of SOA particles with different sizes was investigated with a new continuous flow diffusion chamber. For the first time, we observed heterogeneous ice nucleation of viscous α-pinene SOA for ice saturation ratios between 1.3 and 1.4 significantly below the homogeneous freezing limit. The maximum frozen fractions found at temperatures between -39.0 and -37.2 °C ranged from 6 to 20 % and did not depend on the particle surface area. Global modelling of monoterpene SOA particles suggests that viscous biogenic SOA particles are indeed present in regions where cirrus cloud formation takes place. Hence, they could make up an important contribution to the global ice nucleating particle budget.

  16. Cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleation activity of hydrophobic and hydrophilic soot particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koehler, Kirsten A; DeMott, Paul J; Kreidenweis, Sonia M; Popovicheva, Olga B; Petters, Markus D; Carrico, Christian M; Kireeva, Elena D; Khokhlova, Tatiana D; Shonija, Natalia K

    2009-09-28

    Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity and ice nucleation behavior (for temperaturesnucleation experiments below -40 degrees C, AEC particles nucleated ice near the expected condition for homogeneous freezing of water from aqueous solutions. In contrast, GTS, TS, and TC1 required relative humidity well in excess of water saturation at -40 degrees C for ice formation. GTS particles required water supersaturation conditions for ice activation even at -51 degrees C. At -51 to -57 degrees C, ice formation in particles with electrical mobility diameter of 200 nm occurred in up to 1 in 1000 TS and TC1 particles, and 1 in 100 TOS particles, at relative humidities below those required for homogeneous freezing in aqueous solutions. Our results suggest that heterogeneous ice nucleation is favored in cirrus conditions on oxidized hydrophilic soot of intermediate polarity. Simple considerations suggest that the impact of hydrophilic soot particles on cirrus cloud formation would be most likely in regions of elevated atmospheric soot number concentrations. The ice formation properties of AEC soot are reasonably consistent with present understanding of the conditions required for aircraft contrail formation and the proportion of soot expected to nucleate under such conditions.

  17. Ice nucleation active particles are efficiently removed by precipitating clouds

    OpenAIRE

    Emiliano Stopelli; Franz Conen; Cindy E. Morris; Erik Herrmann; Nicolas Bukowiecki; Christine Alewell

    2015-01-01

    Ice nucleation in cold clouds is a decisive step in the formation of rain and snow. Observations and modelling suggest that variations in the concentrations of ice nucleating particles (INPs) affect timing, location and amount of precipitation. A quantitative description of the abundance and variability of INPs is crucial to assess and predict their influence on precipitation. Here we used the hydrological indicator δ(18)O to derive the fraction of water vapour lost from precipitating clouds ...

  18. Effect of photochemical ageing on the ice nucleation properties of diesel and wood burning particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Chou

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A measurement campaign (IMBALANCE conducted in 2009 was aimed at characterizing the physical and chemical properties of freshly emitted and photochemically aged combustion particles emitted from a log wood burner and diesel vehicles: a EURO3 Opel Astra with a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC but no particle filter and a EURO2 Volkswagen Transporter TDI Syncro without emission aftertreatment. Ice nucleation experiments in the deposition and condensation freezing modes were conducted with the Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber (PINC at three nominal temperatures, −30 °C, −35 °C and −40 °C. Freshly emitted diesel particles showed ice formation only at −40 °C in the deposition mode at 137% relative humidity with respect to ice (RHi and 92% relative humidity with respect to water (RHw, and photochemical ageing did not play a role in modifying their ice nucleation behaviour. Only one diesel experiment where α-pinene was added for the ageing process, showed an ice nucleation enhancement at −35 °C. Wood burning particles also act as ice nuclei (IN at −40 °C in the deposition mode at the same conditions as for diesel particles and photochemical ageing also did not alter the ice formation properties of the wood burning particles. Unlike diesel particles, wood burning particles form ice via condensation freezing at −35 °C whereas no ice nucleation was observed at −30 °C. Photochemical ageing did not affect the ice nucleation ability of the diesel and wood burning particles at the three different temperatures investigated but a broader range of temperatures below −40 °C need to be investigated in order to draw an overall conclusion on the effect of photochemical ageing on deposition/condensation ice nucleation across the entire temperature range relevant to cold clouds.

  19. submitter Heterogeneous ice nucleation of viscous secondary organic aerosol produced from ozonolysis of α-pinene

    CERN Document Server

    Ignatius, Karoliina; Järvinen, Emma; Nichman, Leonid; Fuchs, Claudia; Gordon, Hamish; Herenz, Paul; Hoyle, Christopher R; Duplissy, Jonathan; Garimella, Sarvesh; Dias, Antonio; Frege, Carla; Höppel, Niko; Tröstl, Jasmin; Wagner, Robert; Yan, Chao; Amorim, Antonio; Baltensperger, Urs; Curtius, Joachim; Donahue, Neil M; Gallagher, Martin W; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku; Möhler, Ottmar; Saathoff, Harald; Schnaiter, Martin; Tomé, Antonio; Virtanen, Annele; Worsnop, Douglas; Stratmann, Frank

    2016-01-01

    There are strong indications that particles containing secondary organic aerosol (SOA) exhibit amorphous solid or semi-solid phase states in the atmosphere. This may facilitate heterogeneous ice nucleation and thus influence cloud properties. However, experimental ice nucleation studies of biogenic SOA are scarce. Here, we investigated the ice nucleation ability of viscous SOA particles. The SOA particles were produced from the ozone initiated oxidation of α-pinene in an aerosol chamber at temperatures in the range from −38 to −10 ◦C at 5–15 % relative humidity with respect to water to ensure their formation in a highly viscous phase state, i.e. semi-solid or glassy. The ice nucleation ability of SOA particles with different sizes was investigated with a new continuous flow diffusion chamber. For the first time, we observed heterogeneous ice nucleation of viscous α-pinene SOA for ice saturation ratios between 1.3 and 1.4 significantly below the homogeneous freezing limit. The maximum frozen fraction...

  20. Ice nucleation properties of fine ash particles from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in April 2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Steinke

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available During the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in the south of Iceland in April/May 2010, about 40 Tg of ash mass were emitted into the atmosphere. It was unclear whether volcanic ash particles with d < 10 μm facilitate the glaciation of clouds. Thus, ice nucleation properties of volcanic ash particles were investigated in AIDA (Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere cloud chamber experiments simulating atmospherically relevant conditions. The ash sample that was used for our experiments had been collected at a distance of 58 km from the Eyjafjallajökull during the eruption period in April 2010. The temperature range covered by our ice nucleation experiments extended from 219 to 264 K, and both ice nucleation via immersion freezing and deposition nucleation could be observed. Immersion freezing was first observed at 252 K, whereas the deposition nucleation onset lay at 242 K and RHice =126%. About 0.1% of the volcanic ash particles were active as immersion freezing nuclei at a temperature of 249 K. For deposition nucleation, an ice fraction of 0.1% was observed at around 233 K and RHice =116%. Taking ice-active surface site densities as a measure for the ice nucleation efficiency, volcanic ash particles are similarly efficient ice nuclei in immersion freezing mode (ns,imm ~ 109 m−2 at 247 K compared to certain mineral dusts. For deposition nucleation, the observed ice-active surface site densities ns,dep were found to be 1011 m−2 at 224 K and RHice =116%. Thus, volcanic ash particles initiate deposition nucleation more efficiently than Asian and Saharan dust but appear to be poorer ice nuclei than ATD particles. Based on the experimental data, we have derived ice-active surface site densities as a function of temperature for immersion freezing and of relative humidity over ice and temperature for

  1. Pre-activation of ice-nucleating particles by the pore condensation and freezing mechanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Wagner

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available In spite of the resurgence in ice nucleation research a comparatively small number of studies deal with the phenomenon of pre-activation in heterogeneous ice nucleation. Fifty years ago, it was shown that various mineral dust and volcanic ash particles can be pre-activated to become nuclei for ice crystal formation even at temperatures as high as 270–271 K. Pre-activation was achieved under ice-subsaturated conditions without any preceding macroscopic ice growth by just temporarily cooling the particles to temperatures below 228 K. A two-step mechanism involving capillary condensation of supercooled water and subsequent homogeneous freezing was proposed to account for the particles' enhanced ice nucleation ability at high temperatures. This work reinvestigates the efficiency of the proposed pre-activation mechanism in temperature-cycling experiments performed in a large cloud chamber with suspended particles. We find the efficiency to be highest for the clay mineral illite as well as for highly porous materials like zeolite and diatomaceous earth, whereas most aerosols generated from desert dust surface samples did not reveal a measurable pre-activation ability. The pre-activation efficiency is linked to particle pores in a certain size range. As estimated by model calculations, only pores with diameters between about 5 and 8 nm contribute to pre-activation under ice-subsaturated conditions. This range is set by a combination of requirements from the negative Kelvin effect for condensation and a critical size of ice embryos for ice nucleation and melting. In contrast to the early study, pre-activation is only observed for temperatures below 260 K. Above that threshold, the particles' improved ice nucleation ability disappears due to the melting of ice in the pores.

  2. Comparative study of ice nucleating efficiency of K-feldspar in immersion and deposition freezing modes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiron, T.; Hoffmann, N.; Peckhaus, A.; Kiselev, A. A.; Leisner, T.; Flossmann, A. I.

    2016-12-01

    One of the main challenges in understanding the evolution of Earth's climate resides in the understanding the role of ice nucleation on the development of tropospheric clouds as well as its initiation. K-feldspar is known to be a very active ice nucleating particle and this study focuses on the characterization of its activity in two heterogeneous nucleation modes, immersion and deposition freezing.We use a newly built humidity-controlled cold stage allowing the simultaneous observation of up to 2000 identical 0.6-nanoliter droplets containing suspension of mineral dust particles. The droplets are first cooled down to observe immersion freezing, the obtained ice crystals are then evaporated and finally, the residual particles are exposed to the water vapor supersaturated with respect to ice.The ice nucleation abilities for the individual residual particles are then compared for the different freezing modes and correlation between immersion ice nuclei and deposition ice nuclei is investigated.Based on the electron microscopy analysis of the residual particles, we discuss the possible relationship between the ice nucleation properties of feldspar and its microstructure. Finally, we discuss the atmospheric implications of our experimental results, using DESCAM, a 1.5D bin-resolved microphysics model.

  3. Ice nucleation rates near ˜225 K

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amaya, Andrew J.; Wyslouzil, Barbara E.

    2018-02-01

    We have measured the ice nucleation rates, Jice, in supercooled nano-droplets with radii ranging from 6.6 nm to 10 nm and droplet temperatures, Td, ranging from 225 K to 204 K. The initial temperature of the 10 nm water droplets is ˜250 K, i.e., well above the homogeneous nucleation temperature for micron sized water droplets, TH ˜235 K. The nucleation rates increase systematically from ˜1021 cm-3 s-1 to ˜1022 cm-3 s-1 in this temperature range, overlap with the nucleation rates of Manka et al. [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 14, 4505 (2012)], and suggest that experiments with larger droplets would extrapolate smoothly the rates of Hagen et al. [J. Atmos. Sci. 38, 1236 (1981)]. The sharp corner in the rate data as temperature drops is, however, difficult to match with available theory even if we correct classical nucleation theory and the physical properties of water for the high internal pressure of the nanodroplets.

  4. Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation by Soufriere Hills Volcanic Ash Immersed in Water Droplets.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T P Mangan

    Full Text Available Fine particles of ash emitted during volcanic eruptions may sporadically influence cloud properties on a regional or global scale as well as influencing the dynamics of volcanic clouds and the subsequent dispersion of volcanic aerosol and gases. It has been shown that volcanic ash can trigger ice nucleation, but ash from relatively few volcanoes has been studied for its ice nucleating ability. In this study we quantify the efficiency with which ash from the Soufriere Hills volcano on Montserrat nucleates ice when immersed in supercooled water droplets. Using an ash sample from the 11th February 2010 eruption, we report ice nucleating efficiencies from 246 to 265 K. This wide range of temperatures was achieved using two separate droplet freezing instruments, one employing nanolitre droplets, the other using microlitre droplets. Soufriere Hills volcanic ash was significantly more efficient than all other ash samples that have been previously examined. At present the reasons for these differences are not understood, but may be related to mineralogy, amorphous content and surface chemistry.

  5. Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation by Soufriere Hills Volcanic Ash Immersed in Water Droplets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangan, T P; Atkinson, J D; Neuberg, J W; O'Sullivan, D; Wilson, T W; Whale, T F; Neve, L; Umo, N S; Malkin, T L; Murray, B J

    2017-01-01

    Fine particles of ash emitted during volcanic eruptions may sporadically influence cloud properties on a regional or global scale as well as influencing the dynamics of volcanic clouds and the subsequent dispersion of volcanic aerosol and gases. It has been shown that volcanic ash can trigger ice nucleation, but ash from relatively few volcanoes has been studied for its ice nucleating ability. In this study we quantify the efficiency with which ash from the Soufriere Hills volcano on Montserrat nucleates ice when immersed in supercooled water droplets. Using an ash sample from the 11th February 2010 eruption, we report ice nucleating efficiencies from 246 to 265 K. This wide range of temperatures was achieved using two separate droplet freezing instruments, one employing nanolitre droplets, the other using microlitre droplets. Soufriere Hills volcanic ash was significantly more efficient than all other ash samples that have been previously examined. At present the reasons for these differences are not understood, but may be related to mineralogy, amorphous content and surface chemistry.

  6. BINARY: an optical freezing array for assessing temperature and time dependence of heterogeneous ice nucleation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Budke

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available A new optical freezing array for the study of heterogeneous ice nucleation in microliter-sized droplets is introduced, tested and applied to the study of immersion freezing in aqueous Snomax® suspensions. In the Bielefeld Ice Nucleation ARraY (BINARY ice nucleation can be studied simultaneously in 36 droplets at temperatures down to −40 °C (233 K and at cooling rates between 0.1 and 10 K min−1. The droplets are separated from each other in individual compartments, thus preventing a Wegener–Bergeron–Findeisen type water vapor transfer between droplets as well as avoiding the seeding of neighboring droplets by formation and surface growth of frost halos. Analysis of freezing and melting occurs via an automated real-time image analysis of the optical brightness of each individual droplet. As an application ice nucleation in water droplets containing Snomax® at concentrations from 1 ng mL−1 to 1 mg mL−1 was investigated. Using different cooling rates, a small time dependence of ice nucleation induced by two different classes of ice nucleators (INs contained in Snomax® was detected and the corresponding heterogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient was quantified. The observed time dependence is smaller than those of other types of INs reported in the literature, suggesting that the BINARY setup is suitable for quantifying time dependence for most other INs of atmospheric interest, making it a useful tool for future investigations.

  7. BINARY: an optical freezing array for assessing temperature and time dependence of heterogeneous ice nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budke, C.; Koop, T.

    2015-02-01

    A new optical freezing array for the study of heterogeneous ice nucleation in microliter-sized droplets is introduced, tested and applied to the study of immersion freezing in aqueous Snomax® suspensions. In the Bielefeld Ice Nucleation ARraY (BINARY) ice nucleation can be studied simultaneously in 36 droplets at temperatures down to -40 °C (233 K) and at cooling rates between 0.1 and 10 K min-1. The droplets are separated from each other in individual compartments, thus preventing a Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen type water vapor transfer between droplets as well as avoiding the seeding of neighboring droplets by formation and surface growth of frost halos. Analysis of freezing and melting occurs via an automated real-time image analysis of the optical brightness of each individual droplet. As an application ice nucleation in water droplets containing Snomax® at concentrations from 1 ng mL-1 to 1 mg mL-1 was investigated. Using different cooling rates, a small time dependence of ice nucleation induced by two different classes of ice nucleators (INs) contained in Snomax® was detected and the corresponding heterogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient was quantified. The observed time dependence is smaller than those of other types of INs reported in the literature, suggesting that the BINARY setup is suitable for quantifying time dependence for most other INs of atmospheric interest, making it a useful tool for future investigations.

  8. Effects of streptomycin, desiccation, and UV radiation on ice nucleation by Pseudomonas viridiflava

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, J.A.; Ashworth, E.N.

    1986-01-01

    Streptomycin (100 micrograms per milliliter), desiccation (over CaSO 4 ), and ultraviolet radiation (4500 microwatts per square centimeter at 254 nonometers for 15 minutes) reduced ice nucleation activity by Pseudomonas viridiflava strain W-1 as determined by freezing drops of the bacterial suspensions. Highest residual ice nucleation activity by dead cells was obtained by desiccation, although no freezing above -3.5 0 C was detected. The rate and extent of loss of ice nucleation activity following streptomycin and ultraviolet treatment was affected by preconditioning temperature. At 21 0 C and above, loss of activity by dead cells was rapid and irreversible

  9. Ice nucleation and cloud microphysical properties in tropical tropopause layer cirrus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. J. Jensen

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available In past modeling studies, it has generally been assumed that the predominant mechanism for nucleation of ice in the uppermost troposphere is homogeneous freezing of aqueous aerosols. However, recent in situ and remote-sensing measurements of the properties of cirrus clouds at very low temperatures in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL are broadly inconsistent with theoretial predictions based on the homogeneous freezing assumption. The nearly ubiquitous occurence of gravity waves in the TTL makes the predictions from homogeneous nucleation theory particularly difficult to reconcile with measurements. These measured properties include ice number concentrations, which are much lower than theory predicts; ice crystal size distributions, which are much broader than theory predicts; and cloud extinctions, which are much lower than theory predicts. Although other explanations are possible, one way to limit ice concentrations is to have on the order of 50 L−1 effective ice nuclei (IN that could nucleate ice at relatively low supersaturations. We suggest that ammonium sulfate particles, which would be dry much of the time in the cold TTL, are a potential IN candidate for TTL cirrus. However, this mechanism remains to be fully quantified for the size distribution of ammonium sulfate (possibly internally mixed with organics actually present in the upper troposphere. Possible implications of the observed cloud microphysical properties for ice sedimentation, dehydration, and cloud persistence are also discussed.

  10. Screening of plant resources with anti-ice nucleation activity for frost damage prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Shingo; Fukuda, Satoshi; Fukushi, Yukiharu; Arakawa, Keita

    2017-11-01

    Previous studies have shown that some polyphenols have anti-ice nucleation activity (anti-INA) against ice-nucleating bacteria that contribute to frost damage. In the present study, leaf disk freezing assay, a test of in vitro application to plant leaves, was performed for the screening of anti-INA, which inhibits the ice nucleation activity of an ice-nucleating bacterium Erwinia ananas in water droplets on the leaf surfaces. The application of polyphenols with anti-INA, kaempferol 7-O-β-glucoside and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, to the leaf disk freezing assay by cooling at -4--6 °C for 3 h, revealed that both the compounds showed anti-INAs against E. ananas in water droplets on the leaf surfaces. Further, this assay also revealed that the extracts of five plant leaves showed high anti-INA against E. ananas in water droplets on leaf surfaces, indicating that they are the candidate resources to protect crops from frost damage.

  11. Investigation of nucleation processes during dynamic recrystallization of ice using cryo-EBSD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauve, T; Montagnat, M; Barou, F; Hidas, K; Tommasi, A; Mainprice, D

    2017-02-13

    Nucleation mechanisms occurring during dynamic recrystallization play a crucial role in the evolution of microstructures and textures during high temperature deformation. In polycrystalline ice, the strong viscoplastic anisotropy induces high strain heterogeneities between grains which control the recrystallization mechanisms. Here, we study the nucleation mechanisms occurring during creep tests performed on polycrystalline columnar ice at high temperature and stress (T=-5°C;σ=0.5 MPa) by post-mortem analyses of deformation microstructures using cryogenic electron backscatter diffraction. The columnar geometry of the samples enables discrimination of the nuclei from the initial grains. Various nucleation mechanisms are deduced from the analysis of the nuclei relations with the dislocation sub-structures within grains and at grain boundaries. Tilt sub-grain boundaries and kink bands are the main structures responsible for development of polygonization and mosaic sub-structures. Nucleation by bulging at serrated grain boundaries is also an efficient nucleation mechanism near the grain boundaries where strain incompatibilities are high. Observation of nuclei with orientations not related to the 'parent' ones suggests the possibility of 'spontaneous' nucleation driven by the relaxation of the dislocation-related internal stress field. The complexity of the nucleation mechanisms observed here emphasizes the impact of stress and strain heterogeneities on dynamic recrystallization mechanisms.This article is part of the themed issue 'Microdynamics of ice'. © 2016 The Author(s).

  12. Heterogeneous ice nucleation and phase transition of viscous α-pinene secondary organic aerosol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ignatius, Karoliina; Kristensen, Thomas B.; Järvinen, Emma; Nichman, Leonid; Fuchs, Claudia; Gordon, Hamish; Herenz, Paul; Hoyle, Christopher R.; Duplissy, Jonathan; Baltensperger, Urs; Curtius, Joachim; Donahue, Neil M.; Gallagher, Martin W.; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku; Möhler, Ottmar; Saathoff, Harald; Schnaiter, Martin; Virtanen, Annele; Stratmann, Frank

    2016-04-01

    There are strong indications that particles containing secondary organic aerosol (SOA) exhibit amorphous solid or semi-solid phase states in the atmosphere. This may facilitate deposition ice nucleation and thus influence cirrus cloud properties. Global model simulations of monoterpene SOA particles suggest that viscous biogenic SOA are indeed present in regions where cirrus cloud formation takes place. Hence, they could make up an important contribution to the global ice nucleating particle (INP) budget. However, experimental ice nucleation studies of biogenic SOA are scarce. Here, we investigated the ice nucleation ability of viscous SOA particles at the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) experiment at CERN (Ignatius et al., 2015, Järvinen et al., 2015). In the CLOUD chamber, the SOA particles were produced from the ozone initiated oxidation of α-pinene at temperatures in the range from -38 to -10° C at 5-15 % relative humidity with respect to water (RHw) to ensure their formation in a highly viscous phase state, i.e. semi-solid or glassy. We found that particles formed and grown in the chamber developed an asymmetric shape through coagulation. As the RHw was increased to between 35 % at -10° C and 80 % at -38° C, a transition to spherical shape was observed with a new in-situ optical method. This transition confirms previous modelling of the viscosity transition conditions. The ice nucleation ability of SOA particles was investigated with a new continuous flow diffusion chamber SPIN (Spectrometer for Ice Nuclei) for different SOA particle sizes. For the first time, we observed heterogeneous ice nucleation of viscous α-pinene SOA in the deposition mode for ice saturation ratios between 1.3 and 1.4, significantly below the homogeneous freezing limit. The maximum frozen fractions found at temperatures between -36.5 and -38.3° C ranged from 6 to 20 % and did not depend on the particle surface area. References Ignatius, K. et al., Heterogeneous ice

  13. Characterization of Ice Nucleating Particles at the Western US Coast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocci, K.; McCluskey, C. S.; Hill, T. C. J.; DeMott, P. J.; Kreidenweis, S. M.

    2015-12-01

    In temperate climates, ice nucleating particles (INPs) are vital for precipitation initiation. Because INPs may affect precipitation efficiency, and thereby the supply of water resources, it is paramount to have a clear understanding of both natural and anthropogenic sources of INPs. This is especially important to understand in California where drought continues to be a major problem. The CalWater 2015 field campaign, which took place in California from January 15 - March 9, 2015, included comprehensive characterizations of aerosols and their ice nucleating ability via ground-, air-, and ship-based measurements. As part of this campaign, we characterized and analyzed the intra-air mass differences of INPs at a coastal site (Bodega Bay) using immersion freezing measurements of particles collected on filters. Aerosol filters collected throughout the campaign were characterized by their loading and dominant type using meteorology, aerosol size distributions, aerosol composition, and trace gas concentration data. Samples contained a variety of aerosol influences, including biomass burning, nitrogen pollution, sulfur pollution, and sea spray. This study had a particular focus on the INP activity spectra of sea spray aerosol (SSA). We used the online aerosol data to infer variations in SSA types and heat-treated specific samples to look for the presence of heat-labile biological INPs. Furthermore, we ran the NOAA HYSPLIT model to obtain back trajectories for samples dominated by SSA. We found that air masses dominated by distinct terrestrial source types are not well distinguished by their INP number concentrations. However, we did see significantly higher (up to 5000-fold) INP number concentrations in SSA samples taken at the coast compared with number concentrations in samples obtained over open ocean. This difference could be attributable to differences in overall aerosol abundance, which will be evaluated in future studies. Overall, our findings suggest that an

  14. The ice nucleation activity of extremophilic algae

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kvíderová, Jana; Hájek, J.; Worland, M. R.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 34, č. 2 (2013), s. 137-148 ISSN 0143-2044 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB601630808; GA AV ČR KJB600050708 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : Ice nucleation * snow algae * lichen photobionts Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 0.640, year: 2013

  15. On the Importance of High Frequency Gravity Waves for Ice Nucleation in the Tropical Tropopause Layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Eric J.

    2016-01-01

    Recent investigations of the influence of atmospheric waves on ice nucleation in cirrus have identified a number of key processes and sensitivities: (1) ice concentrations produced by homogeneous freezing are strongly dependent on cooling rates, with gravity waves dominating upper tropospheric cooling rates; (2) rapid cooling driven by high-frequency waves are likely responsible for the rare occurrences of very high ice concentrations in cirrus; (3) sedimentation and entrainment tend to decrease ice concentrations as cirrus age; and (4) in some situations, changes in temperature tendency driven by high-frequency waves can quench ice nucleation events and limit ice concentrations. Here we use parcel-model simulations of ice nucleation driven by long-duration, constant-pressure balloon temperature time series, along with an extensive dataset of cold cirrus microphysical properties from the recent ATTREX high-altitude aircraft campaign, to statistically examine the importance of high-frequency waves as well as the consistency between our theoretical understanding of ice nucleation and observed ice concentrations. The parcel-model simulations indicate common occurrence of peak ice concentrations exceeding several hundred per liter. Sedimentation and entrainment would reduce ice concentrations as clouds age, but 1-D simulations using a wave parameterization (which underestimates rapid cooling events) still produce ice concentrations higher than indicated by observations. We find that quenching of nucleation events by high-frequency waves occurs infrequently and does not prevent occurrences of large ice concentrations in parcel simulations of homogeneous freezing. In fact, the high-frequency variability in the balloon temperature data is entirely responsible for production of these high ice concentrations in the simulations.

  16. A new thermal gradient ice nucleation diffusion chamber instrument: design, development and first results using Saharan mineral dust

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. B. McQuaid

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available A new Thermal Gradient ice nucleation Diffusion Chamber (TGDC capable of investigating ice nucleation efficiency of atmospherically important aerosols, termed Ice Nuclei (IN, has been designed, constructed and validated. The TGDC can produce a range of supersaturations with respect to ice (SSi over the temperature range of −10 to −34°C for sufficiently long time needed to observe the ice nucleation by the particles. The novel aspect of this new TGDC is that the chamber is run in static mode with aerosol particles supported on a Teflon substrate, which can be raised and lowered in a controlled way through the SSi profile within the chamber, and nucleation events are directly observed using digital photography. The TGDC consists of two ice coated plates to which a thermal gradient is applied to produce the range of SSi. The design of the TGDC gives the ability to understand time-related ice nucleation event information and to perform experiments at different temperatures and SSi conditions for different IN without changing the thermal gradient within the TGDC. The temperature and SSi conditions of the experimental system are validated by observing (NH42SO4 deliquescence and the results are in good agreement with the literature data. First results are presented of the onset ice nucleation for mineral dust sampled from the Saharan Desert, including images of nucleation and statistical distributions of onset ice nucleation SSi as a function of temperature. This paper illustrates how useful this new TGDC is for process level studies of ice nucleation and more experimental investigations are needed to better quantify the role of ice formation in the atmosphere.

  17. Ice Nucleation of Soot Particles in the Cirrus Regime: Is Pore Condensation and Freezing Relevant for Soot?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanji, Z. A.; Mahrt, F.; David, R.; Marcolli, C.; Lohmann, U.; Fahrni, J.; Brühwiler, D.

    2017-12-01

    Heterogeneous ice nucleation (HIN) onto soot particles from previous studies have produced inconsistent results of temperature and relative humidity conditions required for freezing depending on the source of soot particle investigated. The ability of soot to act as HIN depended on the type of soot and size of particle. Often homogenous freezing conditions or water saturation conditions were required to freeze soot particles, rendering HIN irrelevant. Using synthesised mesoporous silica particles, we show pore condensation and freezing works with experiments performed in the Zurich Ice Nucleation Chamber (ZINC). By testing a variety of soot particles in parallel in the Horizontal Ice Nucleation Chamber (HINC), we suggest that previously observed HIN on soot particles is not the responsible mechanism for ice formation. Laboratory generated CAST brown and black soot, commercially available soot and acid treated soot were investigated for their ice nucleation abilities in the mixed-phase and cirrus cloud temperature regimes. No heterogeneous ice nucleation activity is inferred at T > -38 °C (mixed-phase cloud regime), however depending on particle size and soot type, HIN was observed for T nucleation of ice in the pores or cavities that are ubiquitous in soot particles between the primary spherules. The ability of some particles to freeze at lower relative humidity compared to others demonstrates why hydrophobicity plays a role in ice nucleation, i.e. controlling the conditions at which these cavities fill with water. Thus for more hydrophobic particles pore filling occurs at higher relative humidity, and therefore freezing of pore water and ice crystal growth. Future work focusses on testing the cloud processing ability of soot particles and water adsorption isotherms of the different soot samples to support the hydrophobicity inferences from the ice nucleation results.

  18. The Ice Nucleation Activity of Surface Modified Soot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Häusler, Thomas; Witek, Lorenz; Felgitsch, Laura; Hitzenberger, Regina; Grothe, Hinrich

    2017-04-01

    The ice nucleation efficiency of many important atmospheric particles remains poorly understood. Since soot is ubiquitous in the Earth's troposphere, they might have the potential to significantly impact the Earth's climate (Finlayson-Pitts and Pitts, 2000; Seinfeld and Pandis, 1998). Here we present the ice nucleation activity (INA) in immersion freezing mode of different types of soot. Therefor a CAST (combustion aerosol standard) generator was used to produce different kinds of soot samples. The CAST generator combusts a propane-air-mixture and deposits thereby produced soot on a polyvinyl fluoride filter. By varying the propane to air ratio, the amount of organic portion of the soot can be varied from black carbon (BC) with no organic content to brown carbon (BrC) with high organic content. To investigate the impact of functional sites of ice nuclei (IN), the soot samples were exposed to NO2 gas for a certain amount of time (30 to 360 minutes) to chemically modify the surface. Immersion freezing experiments were carried out in a unique reaction gadget. In this device a water-in-oil suspension (with the soot suspended in the aqueous phase) was cooled till the freezing point and was observed through a microscope (Pummer et al., 2012; Zolles et al., 2015) It was found that neither modified nor unmodified BC shows INA. On the contrary, unmodified BrC shows an INA at -32˚ C, which can be increased up to -20˚ C. The INA of BrC depends on the duration of NO2- exposure. To clarify the characteristics of the surface modifications, surface sensitive analysis like infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were carried out. Finlayson-Pitts, B. J. and Pitts, J. N. J.: Chemistry of the Upper and Lower Atmosphere, Elsevier, New York, 2000. Pummer, B. G., Bauer, H., Bernardi, J., Bleicher, S., and Grothe, H.: Suspendable macromolecules are responsible for ice nucleation activity of birch and conifer pollen, Atmos Chem Phys, 12, 2541-2550, 2012. Seinfeld, J

  19. Ice nucleation of ammonia gas exposed montmorillonite mineral dust particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Salam

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available The ice nucleation characteristics of montmorillonite mineral dust aerosols with and without exposure to ammonia gas were measured at different atmospheric temperatures and relative humidities with a continuous flow diffusion chamber. The montmorillonite particles were exposed to pure (100% and diluted ammonia gas (25 ppm at room temperature in a stainless steel chamber. There was no significant change in the mineral dust particle size distribution due to the ammonia gas exposure. 100% pure ammonia gas exposure enhanced the ice nucleating fraction of montmorillonite mineral dust particles 3 to 8 times at 90% relative humidity with respect to water (RHw and 5 to 8 times at 100% RHw for 120 min exposure time compared to unexposed montmorillonite within our experimental conditions. The percentages of active ice nuclei were 2 to 8 times higher at 90% RHw and 2 to 7 times higher at 100% RHw in 25 ppm ammonia exposed montmorillonite compared to unexposed montmorillonite. All montmorillonite particles are more efficient as ice nuclei with increasing relative humidities and decreasing temperatures. The activation temperature of montmorillonite exposed to 100% pure ammonia was 15°C higher than for unexposed montmorillonite particles at 90% RHw. In the 25 ppm ammonia exposed montmorillonite experiments, the activation temperature was 10°C warmer than unexposed montmorillonite at 90% RHw. Degassing does not reverse the ice nucleating ability of ammonia exposed montmorillonite mineral dust particles suggesting that the ammonia is chemically bound to the montmorillonite particle. This is the first experimental evidence that ammonia gas exposed montmorillonite mineral dust particles can enhance its activation as ice nuclei and that the activation can occur at temperatures warmer than –10°C where natural atmospheric ice nuclei are very scarce.

  20. Chemical composition, mixing state, size and morphology of Ice nucleating particles at the Jungfraujoch research station, Switzerland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebert, Martin; Worringen, Annette; Kandler, Konrad; Weinbruch, Stephan; Schenk, Ludwig; Mertes, Stephan; Schmidt, Susan; Schneider, Johannes; Frank, Fabian; Nilius, Björn; Danielczok, Anja; Bingemer, Heinz

    2014-05-01

    An intense field campaign from the Ice Nuclei Research Unit (INUIT) was performed in January and February of 2013 at the High-Alpine Research Station Jungfraujoch (3580 m a.s.l., Switzerland). Main goal was the assessment of microphysical and chemical properties of free-tropospheric ice-nucelating particles. The ice-nucleating particles were discriminated from the total aerosol with the 'Fast Ice Nucleation CHamber' (FINCH; University Frankfurt) and the 'Ice-Selective Inlet' (ISI, Paul Scherer Institute) followed by a pumped counter-stream virtual impactor. The separated ice-nucleating particles were then collected with a nozzle-type impactor. With the 'FRankfurt Ice nuclei Deposition freezinG Experiment' (FRIDGE), aerosol particles are sampled on a silicon wafer, which is than exposed to ice-activating conditions in a static diffusion chamber. The locations of the growing ice crystals are recorded for later analysis. Finally, with the ICE Counter-stream Virtual Impactor (ICE-CVI) atmospheric ice crystals are separated from the total aerosol and their water content is evaporated to retain the ice residual particles, which are then collected also by impactor sampling. All samples were analyzed in a high-resolution scanning electron microscope. By this method, for each particle its size, morphology, mixing-state and chemical composition is obtained. In total approximately 1700 ice nucleating particles were analyzed. Based on their chemical composition, the particles were classified into seven groups: silicates, metal oxides, Ca-rich particles, (aged) sea-salt, soot, sulphates and carbonaceous matter. Sea-salt is considered as artifact and is not regarded as ice nuclei here. The most frequent ice nucleating particles/ice residuals at the Jungfraujoch station are silicates > carbonaceous particles > metal oxides. Calcium-rich particles and soot play a minor role. Similar results are obtained by quasi-parallel measurements with an online single particle laser ablation

  1. Turning into Ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietsch, Renée B.; Hanlon, Regina; Bohland, Cynthia; Schmale, David G., III

    2016-01-01

    This article describes an interdisciplinary unit in which students explore biological "ice nucleation"--by particles that cause water to freeze at temperatures above -38°C--through the lens of the microbial ice nucleator "Pseudomonas syringae." Such This activity, which aligns with the "Next Generation Science…

  2. Laboratory studies of immersion and deposition mode ice nucleation of ozone aged mineral dust particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. A. Kanji

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Ice nucleation in the atmosphere is central to the understanding the microphysical properties of mixed-phase and cirrus clouds. Ambient conditions such as temperature (T and relative humidity (RH, as well as aerosol properties such as chemical composition and mixing state play an important role in predicting ice formation in the troposphere. Previous field studies have reported the absence of sulfate and organic compounds on mineral dust ice crystal residuals sampled at mountain top stations or aircraft based measurements despite the long-range transport mineral dust is subjected to. We present laboratory studies of ice nucleation for immersion and deposition mode on ozone aged mineral dust particles for 233 T ns are reported and observed to increase as a function of decreasing temperature. We present first results that demonstrate enhancement of the ice nucleation ability of aged mineral dust particles in both the deposition and immersion mode due to ageing. We also present the first results to show a suppression of heterogeneous ice nucleation activity without the condensation of a coating of (inorganic material. In immersion mode, low ozone exposed Ka particles showed enhanced ice activity requiring a median freezing temperature of 1.5 K warmer than that of untreated Ka, whereas high ozone exposed ATD particles showed suppressed ice nucleation requiring a median freezing temperature of 3 K colder than that of untreated ATD. In deposition mode, low exposure Ka had ice active fractions of an order of magnitude higher than untreated Ka, whereas high ozone exposed ATD had ice active fractions up to a factor of 4 lower than untreated ATD. From our results, we derive and present parameterizations in terms of ns(T that can be used in models to predict ice nuclei concentrations based on available aerosol surface area.

  3. Ice nucleation in sulfuric acid/organic aerosols: implications for cirrus cloud formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. R. Beaver

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Using an aerosol flow tube apparatus, we have studied the effects of aliphatic aldehydes (C3 to C10 and ketones (C3 and C9 on ice nucleation in sulfuric acid aerosols. Mixed aerosols were prepared by combining an organic vapor flow with a flow of sulfuric acid aerosols over a small mixing time (~60 s at room temperature. No acid-catalyzed reactions were observed under these conditions, and physical uptake was responsible for the organic content of the sulfuric acid aerosols. In these experiments, aerosol organic content, determined by a Mie scattering analysis, was found to vary with the partial pressure of organic, the flow tube temperature, and the identity of the organic compound. The physical properties of the organic compounds (primarily the solubility and melting point were found to play a dominant role in determining the inferred mode of nucleation (homogenous or heterogeneous and the specific freezing temperatures observed. Overall, very soluble, low-melting organics, such as acetone and propanal, caused a decrease in aerosol ice nucleation temperatures when compared with aqueous sulfuric acid aerosol. In contrast, sulfuric acid particles exposed to organic compounds of eight carbons and greater, of much lower solubility and higher melting temperatures, nucleate ice at temperatures above aqueous sulfuric acid aerosols. Organic compounds of intermediate carbon chain length, C4-C7, (of intermediate solubility and melting temperatures nucleated ice at the same temperature as aqueous sulfuric acid aerosols. Interpretations and implications of these results for cirrus cloud formation are discussed.

  4. Parametrization of the homogeneous ice nucleation rate for the numerical simulation of multiphase flow

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Němec, Tomáš; Eisenschmidt, K.; Rauschenberger, P.; Weigand, B.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 12, č. 1 (2012), s. 533-534 ISSN 1617-7061 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP101/10/1819 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20760514 Keywords : ice nucleation * ice-water surface energy * classical nucleation theory Subject RIV: BJ - Thermodynamics http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pamm.201210255/abstract

  5. The influence of organic-containing soil dust on ice nucleation and cloud properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hummel, Matthias; Grini, Alf; Berntsen, Terje K.; Ekman, Annica

    2017-04-01

    Natural mineral dust from desert regions is known to be the most important contributor to atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INP) which induce heterogeneous ice nucleation in mixed-phase clouds. Its ability to nucleate ice effectively is shown by various laboratory (Hoose and Möhler 2012) and field results (DeMott et al. 2015) and its abundance in ice crystal residuals has also been shown (Cziczo et al. 2013). Thus it is an important player when representing mixed-phase clouds in climate models. MODIS satellite data indicate that 1 /4 of the global dust emission originates from semi-arid areas rather than from arid deserts (Ginoux et al. 2012). Here, organic components can mix with minerals within the soil and get into the atmosphere. These so-called 'soil dust' particles are ice-nucleating active at high sub-zero temperatures, i.e. at higher temperatures than pure desert dust (Steinke et al. 2016). In this study, soil dust is incorporated into the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM, Bentsen et al. 2013) and applied to a modified ice nucleation parameterization (Steinke et al. 2016). Its influence on the cloud ice phase is evaluated by comparing a control run, where only pure desert dust is considered, and a sensitivity experiment, where a fraction of the dust emissions are classified as soil dust. Both simulations are nudged to ERA-interim meteorology and they have the same loading of dust emissions. NorESM gives a lower annual soil dust emission flux compared to Ginoux et al. (2012), but the desert dust flux is similar to the MODIS-retrieved data. Although soil dust concentrations are much lower than desert dust, the NorESM simulations indicate that the annual INP concentrations from soil dust are on average lower by a just a factor of 4 than INP concentrations from pure desert dust. The highest soil dust INP concentrations occur at a lower height than for desert dust, i.e at warmer temperatures inside mixed-phase clouds. Furthermore, soil dust INP

  6. Analysis of the Effect of Water Activity on Ice Formation Using a New Theory of Nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barahona, Donifan

    2013-01-01

    In this work a new theory of nucleation is developed and used to investigate the effect of water activity on the formation of ice within super-cooled droplets. The new theory is based on a novel concept where the interface is assumed to be made of liquid molecules trapped by the solid matrix. Using this concept new expressions are developed for the critical ice germ size and the nucleation work, with explicit dependencies on temperature and water activity. However unlike previous approaches, the new theory does not depend on the interfacial tension between liquid and ice. Comparison against experimental results shows that the new theory is able to reproduce the observed effect of water activity on nucleation rate and freezing temperature. It allows for the first time a theoretical derivation of the constant shift in water activity between melting and nucleation. The new theory offers a consistent thermodynamic view of ice nucleation, simple enough to be applied in atmospheric models of cloud formation.

  7. Laboratory measurements and model sensitivity studies of dust deposition ice nucleation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Kulkarni

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the ice nucleating properties of mineral dust particles to understand the sensitivity of simulated cloud properties to two different representations of contact angle in the Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT. These contact angle representations are based on two sets of laboratory deposition ice nucleation measurements: Arizona Test Dust (ATD particles of 100, 300 and 500 nm sizes were tested at three different temperatures (−25, −30 and −35 °C, and 400 nm ATD and kaolinite dust species were tested at two different temperatures (−30 and −35 °C. These measurements were used to derive the onset relative humidity with respect to ice (RHice required to activate 1% of dust particles as ice nuclei, from which the onset single contact angles were then calculated based on CNT. For the probability density function (PDF representation, parameters of the log-normal contact angle distribution were determined by fitting CNT-predicted activated fraction to the measurements at different RHice. Results show that onset single contact angles vary from ~18 to 24 degrees, while the PDF parameters are sensitive to the measurement conditions (i.e. temperature and dust size. Cloud modeling simulations were performed to understand the sensitivity of cloud properties (i.e. ice number concentration, ice water content, and cloud initiation times to the representation of contact angle and PDF distribution parameters. The model simulations show that cloud properties are sensitive to onset single contact angles and PDF distribution parameters. The comparison of our experimental results with other studies shows that under similar measurement conditions the onset single contact angles are consistent within ±2.0 degrees, while our derived PDF parameters have larger discrepancies.

  8. Effects of different temperature treatments on biological ice nuclei in snow samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hara, Kazutaka; Maki, Teruya; Kakikawa, Makiko; Kobayashi, Fumihisa; Matsuki, Atsushi

    2016-09-01

    The heat tolerance of biological ice nucleation activity (INA) depends on their types. Different temperature treatments may cause varying degrees of inactivation on biological ice nuclei (IN) in precipitation samples. In this study, we measured IN concentration and bacterial INA in snow samples using a drop freezing assay, and compared the results for unheated snow and snow treated at 40 °C and 90 °C. At a measured temperature of -7 °C, the concentration of IN in untreated snow was 100-570 L-1, whereas the concentration in snow treated at 40 °C and 90 °C was 31-270 L-1 and 2.5-14 L-1, respectively. In the present study, heat sensitive IN inactivated by heating at 40 °C were predominant, and ranged 23-78% of IN at -7 °C compared with untreated samples. Ice nucleation active Pseudomonas strains were also isolated from the snow samples, and heating at 40 °C and 90 °C inactivated these microorganisms. Consequently, different temperature treatments induced varying degrees of inactivation on IN in snow samples. Differences in the concentration of IN across a range of treatment temperatures might reflect the abundance of different heat sensitive biological IN components.

  9. High variability of the heterogeneous ice nucleation potential of oxalic acid dihydrate and sodium oxalate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Wagner

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The heterogeneous ice nucleation potential of airborne oxalic acid dihydrate and sodium oxalate particles in the deposition and condensation mode has been investigated by controlled expansion cooling cycles in the AIDA aerosol and cloud chamber of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology at temperatures between 244 and 228 K. Previous laboratory studies have highlighted the particular role of oxalic acid dihydrate as the only species amongst a variety of other investigated dicarboxylic acids to be capable of acting as a heterogeneous ice nucleus in both the deposition and immersion mode. We could confirm a high deposition mode ice activity for 0.03 to 0.8 μm sized oxalic acid dihydrate particles that were either formed by nucleation from a gaseous oxalic acid/air mixture or by rapid crystallisation of highly supersaturated aqueous oxalic acid solution droplets. The critical saturation ratio with respect to ice required for deposition nucleation was found to be less than 1.1 and the size-dependent ice-active fraction of the aerosol population was in the range from 0.1 to 22%. In contrast, oxalic acid dihydrate particles that had crystallised from less supersaturated solution droplets and had been allowed to slowly grow in a supersaturated environment from still unfrozen oxalic acid solution droplets over a time period of several hours were found to be much poorer heterogeneous ice nuclei. We speculate that under these conditions a crystal surface structure with less-active sites for the initiation of ice nucleation was generated. Such particles partially proved to be almost ice-inactive in both the deposition and condensation mode. At times, the heterogeneous ice nucleation ability of oxalic acid dihydrate significantly changed when the particles had been processed in preceding cloud droplet activation steps. Such behaviour was also observed for the second investigated species, namely sodium oxalate. Our experiments address the atmospheric scenario

  10. High variability of the heterogeneous ice nucleation potential of oxalic acid dihydrate and sodium oxalate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, R.; Möhler, O.; Saathoff, H.; Schnaiter, M.; Leisner, T.

    2010-08-01

    The heterogeneous ice nucleation potential of airborne oxalic acid dihydrate and sodium oxalate particles in the deposition and condensation mode has been investigated by controlled expansion cooling cycles in the AIDA aerosol and cloud chamber of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology at temperatures between 244 and 228 K. Previous laboratory studies have highlighted the particular role of oxalic acid dihydrate as the only species amongst a variety of other investigated dicarboxylic acids to be capable of acting as a heterogeneous ice nucleus in both the deposition and immersion mode. We could confirm a high deposition mode ice activity for 0.03 to 0.8 μm sized oxalic acid dihydrate particles that were either formed by nucleation from a gaseous oxalic acid/air mixture or by rapid crystallisation of highly supersaturated aqueous oxalic acid solution droplets. The critical saturation ratio with respect to ice required for deposition nucleation was found to be less than 1.1 and the size-dependent ice-active fraction of the aerosol population was in the range from 0.1 to 22%. In contrast, oxalic acid dihydrate particles that had crystallised from less supersaturated solution droplets and had been allowed to slowly grow in a supersaturated environment from still unfrozen oxalic acid solution droplets over a time period of several hours were found to be much poorer heterogeneous ice nuclei. We speculate that under these conditions a crystal surface structure with less-active sites for the initiation of ice nucleation was generated. Such particles partially proved to be almost ice-inactive in both the deposition and condensation mode. At times, the heterogeneous ice nucleation ability of oxalic acid dihydrate significantly changed when the particles had been processed in preceding cloud droplet activation steps. Such behaviour was also observed for the second investigated species, namely sodium oxalate. Our experiments address the atmospheric scenario that coating layers

  11. Impact of bacterial ice nucleating particles on weather predicted by a numerical weather prediction model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahyoun, Maher; Korsholm, Ulrik S.; Sørensen, Jens H.; Šantl-Temkiv, Tina; Finster, Kai; Gosewinkel, Ulrich; Nielsen, Niels W.

    2017-12-01

    Bacterial ice-nucleating particles (INP) have the ability to facilitate ice nucleation from super-cooled cloud droplets at temperatures just below the melting point. Bacterial INP have been detected in cloud water, precipitation, and dry air, hence they may have an impact on weather and climate. In modeling studies, the potential impact of bacteria on ice nucleation and precipitation formation on global scale is still uncertain due to their small concentration compared to other types of INP, i.e. dust. Those earlier studies did not account for the yet undetected high concentration of nanoscale fragments of bacterial INP, which may be found free or attached to soil dust in the atmosphere. In this study, we investigate the sensitivity of modeled cloud ice, precipitation and global solar radiation in different weather scenarios to changes in the fraction of cloud droplets containing bacterial INP, regardless of their size. For this purpose, a module that calculates the probability of ice nucleation as a function of ice nucleation rate and bacterial INP fraction was developed and implemented in a numerical weather prediction model. The threshold value for the fraction of cloud droplets containing bacterial INP needed to produce a 1% increase in cloud ice was determined at 10-5 to 10-4. We also found that increasing this fraction causes a perturbation in the forecast, leading to significant differences in cloud ice and smaller differences in convective and total precipitation and in net solar radiation reaching the surface. These effects were most pronounced in local convective events. Our results show that bacterial INP can be considered as a trigger factor for precipitation, but not an enhancement factor.

  12. Spores of many common airborne fungi reveal no ice nucleation activity in oil immersion freezing experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pummer, B. G.; Atanasova, L.; Bauer, H.; Bernardi, J.; Druzhinina, I. S.; Fröhlich-Nowoisky, J.; Grothe, H.

    2013-12-01

    Fungal spores are ubiquitous biological aerosols, which are considered to act as ice nuclei. In this study the ice nucleation (IN) activity of spores harvested from 29 fungal strains belonging to 21 different species was tested in the immersion freezing mode by microscopic observation of water-in-oil emulsions. Spores of 8 of these strains were also investigated in a microdroplet freezing array instrument. The focus was laid on species of economical, ecological or sanitary significance. Besides common molds (Ascomycota), some representatives of the widespread group of mushrooms (Basidiomycota) were also investigated. Fusarium avenaceum was the only sample showing IN activity at relatively high temperatures (about 264 K), while the other investigated fungal spores showed no freezing above 248 K. Many of the samples indeed froze at homogeneous ice nucleation temperatures (about 237 K). In combination with other studies, this suggests that only a limited number of species may act as atmospheric ice nuclei. This would be analogous to what is already known for the bacterial ice nuclei. Apart from that, we selected a set of fungal strains from different sites and exposed them to occasional freezing stress during their cultivation. This was in order to test if the exposure to a cold environment encourages the expression of ice nuclei during growth as a way of adaptation. Although the total protein expression was altered by this treatment, it had no significant impact on the IN activity.

  13. Ice Nucleating Particle Properties in the Saharan Air Layer Close to the Dust Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boose, Y.; Garcia, I. M.; Rodríguez, S.; Linke, C.; Schnaiter, M.; Nickovic, S.; Lohmann, U.; Kanji, Z. A.; Sierau, B.

    2015-12-01

    In August 2013 and 2014 measurements of ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations, aerosol particle size distributions, chemistry and fluorescence were conducted at the Izaña Atmospheric Observatory located at 2373 m asl on Tenerife, west off the African shore. During summer, the observatory is frequently within the Saharan Air Layer and thus often exposed to dust. Absolute INP concentrations and activated fractions at T=-40 to -15°C and RHi=100-150 % were measured. In this study, we discuss the in-situ measured INP properties with respect to changes in the chemical composition, the biological content, the source regions as well as transport pathways and thus aging processes of the dust aerosol. For the first time, ice crystal residues were also analyzed with regard to biological content by means of their autofluorescence signal close to a major dust source region. Airborne dust samples were collected with a cyclone for additional offline analysis in the laboratory under similar conditions as in the field. Both, in-situ and offline dust samples were chemically characterized using single-particle mass spectrometry. The DREAM8 dust model extended with dust mineral fractions was run to simulate meteorological and dust aerosol conditions for ice nucleation. Results show that the background aerosol at Izaña was dominated by carbonaceous particles, which were hardly ice-active under the investigated conditions. When Saharan dust was present, INP concentrations increased by up to two orders of magnitude even at water subsaturated conditions at T≤-25°C. Differences in the ice-activated fraction were found between different dust periods which seem to be linked to variations in the aerosol chemical composition (dust mixed with changing fractions of sea salt and differences in the dust aerosol itself). Furthermore, two biomass burning events in 2014 were identified which led to very low INP concentrations under the investigated temperature and relative humidity

  14. High-density amorphous ice: nucleation of nanosized low-density amorphous ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonauer, Christina M.; Seidl-Nigsch, Markus; Loerting, Thomas

    2018-01-01

    The pressure dependence of the crystallization temperature of different forms of expanded high-density amorphous ice (eHDA) was scrutinized. Crystallization at pressures 0.05-0.30 GPa was followed using volumetry and powder x-ray diffraction. eHDA samples were prepared via isothermal decompression of very high-density amorphous ice at 140 K to different end pressures between 0.07-0.30 GPa (eHDA0.07-0.3). At 0.05-0.17 GPa the crystallization line T x (p) of all eHDA variants is the same. At pressures  >0.17 GPa, all eHDA samples decompressed to pressures  <0.20 GPa exhibit significantly lower T x values than eHDA0.2 and eHDA0.3. We rationalize our findings with the presence of nanoscaled low-density amorphous ice (LDA) seeds that nucleate in eHDA when it is decompressed to pressures  <0.20 GPa at 140 K. Below ~0.17 GPa, these nanosized LDA domains are latent within the HDA matrix, exhibiting no effect on T x of eHDA<0.2. Upon heating at pressures  ⩾0.17 GPa, these nanosized LDA nuclei transform to ice IX nuclei. They are favored sites for crystallization and, hence, lower T x . By comparing crystallization experiments of bulk LDA with the ones involving nanosized LDA we are able to estimate the Laplace pressure and radius of ~0.3-0.8 nm for the nanodomains of LDA. The nucleation of LDA in eHDA revealed here is evidence for the first-order-like nature of the HDA  →  LDA transition, supporting water’s liquid-liquid transition scenarios.

  15. A novel optical freezing array for the examination of cooling rate dependence in heterogeneous ice nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budke, Carsten; Dreischmeier, Katharina; Koop, Thomas

    2014-05-01

    Homogeneous ice nucleation is a stochastic process, implying that it is not only temperature but also time dependent. For heterogeneous ice nucleation it is still under debate whether there is a significant time dependence or not. In case of minor time dependence it is probably sufficient to use a singular or slightly modified singular approach, which mainly supposes temperature dependence and just small stochastic variations. We contribute to this discussion using a novel optical freezing array termed BINARY (Bielefeld Ice Nucleation ARraY). The setup consists of an array of microliter-sized droplets on a Peltier cooling stage. The droplets are separated from each other with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) spacer to prevent a Bergeron-Findeisen process, in which the first freezing droplets grow at the expense of the remaining liquid ones due to their vapor pressure differences. An automatic detection of nucleation events is realized optically by the change in brightness during freezing. Different types of ice nucleating agents were tested with the presented setup, e. g. pollen and clay mineral dust. Exemplarily, cooling rate dependent measurements are shown for the heterogeneous ice nucleation induced by Snomax®. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the project BIOCLOUDS (KO 2944/1-1) and through the research unit INUIT (FOR 1525) under KO 2944/2-1. We particularly thank our INUIT partners for fruitful collaboration and sharing of ideas and IN samples.

  16. Ice nucleation properties of mineral dust particles: determination of onset RHi, IN active fraction, nucleation time-lag, and the effect of active sites on contact angles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Dobbie

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available A newly developed ice nucleation experimental set up was used to investigate the heterogeneous ice nucleation properties of three Saharan and one Spanish dust particle samples. It was observed that the spread in the onset relative humidities with respect to ice (RHi for Saharan dust particles varied from 104% to 110%, whereas for the Spanish dust from 106% to 110%. The elemental composition analysis shows a prominent Ca feature in the Spanish dust sample which could potentially explain the differences in nucleation threshold. Although the spread in the onset RHi for the three Saharan dust samples were in agreement, the active fractions and nucleation time-lags calculated at various temperature and RHi conditions were found to differ. This could be due to the subtle variation in the elemental composition of the dust samples, and surface irregularities like steps, cracks, cavities etc. A combination of classical nucleation theory and active site theory is used to understand the importance of these surface irregularities on the nucleability parameter, contact angle that is widely used in ice cloud modeling. These calculations show that the surface irregularities can reduce the contact angle by approximately 10 degrees.

  17. Engineering functional nanothin multilayers on food packaging: ice-nucleating polyethylene films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gezgin, Zafer; Lee, Tung-Ching; Huang, Qingrong

    2013-05-29

    Polyethylene is the most prevalent plastic and is commonly used as a packaging material. Despite its common use, there are not many studies on imparting functionalities to those films which can make them more desirable for frozen food packaging. Here, commercial low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films were oxidized by UV-ozone (UVO) treatment to obtain a negatively charged hydrophilic surface to allow fabrication of functional multilayers. An increase in hydrophilicity was observed when films were exposed to UVO for 4 min and longer. Thin multilayers were formed by dipping the UVO-treated films into biopolymer solutions, and extracellular ice nucleators (ECINs) were immobilized onto the film surface to form a functional top layer. Polyelectrolyte adsorption was studied and confirmed on silicon wafers by measuring the water contact angles of the layers and investigating the surface morphology via atomic force microscopy. An up to 4-5 °C increase in ice nucleation temperatures and an up to 10 min decrease in freezing times were observed with high-purity deionized water samples frozen in ECIN-coated LDPE films. Films retained their ice nucleation activity up to 50 freeze-thaw cycles. Our results demonstrate the potential of using ECIN-coated polymer films for frozen food application.

  18. Ice-nucleating particle concentrations unaffected by urban air pollution in Beijing, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jie; Wu, Zhijun; Augustin-Bauditz, Stefanie; Grawe, Sarah; Hartmann, Markus; Pei, Xiangyu; Liu, Zirui; Ji, Dongsheng; Wex, Heike

    2018-03-01

    Exceedingly high levels of PM2.5 with complex chemical composition occur frequently in China. It has been speculated whether anthropogenic PM2.5 may significantly contribute to ice-nucleating particles (INP). However, few studies have focused on the ice-nucleating properties of urban particles. In this work, two ice-nucleating droplet arrays have been used to determine the atmospheric number concentration of INP (NINP) in the range from -6 to -25 °C in Beijing. No correlations between NINP and either PM2.5 or black carbon mass concentrations were found, although both varied by more than a factor of 30 during the sampling period. Similarly, there were no correlations between NINP and either total particle number concentration or number concentrations for particles with diameters > 500 nm. Furthermore, there was no clear difference between day and night samples. All these results indicate that Beijing air pollution did not increase or decrease INP concentrations in the examined temperature range above values observed in nonurban areas; hence, the background INP concentrations might not be anthropogenically influenced as far as urban air pollution is concerned, at least in the examined temperature range.

  19. A review of phosphate mineral nucleation in biology and geobiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omelon, Sidney; Ariganello, Marianne; Bonucci, Ermanno; Grynpas, Marc; Nanci, Antonio

    2013-10-01

    Relationships between geological phosphorite deposition and biological apatite nucleation have often been overlooked. However, similarities in biological apatite and phosphorite mineralogy suggest that their chemical formation mechanisms may be similar. This review serves to draw parallels between two newly described phosphorite mineralization processes, and proposes a similar novel mechanism for biologically controlled apatite mineral nucleation. This mechanism integrates polyphosphate biochemistry with crystal nucleation theory. Recently, the roles of polyphosphates in the nucleation of marine phosphorites were discovered. Marine bacteria and diatoms have been shown to store and concentrate inorganic phosphate (Pi) as amorphous, polyphosphate granules. Subsequent release of these P reserves into the local marine environment as Pi results in biologically induced phosphorite nucleation. Pi storage and release through an intracellular polyphosphate intermediate may also occur in mineralizing oral bacteria. Polyphosphates may be associated with biologically controlled apatite nucleation within vertebrates and invertebrates. Historically, biological apatite nucleation has been attributed to either a biochemical increase in local Pi concentration or matrix-mediated apatite nucleation control. This review proposes a mechanism that integrates both theories. Intracellular and extracellular amorphous granules, rich in both calcium and phosphorus, have been observed in apatite-biomineralizing vertebrates, protists, and atremate brachiopods. These granules may represent stores of calcium-polyphosphate. Not unlike phosphorite nucleation by bacteria and diatoms, polyphosphate depolymerization to Pi would be controlled by phosphatase activity. Enzymatic polyphosphate depolymerization would increase apatite saturation to the level required for mineral nucleation, while matrix proteins would simultaneously control the progression of new biological apatite formation.

  20. Uncertainty in counting ice nucleating particles with continuous flow diffusion chambers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garimella, Sarvesh; Rothenberg, Daniel A.; Wolf, Martin J.; David, Robert O.; Kanji, Zamin A.; Wang, Chien; Rösch, Michael; Cziczo, Daniel J.

    2017-09-01

    This study investigates the measurement of ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations and sizing of crystals using continuous flow diffusion chambers (CFDCs). CFDCs have been deployed for decades to measure the formation of INPs under controlled humidity and temperature conditions in laboratory studies and by ambient aerosol populations. These measurements have, in turn, been used to construct parameterizations for use in models by relating the formation of ice crystals to state variables such as temperature and humidity as well as aerosol particle properties such as composition and number. We show here that assumptions of ideal instrument behavior are not supported by measurements made with a commercially available CFDC, the SPectrometer for Ice Nucleation (SPIN), and the instrument on which it is based, the Zurich Ice Nucleation Chamber (ZINC). Non-ideal instrument behavior, which is likely inherent to varying degrees in all CFDCs, is caused by exposure of particles to different humidities and/or temperatures than predicated from instrument theory of operation. This can result in a systematic, and variable, underestimation of reported INP concentrations. We find here variable correction factors from 1.5 to 9.5, consistent with previous literature values. We use a machine learning approach to show that non-ideality is most likely due to small-scale flow features where the aerosols are combined with sheath flows. Machine learning is also used to minimize the uncertainty in measured INP concentrations. We suggest that detailed measurement, on an instrument-by-instrument basis, be performed to characterize this uncertainty.

  1. Uncertainty in counting ice nucleating particles with continuous flow diffusion chambers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Garimella

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the measurement of ice nucleating particle (INP concentrations and sizing of crystals using continuous flow diffusion chambers (CFDCs. CFDCs have been deployed for decades to measure the formation of INPs under controlled humidity and temperature conditions in laboratory studies and by ambient aerosol populations. These measurements have, in turn, been used to construct parameterizations for use in models by relating the formation of ice crystals to state variables such as temperature and humidity as well as aerosol particle properties such as composition and number. We show here that assumptions of ideal instrument behavior are not supported by measurements made with a commercially available CFDC, the SPectrometer for Ice Nucleation (SPIN, and the instrument on which it is based, the Zurich Ice Nucleation Chamber (ZINC. Non-ideal instrument behavior, which is likely inherent to varying degrees in all CFDCs, is caused by exposure of particles to different humidities and/or temperatures than predicated from instrument theory of operation. This can result in a systematic, and variable, underestimation of reported INP concentrations. We find here variable correction factors from 1.5 to 9.5, consistent with previous literature values. We use a machine learning approach to show that non-ideality is most likely due to small-scale flow features where the aerosols are combined with sheath flows. Machine learning is also used to minimize the uncertainty in measured INP concentrations. We suggest that detailed measurement, on an instrument-by-instrument basis, be performed to characterize this uncertainty.

  2. Analysis of isothermal and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alpert, Peter A.; Knopf, Daniel A.

    2016-02-01

    Immersion freezing is an important ice nucleation pathway involved in the formation of cirrus and mixed-phase clouds. Laboratory immersion freezing experiments are necessary to determine the range in temperature, T, and relative humidity, RH, at which ice nucleation occurs and to quantify the associated nucleation kinetics. Typically, isothermal (applying a constant temperature) and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing experiments are conducted. In these experiments it is usually assumed that the droplets containing ice nucleating particles (INPs) all have the same INP surface area (ISA); however, the validity of this assumption or the impact it may have on analysis and interpretation of the experimental data is rarely questioned. Descriptions of ice active sites and variability of contact angles have been successfully formulated to describe ice nucleation experimental data in previous research; however, we consider the ability of a stochastic freezing model founded on classical nucleation theory to reproduce previous results and to explain experimental uncertainties and data scatter. A stochastic immersion freezing model based on first principles of statistics is presented, which accounts for variable ISA per droplet and uses parameters including the total number of droplets, Ntot, and the heterogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient, Jhet(T). This model is applied to address if (i) a time and ISA-dependent stochastic immersion freezing process can explain laboratory immersion freezing data for different experimental methods and (ii) the assumption that all droplets contain identical ISA is a valid conjecture with subsequent consequences for analysis and interpretation of immersion freezing. The simple stochastic model can reproduce the observed time and surface area dependence in immersion freezing experiments for a variety of methods such as: droplets on a cold-stage exposed to air or surrounded by an oil matrix, wind and acoustically levitated droplets

  3. An aerosol chamber investigation of the heterogeneous ice nucleating potential of refractory nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. W. Saunders

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Nanoparticles of iron oxide (crystalline and amorphous, silicon oxide and magnesium oxide were investigated for their propensity to nucleate ice over the temperature range 180–250 K, using the AIDA chamber in Karlsruhe, Germany.

    All samples were observed to initiate ice formation via the deposition mode at threshold ice super-saturations (RHithresh ranging from 105% to 140% for temperatures below 220 K. Approximately 10% of amorphous Fe2O3 particles (modal diameter = 30 nm generated in situ from a photochemical aerosol reactor, led to ice nucleation at RHithresh = 140% at an initial chamber temperature of 182 K. Quantitative analysis using a singular hypothesis treatment provided a fitted function [ns(190 K=10(3.33×sice+8.16] for the variation in ice-active surface site density (ns:m−2 with ice saturation (sice for Fe2O3 nanoparticles. This was implemented in an aerosol-cloud model to determine a predicted deposition (mass accommodation coefficient for water vapour on ice of 0.1 at temperatures appropriate for the upper atmosphere. Classical nucleation theory was used to determine representative contact angles (θ for the different particle compositions. For the in situ generated Fe2O3 particles, a slight inverse temperature dependence was observed with θ = 10.5° at 182 K, decreasing to 9.0° at 200 K (compared with 10.2° and 11.4° respectively for the SiO2 and MgO particle samples at the higher temperature.

    These observations indicate that such refractory nanoparticles are relatively efficient materials for the nucleation of ice under the conditions studied in the chamber which correspond to cirrus cloud formation in the upper troposphere. The results also show that Fe2O3 particles do not act as ice

  4. Magnetic control of heterogeneous ice nucleation with nanophase magnetite: Biophysical and agricultural implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Atsuko; Horikawa, Masamoto; Kirschvink, Joseph L; Golash, Harry N

    2018-05-22

    In supercooled water, ice nucleation is a stochastic process that requires ∼250-300 molecules to transiently achieve structural ordering before an embryonic seed crystal can nucleate. This happens most easily on crystalline surfaces, in a process termed heterogeneous nucleation; without such surfaces, water droplets will supercool to below -30 °C before eventually freezing homogeneously. A variety of fundamental processes depends on heterogeneous ice nucleation, ranging from desert-blown dust inducing precipitation in clouds to frost resistance in plants. Recent experiments have shown that crystals of nanophase magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) are powerful nucleation sites for this heterogeneous crystallization of ice, comparable to other materials like silver iodide and some cryobacterial peptides. In natural materials containing magnetite, its ferromagnetism offers the possibility that magneto-mechanical motion induced by external oscillating magnetic fields could act to disrupt the water-crystal interface, inhibiting the heterogeneous nucleation process in subfreezing water and promoting supercooling. For this to act, the magneto-mechanical rotation of the particles should be higher than the magnitude of Brownian motions. We report here that 10-Hz precessing magnetic fields, at strengths of 1 mT and above, on ∼50-nm magnetite crystals dispersed in ultrapure water, meet these criteria and do indeed produce highly significant supercooling. Using these rotating magnetic fields, we were able to elicit supercooling in two representative plant and animal tissues (celery and bovine muscle), both of which have detectable, natural levels of ferromagnetic material. Tailoring magnetic oscillations for the magnetite particle size distribution in different tissues could maximize this supercooling effect. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  5. Ice formation via deposition nucleation on mineral dust and organics: dependence of onset relative humidity on total particulate surface area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanji, Zamin A; Florea, Octavian; Abbatt, Jonathan P D

    2008-01-01

    We present ice nucleation results for Arizona test dust, kaolinite, montmorillonite, silica, silica coated with a hydrophobic octyl chain, oxalic acid dihydrate, Gascoyne leonardite (a humic material), and Aldrich humic acid (sodium salt). The focus was on deposition mode nucleation below water saturation at 233 K. Particles were deposited onto a hydrophobic cold stage by atomization of a slurry/solution and exposed to a constant partial pressure of water vapor. By lowering the temperature of the stage, the relative humidity with respect to ice (RH i ) was gradually increased until ice nucleation was observed using digital photography. Different numbers of particles were deposited onto the cold stage by varying the atomization solution concentration and deposition time. For the same total particulate surface area, mineral dust particles nucleated ice at lower supersaturations than all other materials. The most hydrophobic materials, i.e. Gascoyne leonardite and octyl silica, were the least active. For our limit of detection of one ice crystal, the ice onset RH i values were dependent on the total surface area of the particulates, indicating that no unique threshold RH i for ice nucleation prevails

  6. Ice formation via deposition nucleation on mineral dust and organics: dependence of onset relative humidity on total particulate surface area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kanji, Zamin A; Florea, Octavian; Abbatt, Jonathan P D [Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H6 (Canada)], E-mail: zkanji@chem.utoronto.ca

    2008-04-15

    We present ice nucleation results for Arizona test dust, kaolinite, montmorillonite, silica, silica coated with a hydrophobic octyl chain, oxalic acid dihydrate, Gascoyne leonardite (a humic material), and Aldrich humic acid (sodium salt). The focus was on deposition mode nucleation below water saturation at 233 K. Particles were deposited onto a hydrophobic cold stage by atomization of a slurry/solution and exposed to a constant partial pressure of water vapor. By lowering the temperature of the stage, the relative humidity with respect to ice (RH{sub i}) was gradually increased until ice nucleation was observed using digital photography. Different numbers of particles were deposited onto the cold stage by varying the atomization solution concentration and deposition time. For the same total particulate surface area, mineral dust particles nucleated ice at lower supersaturations than all other materials. The most hydrophobic materials, i.e. Gascoyne leonardite and octyl silica, were the least active. For our limit of detection of one ice crystal, the ice onset RH{sub i} values were dependent on the total surface area of the particulates, indicating that no unique threshold RH{sub i} for ice nucleation prevails.

  7. Viscous organic aerosol particles in the upper troposphere: diffusivity-controlled water uptake and ice nucleation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. M. Lienhard

    2015-12-01

    secondary organic aerosol (SOA material produced by oxidation of α-pinene and in a number of organic/inorganic model mixtures (3-methylbutane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid (3-MBTCA, levoglucosan, levoglucosan/NH4HSO4, raffinose are presented. These indicate that water diffusion coefficients are determined by several properties of the aerosol substance and cannot be inferred from the glass transition temperature or bouncing properties. Our results suggest that water diffusion in SOA particles is faster than often assumed and imposes no significant kinetic limitation on water uptake and release at temperatures above 220 K. The fast diffusion of water suggests that heterogeneous ice nucleation on a glassy core is very unlikely in these systems. At temperatures below 220 K, model simulations of SOA particles suggest that heterogeneous ice nucleation may occur in the immersion mode on glassy cores which remain embedded in a liquid shell when experiencing fast updraft velocities. The particles absorb significant quantities of water during these updrafts which plasticize their outer layers such that these layers equilibrate readily with the gas phase humidity before the homogeneous ice nucleation threshold is reached. Glass formation is thus unlikely to restrict homogeneous ice nucleation. Only under most extreme conditions near the very high tropical tropopause may the homogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient be reduced as a consequence of slow condensed-phase water diffusion. Since the differences between the behavior limited or non limited by diffusion are small even at the very high tropical tropopause, condensed-phase water diffusivity is unlikely to have significant consequences on the direct climatic effects of SOA particles under tropospheric conditions.

  8. Correlation between thermodynamic anomalies and pathways of ice nucleation in supercooled water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Rakesh S.; Bagchi, Biman

    2014-01-01

    The well-known classical nucleation theory (CNT) for the free energy barrier towards formation of a nucleus of critical size of the new stable phase within the parent metastable phase fails to take into account the influence of other metastable phases having density/order intermediate between the parent metastable phase and the final stable phase. This lacuna can be more serious than capillary approximation or spherical shape assumption made in CNT. This issue is particularly significant in ice nucleation because liquid water shows rich phase diagram consisting of two (high and low density) liquid phases in supercooled state. The explanations of thermodynamic and dynamic anomalies of supercooled water often invoke the possible influence of a liquid-liquid transition between two metastable liquid phases. To investigate both the role of thermodynamic anomalies and presence of distinct metastable liquid phases in supercooled water on ice nucleation, we employ density functional theoretical approach to find nucleation free energy barrier in different regions of phase diagram. The theory makes a number of striking predictions, such as a dramatic lowering of nucleation barrier due to presence of a metastable intermediate phase and crossover in the dependence of free energy barrier on temperature near liquid-liquid critical point. These predictions can be tested by computer simulations as well as by controlled experiments

  9. The global influence of dust mineralogical composition on heterogeneous ice nucleation in mixed-phase clouds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoose, C; Lohmann, U; Erdin, R; Tegen, I

    2008-01-01

    Mineral dust is the dominant natural ice nucleating aerosol. Its ice nucleation efficiency depends on the mineralogical composition. We show the first sensitivity studies with a global climate model and a three-dimensional dust mineralogy. Results show that, depending on the dust mineralogical composition, coating with soluble material from anthropogenic sources can lead to quasi-deactivation of natural dust ice nuclei. This effect counteracts the increased cloud glaciation by anthropogenic black carbon particles. The resulting aerosol indirect effect through the glaciation of mixed-phase clouds by black carbon particles is small (+0.1 W m -2 in the shortwave top-of-the-atmosphere radiation in the northern hemisphere)

  10. Analysis of isothermal and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. A. Alpert

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Immersion freezing is an important ice nucleation pathway involved in the formation of cirrus and mixed-phase clouds. Laboratory immersion freezing experiments are necessary to determine the range in temperature, T, and relative humidity, RH, at which ice nucleation occurs and to quantify the associated nucleation kinetics. Typically, isothermal (applying a constant temperature and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing experiments are conducted. In these experiments it is usually assumed that the droplets containing ice nucleating particles (INPs all have the same INP surface area (ISA; however, the validity of this assumption or the impact it may have on analysis and interpretation of the experimental data is rarely questioned. Descriptions of ice active sites and variability of contact angles have been successfully formulated to describe ice nucleation experimental data in previous research; however, we consider the ability of a stochastic freezing model founded on classical nucleation theory to reproduce previous results and to explain experimental uncertainties and data scatter. A stochastic immersion freezing model based on first principles of statistics is presented, which accounts for variable ISA per droplet and uses parameters including the total number of droplets, Ntot, and the heterogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient, Jhet(T. This model is applied to address if (i a time and ISA-dependent stochastic immersion freezing process can explain laboratory immersion freezing data for different experimental methods and (ii the assumption that all droplets contain identical ISA is a valid conjecture with subsequent consequences for analysis and interpretation of immersion freezing. The simple stochastic model can reproduce the observed time and surface area dependence in immersion freezing experiments for a variety of methods such as: droplets on a cold-stage exposed to air or surrounded by an oil matrix, wind and

  11. Spores of most common airborne fungi reveal no ice nucleation activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pummer, B. G.; Atanasova, L.; Bauer, H.; Bernardi, J.; Druzhinina, I. S.; Grothe, H.

    2013-06-01

    Fungal spores are ubiquitous biological aerosols, which are considered to show ice nucleation (IN) activity. In this study the respective IN activity was tested in oil emulsion in the immersion freezing mode. The focus was laid on species of economical, ecological or sanitary significance. For the first time, not only common moulds, but also edible mushrooms (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) were investigated, as they contribute massively to the total amount of fungal spores in the atmosphere. Only Fusarium avenaceum showed freezing events at low subzero-temperatures, while the other investigated fungal spores showed no significant IN activity. Furthermore, we selected a set of fungal strains from different sites and exposed them to occasional freezing stress during cultivation. Although the total protein expression was altered by this treatment, it had no significant impact on the IN activity.

  12. Heterogeneous ice nucleation activity of bacteria: new laboratory experiments at simulated cloud conditions

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    O. Möhler

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available The ice nucleation activities of five different Pseudomonas syringae, Pseudomonas viridiflava and Erwinia herbicola bacterial species and of Snomax™ were investigated in the temperature range between −5 and −15°C. Water suspensions of these bacteria were directly sprayed into the cloud chamber of the AIDA facility of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe at a temperature of −5.7°C. At this temperature, about 1% of the Snomax™ cells induced immersion freezing of the spray droplets before the droplets evaporated in the cloud chamber. The living cells didn't induce any detectable immersion freezing in the spray droplets at −5.7°C. After evaporation of the spray droplets the bacterial cells remained as aerosol particles in the cloud chamber and were exposed to typical cloud formation conditions in experiments with expansion cooling to about −11°C. During these experiments, the bacterial cells first acted as cloud condensation nuclei to form cloud droplets. Then, only a minor fraction of the cells acted as heterogeneous ice nuclei either in the condensation or the immersion mode. The results indicate that the bacteria investigated in the present study are mainly ice active in the temperature range between −7 and −11°C with an ice nucleation (IN active fraction of the order of 10−4. In agreement to previous literature results, the ice nucleation efficiency of Snomax™ cells was much larger with an IN active fraction of 0.2 at temperatures around −8°C.

  13. On the role of ice-nucleating aerosol in the formation of ice particles in tropical mesoscale convective systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladino, Luis A.; Korolev, Alexei; Heckman, Ivan; Wolde, Mengistu; Fridlind, Ann M.; Ackerman, Andrew S.

    2018-01-01

    Over decades, the cloud physics community has debated the nature and role of aerosol particles in ice initiation. The present study shows that the measured concentration of ice crystals in tropical mesoscale convective systems exceeds the concentration of ice nucleating particles (INPs) by several orders of magnitude. The concentration of INPs was assessed from the measured aerosol particles concentration in the size range of 0.5 to 1 µm. The observations from this study suggest that primary ice crystals formed on INPs make only a minor contribution to the total concentration of ice crystals in tropical mesoscale convective systems. This is found by comparing the predicted INP number concentrations with in-situ ice particle number concentrations. The obtained measurements suggest that ice multiplication is the likely explanation for the observed high concentrations of ice crystals in this type of convective system. PMID:29551842

  14. Nucleation in Synoptically Forced Cirrostratus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, R.-F.; Starr, D. OC.; Reichardt, J.; DeMott, P. J.

    2004-01-01

    Formation and evolution of cirrostratus in response to weak, uniform and constant synoptic forcing is simulated using a one-dimensional numerical model with explicit microphysics, in which the particle size distribution in each grid box is fully resolved. A series of tests of the model response to nucleation modes (homogeneous-freezing-only/heterogeneous nucleation) and heterogeneous nucleation parameters are performed. In the case studied here, nucleation is first activated in the prescribed moist layer. A continuous cloud-top nucleation zone with a depth depending on the vertical humidity gradient and one of the nucleation parameters is developed afterward. For the heterogeneous nucleation cases, intermittent nucleation zones in the mid-upper portion of the cloud form where the relative humidity is on the rise, because existent ice crystals do not uptake excess water vapor efficiently, and ice nuclei (IN) are available. Vertical resolution as fine as 1 m is required for realistic simulation of the homogeneous-freezing-only scenario, while the model resolution requirement is more relaxed in the cases where heterogeneous nucleation dominates. Bulk microphysical and optical properties are evaluated and compared. Ice particle number flux divergence, which is due to the vertical gradient of the gravity-induced particle sedimentation, is constantly and rapidly changing the local ice number concentration, even in the nucleation zone. When the depth of the nucleation zone is shallow, particle number concentration decreases rapidly as ice particles grow and sediment away from the nucleation zone. When the depth of the nucleation zone is large, a region of high ice number concentration can be sustained. The depth of nucleation zone is an important parameter to be considered in parametric treatments of ice cloud generation.

  15. Ice nucleation by surrogates for atmospheric mineral dust and mineral dust/sulfate particles at cirrus temperatures

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    C. M. Archuleta

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the potential role of some types of mineral dust and mineral dust with sulfuric acid coatings as heterogeneous ice nuclei at cirrus temperatures. Commercially-available nanoscale powder samples of aluminum oxide, alumina-silicate and iron oxide were used as surrogates for atmospheric mineral dust particles, with and without multilayer coverage of sulfuric acid. A sample of Asian dust aerosol particles was also studied. Measurements of ice nucleation were made using a continuous-flow ice-thermal diffusion chamber (CFDC operated to expose size-selected aerosol particles to temperatures between -45 and -60°C and a range of relative humidity above ice-saturated conditions. Pure metal oxide particles supported heterogeneous ice nucleation at lower relative humidities than those required to homogeneously freeze sulfuric acid solution particles at sizes larger than about 50 nm. The ice nucleation behavior of the same metal oxides coated with sulfuric acid indicate heterogeneous freezing at lower relative humidities than those calculated for homogeneous freezing of the diluted particle coatings. The effect of soluble coatings on the ice activation relative humidity varied with the respective uncoated core particle types, but for all types the heterogeneous freezing rates increased with particle size for the same thermodynamic conditions. For a selected size of 200 nm, the natural mineral dust particles were the most effective ice nuclei tested, supporting heterogeneous ice formation at an ice relative humidity of approximately 135%, irrespective of temperature. Modified homogeneous freezing parameterizations and theoretical formulations are shown to have application to the description of heterogeneous freezing of mineral dust-like particles with soluble coatings.

  16. Measurements of ice nucleating particle concentrations at 242 K in the free troposphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacher, L.; Lohmann, U.; Boose, Y.; Zipori, A.; Herrmann, E.; Bukowiecki, N.; Steinbacher, M.; Gute, E.; Kanji, Z. A.

    2017-12-01

    Clouds containing ice play an important role in the Earth's system, but some fundamental knowledge on their formation and further development is still missing. The phase change from vapor or liquid to ice in the atmosphere can occur heterogeneously in the presence of ice nucleating particles (INPs) at temperatures warmer, and supersaturations lower than required for homogeneous freezing. Only a small fraction of particles in an environment relevant for the occurrence of ice- and mixed-phase clouds are INPs, and their identification and quantification remains challenging. We measure INP concentrations with the ETH Horizontal Ice Nucleation Chamber (HINC) at the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch (JFJ) during several field campaigns in different seasons and years. The measurements are performed at 242 K and above water saturation, representing ice- and mixed-phase clouds conditions. Due to its elevation of 3580 m a.s.l. the site encounters mostly free tropospheric conditions, and is influenced by boundary layer injections up to 80% of the time in summer. JFJ regularly encounters Saharan dust events and receives air masses of marine origin, which can both occur within the free troposphere. Our measurements show that INP concentrations in the free troposphere do not follow a seasonal cycle. They are remarkably constant, with concentrations from 0.5 - 8 L-1 (interquartile range), which compares well to measurements performed under the same conditions at another location within the free troposphere, the Izaña Atmospheric Research Station in Tenerife. At JFJ, correlations with parameters of physical properties of ambient particles, meteorology and air mass characteristics do not show a single best estimator to predict INP concentrations, emphasizing the complexity of ice nucleation in the free troposphere. Increases in INP concentrations of a temporary nature were observed in the free troposphere during Saharan dust events and marine air mass influence, which

  17. Model simulations with COSMO-SPECS: impact of heterogeneous freezing modes and ice nucleating particle types on ice formation and precipitation in a deep convective cloud

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    K. Diehl

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In deep convective clouds, heavy rain is often formed involving the ice phase. Simulations were performed using the 3-D cloud resolving model COSMO-SPECS with detailed spectral microphysics including parameterizations of homogeneous and three heterogeneous freezing modes. The initial conditions were selected to result in a deep convective cloud reaching 14 km of altitude with strong updrafts up to 40 m s−1. At such altitudes with corresponding temperatures below −40 °C the major fraction of liquid drops freezes homogeneously. The goal of the present model simulations was to investigate how additional heterogeneous freezing will affect ice formation and precipitation although its contribution to total ice formation may be rather low. In such a situation small perturbations that do not show significant effects at first sight may trigger cloud microphysical responses. Effects of the following small perturbations were studied: (1 additional ice formation via immersion, contact, and deposition modes in comparison to solely homogeneous freezing, (2 contact and deposition freezing in comparison to immersion freezing, and (3 small fractions of biological ice nucleating particles (INPs in comparison to higher fractions of mineral dust INP. The results indicate that the modification of precipitation proceeds via the formation of larger ice particles, which may be supported by direct freezing of larger drops, the growth of pristine ice particles by riming, and by nucleation of larger drops by collisions with pristine ice particles. In comparison to the reference case with homogeneous freezing only, such small perturbations due to additional heterogeneous freezing rather affect the total precipitation amount. It is more likely that the temporal development and the local distribution of precipitation are affected by such perturbations. This results in a gradual increase in precipitation at early cloud stages instead of a strong increase at

  18. In-situ measurements of ice nucleating particles with FINCH (Fast Ice Nucleus Chamber)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohl, Rebecca; Frank, Fabian; Curtius, Joachim; Rose, Diana

    2017-04-01

    Ice nucleating particles (INPs), which are a small fraction of the total aerosol population, are capable of triggering ice formation under atmospheric conditions. Since INPs play an important role for the radiative properties of clouds as well as for the formation of precipitation it is important to get quantitative information on the ice activity of various atmospheric aerosol species. With the Fast Ice Nucleus Chamber (FINCH; Bundke et al., 2008) the number concentration of INP is determined at different freezing temperatures and supersaturations. In contrast to other commonly used INP counters, i.e., continuous flow diffusion chambers (CFDCs, DeMott et al., 2011), in FINCH the supersaturation is reached by mixing the sample flow of ambient aerosol with a warm moist as well as a cold dry airflow. By changing the flow rates and temperatures of the individual airflows the freezing temperature (down to -50°C) and supersaturation (up to above water saturation) can be varied relatively quickly. Particles that are ice active at the prescribed freezing temperature and supersaturation grow to crystals and are counted by a home-built optical particle counter (OPC) mounted below the chamber (Bundke et al., 2010). FINCH was operated during the four-week INUIT-BACCHUS-ACTRIS field campaign in Cyprus in April 2016. The measuring site was the location of the Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory (CAO) at Agia Marina Xyliatou, which is typically influenced by dust from the Sahara and the Middle East, an aerosol that is known to have relatively good ice nucleating ability. First results from this campaign will be presented. Acknowledgements: The authors thank the entire INUIT-BACCHUS-ACTRIS campaign team for their cooperation and support. The INUIT-2 project is financed by the German Research Foundation DFG (FOR 1525). The INUIT-Cyprus campaign is a cooperation with the EU-funded project BACCHUS and is also funded by ACTRIS-TNA. References: Bundke, U., Nillius, B., Jaenicke, R

  19. Ice Nucleation in the Tropical Tropopause Layer: Implications for Cirrus Occurrence, Cirrus Microphysical Properties, and Dehydration of Air Entering the Stratosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Eric; Kaercher, Bernd; Ueyama, Rei; Pfister, Leonhard

    2017-01-01

    Recent laboratory experiments have advanced our understanding of the physical properties and ice nucleating abilities of aerosol particles atlow temperatures. In particular, aerosols containing organics will transition to a glassy state at low temperatures, and these glassy aerosols are moderately effective as ice nuclei. These results have implications for ice nucleation in the cold Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL; 13-19 km). We have developed a detailed cloud microphysical model that includes heterogeneous nucleation on a variety of aerosol types and homogeneous freezing of aqueous aerosols. This model has been incorporated into one-dimensional simulations of cirrus and water vapor driven by meteorological analysis temperature and wind fields. The model includes scavenging of ice nuclei by sedimenting ice crystals. The model is evaluated by comparing the simulated cloud properties and water vapor concentrations with aircraft and satellite measurements. In this presentation, I will discuss the relative importance of homogeneous and heterogeneous ice nucleation, the impact of ice nuclei scavenging as air slowly ascends through the TTL, and the implications for the final dehydration of air parcels crossing the tropical cold-point tropopause and entering the tropical stratosphere.

  20. Ice-nucleating particle emissions from photochemically aged diesel and biodiesel exhaust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schill, G. P.; Jathar, S. H.; Kodros, J. K.; Levin, E. J. T.; Galang, A. M.; Friedman, B.; Link, M. F.; Farmer, D. K.; Pierce, J. R.; Kreidenweis, S. M.; DeMott, P. J.

    2016-05-01

    Immersion-mode ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations from an off-road diesel engine were measured using a continuous-flow diffusion chamber at -30°C. Both petrodiesel and biodiesel were utilized, and the exhaust was aged up to 1.5 photochemically equivalent days using an oxidative flow reactor. We found that aged and unaged diesel exhaust of both fuels is not likely to contribute to atmospheric INP concentrations at mixed-phase cloud conditions. To explore this further, a new limit-of-detection parameterization for ice nucleation on diesel exhaust was developed. Using a global-chemical transport model, potential black carbon INP (INPBC) concentrations were determined using a current literature INPBC parameterization and the limit-of-detection parameterization. Model outputs indicate that the current literature parameterization likely overemphasizes INPBC concentrations, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. These results highlight the need to integrate new INPBC parameterizations into global climate models as generalized INPBC parameterizations are not valid for diesel exhaust.

  1. Progress Towards Identifying and Quantifying the Organic Ice Nucleating Particles in Soils and Aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, T. C. J.; DeMott, P. J.; Fröhlich-Nowoisky, J.; Tobo, Y.; Suski, K. J.; Levin, E. J.; Kreidenweis, S. M.; Franc, G. D.

    2014-12-01

    Soil and plant surfaces emit ice nucleating particles (INP) to the atmosphere, especially when disturbed by wind, harvesting, rain or fire. Organic (biogenic) INP are abundant in most soils and dominate the population that nucleate >-15°C. For example, the sandy topsoil of sagebrush shrubland, a widespread ecotype prone to wind erosion after fire, contains ~106 organic INP g-1 at -6°C. The relevance of organic INP may also extend to colder temperatures than previously thought: Particles of soil organic matter (SOM) have been shown to be more important than mineral particles for the ice nucleating ability of agricultural soil dusts to -34°C. While the abundance of ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria on plants has been established, the identity of the organic INP in and emitted by soils remains a 40-year-old mystery. The need to understand their production and release is highlighted by recent findings that INA bacteria (measured with qPCR) account for few, if any, of the warm-temperature organic INP that predominate in boundary layer aerosols and snow; organic INP lofted with soil dusts seem a likely source. The complexity of SOM hinders its investigation. It contains decomposing plant materials, a diverse microbial and microfaunal community, humus, and inert organic matter. All are biochemically complex and all may contain ice nucleating constituents, either by design or by chance. Indeed the smoothness of the INP temperature spectra of soils is indicative of numerous, overlapping distributions of INP. We report recent progress in identifying and quantifying the organic INP in soils and boundary layer aerosols representative of West Central U.S. ecosystems, and how their characteristics may affect their dispersal. Chemical, enzymatic and DNA-based tests were used to assess contributions of INP from plant tissues, INA bacteria, INA fungi, organic crystals, monolayers of aliphatic alcohols, carbohydrates, and humic substances, while heat- and peroxide-based tests

  2. Addressing the ice nucleating abilities of marine aerosol: A combination of deposition mode laboratory and field measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladino, L. A.; Yakobi-Hancock, J. D.; Kilthau, W. P.; Mason, R. H.; Si, M.; Li, J.; Miller, L. A.; Schiller, C. L.; Huffman, J. A.; Aller, J. Y.; Knopf, D. A.; Bertram, A. K.; Abbatt, J. P. D.

    2016-05-01

    This study addresses, through two types of experiments, the potential for the oceans to act as a source of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INPs). The INP concentration via deposition mode nucleation was measured in situ at a coastal site in British Columbia in August 2013. The INP concentration at conditions relevant to cirrus clouds (i.e., -40 °C and relative humidity with respect to ice, RHice = 139%) ranged from 0.2 L-1 to 3.3 L-1. Correlations of the INP concentrations with levels of anthropogenic tracers (i.e., CO, SO2, NOx, and black carbon) and numbers of fluorescent particles do not indicate a significant influence from anthropogenic sources or submicron bioaerosols, respectively. Additionally, the INPs measured in the deposition mode showed a poor correlation with the concentration of particles with sizes larger than 500 nm, which is in contrast with observations made in the immersion freezing mode. To investigate the nature of particles that could have acted as deposition INP, laboratory experiments with potential marine aerosol particles were conducted under the ice-nucleating conditions used in the field. At -40 °C, no deposition activity was observed with salt aerosol particles (sodium chloride and two forms of commercial sea salt: Sigma-Aldrich and Instant Ocean), particles composed of a commercial source of natural organic matter (Suwannee River humic material), or particle mixtures of sea salt and humic material. In contrast, exudates from three phytoplankton (Thalassiosira pseudonana, Nanochloris atomus, and Emiliania huxleyi) and one marine bacterium (Vibrio harveyi) exhibited INP activity at low RHice values, down to below 110%. This suggests that the INPs measured at the field site were of marine biological origins, although we cannot rule out other sources, including mineral dust.

  3. Analysis of isothermal and cooling rate dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alpert, P. A.; Knopf, D. A.

    2015-05-01

    Immersion freezing is an important ice nucleation pathway involved in the formation of cirrus and mixed-phase clouds. Laboratory immersion freezing experiments are necessary to determine the range in temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) at which ice nucleation occurs and to quantify the associated nucleation kinetics. Typically, isothermal (applying a constant temperature) and cooling rate dependent immersion freezing experiments are conducted. In these experiments it is usually assumed that the droplets containing ice nuclei (IN) all have the same IN surface area (ISA), however the validity of this assumption or the impact it may have on analysis and interpretation of the experimental data is rarely questioned. A stochastic immersion freezing model based on first principles of statistics is presented, which accounts for variable ISA per droplet and uses physically observable parameters including the total number of droplets (Ntot) and the heterogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient, Jhet(T). This model is applied to address if (i) a time and ISA dependent stochastic immersion freezing process can explain laboratory immersion freezing data for different experimental methods and (ii) the assumption that all droplets contain identical ISA is a valid conjecture with subsequent consequences for analysis and interpretation of immersion freezing. The simple stochastic model can reproduce the observed time and surface area dependence in immersion freezing experiments for a variety of methods such as: droplets on a cold-stage exposed to air or surrounded by an oil matrix, wind and acoustically levitated droplets, droplets in a continuous flow diffusion chamber (CFDC), the Leipzig aerosol cloud interaction simulator (LACIS), and the aerosol interaction and dynamics in the atmosphere (AIDA) cloud chamber. Observed time dependent isothermal frozen fractions exhibiting non-exponential behavior with time can be readily explained by this model considering varying ISA. An

  4. Influence of the ambient humidity on the concentration of natural deposition-mode ice-nucleating particles

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    M. L. López

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This study reports measurements of deposition-mode ice-nucleating particle (INP concentrations at ground level during the period July–December 2014 in Córdoba, Argentina. Ambient air was sampled into a cloud chamber where the INP concentration was measured at a temperature of −25 °C and a 15 % supersaturation over ice. Measurements were performed on days with different thermodynamic conditions, including rainy days. The effect of the relative humidity at ground level (RHamb on the INP concentration was analyzed. The number of INPs activated varied from 1 L−1 at RHamb of 25 % to 30 L−1 at RHamb of 90 %. In general, a linear trend between the INP concentration and the RHamb was found, suggesting that this variability must be related to the effectiveness of the aerosols acting as INPs. From the backward trajectories analysis, it was found that the link between INP concentration and RHamb is independent of the origin of the air masses. The role of biological INPs and nucleation occurring in pores and cavities was discussed as a possible mechanism to explain the increase of the INP concentration during high ambient relative humidity events. This work provides valuable measurements of deposition-mode INP concentrations from the Southern Hemisphere where INP data are sparse so far.

  5. Boundary layer new particle formation over East Antarctic sea ice – possible Hg-driven nucleation?

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    R. S. Humphries

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol observations above the Southern Ocean and Antarctic sea ice are scarce. Measurements of aerosols and atmospheric composition were made in East Antarctic pack ice on board the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis during the spring of 2012. One particle formation event was observed during the 32 days of observations. This event occurred on the only day to exhibit extended periods of global irradiance in excess of 600 W m−2. Within the single air mass influencing the measurements, number concentrations of particles larger than 3 nm (CN3 reached almost 7700 cm−3 within a few hours of clouds clearing, and grew at rates of 5.6 nm h−1. Formation rates of 3 nm particles were in the range of those measured at other Antarctic locations at 0.2–1.1 ± 0.1 cm−3 s−1. Our investigations into the nucleation chemistry found that there were insufficient precursor concentrations for known halogen or organic chemistry to explain the nucleation event. Modelling studies utilising known sulfuric acid nucleation schemes could not simultaneously reproduce both particle formation or growth rates. Surprising correlations with total gaseous mercury (TGM were found that, together with other data, suggest a mercury-driven photochemical nucleation mechanism may be responsible for aerosol nucleation. Given the very low vapour pressures of the mercury species involved, this nucleation chemistry is likely only possible where pre-existing aerosol concentrations are low and both TGM concentrations and solar radiation levels are relatively high (∼ 1.5 ng m−3 and ≥ 600 W m−2, respectively, such as those observed in the Antarctic sea ice boundary layer in this study or in the global free troposphere, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere.

  6. The effect of organic coating on the heterogeneous ice nucleation efficiency of mineral dust aerosols

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moehler, O; Benz, S; Saathoff, H; Schnaiter, M; Wagner, R [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Schneider, J; Walter, S [Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz (Germany); Ebert, V; Wagner, S [University of Heidelberg, Institute for Physical Chemistry, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany)], E-mail: Ottmar.Moehler@imk.fzk.de

    2008-04-15

    The effect of organic coating on the heterogeneous ice nucleation (IN) efficiency of dust particles was investigated at simulated cirrus cloud conditions in the AIDA cloud chamber of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. Arizona test dust (ATD) and the clay mineral illite were used as surrogates for atmospheric dust aerosols. The dry dust samples were dispersed into a 3.7 m{sup 3} aerosol vessel and either directly transferred into the 84 m{sup 3} cloud simulation chamber or coated before with the semi-volatile products from the reaction of {alpha}-pinene with ozone in order to mimic the coating of atmospheric dust particles with secondary organic aerosol (SOA) substances. The ice-active fraction was measured in AIDA expansion cooling experiments as a function of the relative humidity with respect to ice, RHi, in the temperature range from 205 to 210 K. Almost all uncoated dust particles with diameters between 0.1 and 1.0 {mu}m acted as efficient deposition mode ice nuclei at RHi between 105 and 120%. This high ice nucleation efficiency was markedly suppressed by coating with SOA. About 20% of the ATD particles coated with a SOA mass fraction of 17 wt% were ice-active at RHi between 115 and 130%, and only 10% of the illite particles coated with an SOA mass fraction of 41 wt% were ice-active at RHi between 160 and 170%. Only a minor fraction of pure SOA particles were ice-active at RHi between 150 and 190%. Strong IN activation of SOA particles was observed only at RHi above 200%, which is clearly above water saturation at the given temperature. The IN suppression and the shift of the heterogeneous IN onset to higher RHi seem to depend on the coating thickness or the fractional surface coverage of the mineral particles. The results indicate that the heterogeneous ice nucleation potential of atmospheric mineral particles may also be suppressed if they are coated with secondary organics.

  7. The effect of organic coating on the heterogeneous ice nucleation efficiency of mineral dust aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moehler, O; Benz, S; Saathoff, H; Schnaiter, M; Wagner, R; Schneider, J; Walter, S; Ebert, V; Wagner, S

    2008-01-01

    The effect of organic coating on the heterogeneous ice nucleation (IN) efficiency of dust particles was investigated at simulated cirrus cloud conditions in the AIDA cloud chamber of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. Arizona test dust (ATD) and the clay mineral illite were used as surrogates for atmospheric dust aerosols. The dry dust samples were dispersed into a 3.7 m 3 aerosol vessel and either directly transferred into the 84 m 3 cloud simulation chamber or coated before with the semi-volatile products from the reaction of α-pinene with ozone in order to mimic the coating of atmospheric dust particles with secondary organic aerosol (SOA) substances. The ice-active fraction was measured in AIDA expansion cooling experiments as a function of the relative humidity with respect to ice, RHi, in the temperature range from 205 to 210 K. Almost all uncoated dust particles with diameters between 0.1 and 1.0 μm acted as efficient deposition mode ice nuclei at RHi between 105 and 120%. This high ice nucleation efficiency was markedly suppressed by coating with SOA. About 20% of the ATD particles coated with a SOA mass fraction of 17 wt% were ice-active at RHi between 115 and 130%, and only 10% of the illite particles coated with an SOA mass fraction of 41 wt% were ice-active at RHi between 160 and 170%. Only a minor fraction of pure SOA particles were ice-active at RHi between 150 and 190%. Strong IN activation of SOA particles was observed only at RHi above 200%, which is clearly above water saturation at the given temperature. The IN suppression and the shift of the heterogeneous IN onset to higher RHi seem to depend on the coating thickness or the fractional surface coverage of the mineral particles. The results indicate that the heterogeneous ice nucleation potential of atmospheric mineral particles may also be suppressed if they are coated with secondary organics

  8. Sea spray as a source of ice nucleating particles - results from the AIDA Ocean03 campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salter, M. E.; Ickes, L.; Adams, M.; Bierbauer, S.; Bilde, M.; Christiansen, S.; Ekman, A.; Gorokhova, E.; Höhler, K.; Kiselev, A. A.; Leck, C.; Mohr, C.; Mohler, O.; Murray, B. J.; Porter, G.; Ullrich, R.; Wagner, R.

    2017-12-01

    Clouds and their radiative effects are one of the major influences on the radiative fluxes in the atmosphere, but at the same time they remain the largest uncertainty in climate models. This lack of understanding is especially pronounced in the high Arctic. Summertime clouds can persist over long periods in this region, which is difficult to replicate in models based on our current understanding. The clouds most often encountered in the summertime high Arctic consist of a mixture of ice crystals and super-cooled water droplets, so-called mixed-phase clouds. This cloud type is sensitive to the availability of aerosol particles, which can act as cloud condensation nuclei and ice nuclei. However, since the high Arctic is a pristine region, aerosol particles are not very abundant, and the hypothesis of open leads in the Arctic as a potentially important source of cloud and ice nucleating particles via bubble bursting has emerged. In this context, we have conducted a series of experiments at the AIDA chamber at KIT, designed to investigate the mechanisms linking marine biology, seawater chemistry and aerosol physics/potential cloud impacts. During this campaign, two marine diatom species (Melosira arctica and Skeletonema marinoi) as well as sea surface microlayer samples collected during several Arctic Ocean research cruises were investigated. To aerosolize the samples, a variety of methods were used including a sea spray simulation chamber to mimic the process of bubble-bursting. The ice nucleating efficiency (mixed-phase cloud regime) of the samples was determined either directly in the AIDA chamber during adiabatic expansions, or using the INKA continuous flow diffusion chamber, or a cold stage. Results from the campaign along with the potential implications are presented.

  9. Characterization of ice nucleating particles during continuous springtime measurements in Prudhoe Bay: an Arctic oilfield location

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creamean, J.; Spada, N. J.; Kirpes, R.; Pratt, K.

    2017-12-01

    Aerosols that serve as ice nucleating particles (INPs) have the potential to modulate cloud microphysical properties. INPs can thus subsequently impact cloud radiative forcing in addition to modification of precipitation formation processes. In regions such as the Arctic, aerosol-cloud interactions are severely understudied yet have significant implications for surface radiation reaching the sea ice and snow surfaces. Further, uncertainties in model representations of heterogeneous ice nucleation are a significant hindrance to simulating Arctic mixed-phase cloud processes. Characterizing a combination of aerosol chemical, physical, and ice nucleating properties is pertinent to evaluating of the role of aerosols in altering Arctic cloud microphysics. We present preliminary results from an aerosol sampling campaign called INPOP (Ice Nucleating Particles at Oliktok Point), which took place at a U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (DOE ARM) facility on the North Slope of Alaska. Three time- and size-resolved aerosol samplers were deployed from 1 Mar to 31 May 2017 and were co-located with routine measurements of aerosol number, size, chemical, and radiative property measurements conducted by DOE ARM at their Aerosol Observing System (AOS). Offline analysis of samples collected at a daily time resolution included composition and morphology via single-particle analysis and drop freezing measurements for INP concentrations, while analysis of 12-hourly samples included mass, optical, and elemental composition. We deliberate the possible influences on the aerosol and INP population from the Prudhoe Bay oilfield resource extraction and daily operations in addition to what may be local background or long-range transported aerosol. To our knowledge our results represent some of the first INP characterization measurements in an Arctic oilfield location and can be used as a benchmark for future INP characterization studies in Arctic locations impacted

  10. Ice nucleation activity of diesel soot particles at cirrus relevant temperature conditions: Effects of hydration, secondary organics coating, soot morphology, and coagulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulkarni, Gourihar; China, Swarup; Liu, Shang; Nandasiri, Manjula; Sharma, Noopur; Wilson, Jacqueline; Aiken, Allison C.; Chand, Duli; Laskin, Alexander; Mazzoleni, Claudio; Pekour, Mikhail; Shilling, John; Shutthanandan, Vaithiyalingam; Zelenyuk, Alla; Zaveri, Rahul A.

    2016-04-01

    Ice formation by diesel soot particles was investigated at temperatures ranging from -40 to -50°C. Size-selected soot particles were physically and chemically aged in an environmental chamber, and their ice nucleating properties were determined using a continuous flow diffusion type ice nucleation chamber. Bare (freshly formed), hydrated, and compacted soot particles, as well as α-pinene secondary organic aerosol (SOA)-coated soot particles at high relative humidity conditions, showed ice formation activity at subsaturation conditions with respect to water but below the homogeneous freezing threshold conditions. However, SOA-coated soot particles at dry conditions were observed to freeze at homogeneous freezing threshold conditions. Overall, our results suggest that heterogeneous ice nucleation activity of freshly emitted diesel soot particles are sensitive to some of the aging processes that soot can undergo in the atmosphere.

  11. Technical Note: A numerical test-bed for detailed ice nucleation studies in the AIDA cloud simulation chamber

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. J. Cotton

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The AIDA (Aerosol Interactions and Dynamics in the Atmosphere aerosol and cloud chamber of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe can be used to test the ice forming ability of aerosols. The AIDA chamber is extensively instrumented including pressure, temperature and humidity sensors, and optical particle counters. Expansion cooling using mechanical pumps leads to ice supersaturation conditions and possible ice formation. In order to describe the evolving chamber conditions during an expansion, a parcel model was modified to account for diabatic heat and moisture interactions with the chamber walls. Model results are shown for a series of expansions where the initial chamber temperature ranged from −20°C to −60°C and which used desert dust as ice forming nuclei. During each expansion, the initial formation of ice particles was clearly observed. For the colder expansions there were two clear ice nucleation episodes. In order to test the ability of the model to represent the changing chamber conditions and to give confidence in the observations of chamber temperature and humidity, and ice particle concentration and mean size, ice particles were simply added as a function of time so as to reproduce the observations of ice crystal concentration. The time interval and chamber conditions over which ice nucleation occurs is therefore accurately known, and enables the model to be used as a test bed for different representations of ice formation.

  12. Ice nucleating particles in the high Arctic at the beginning of the melt season

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartmann, M.; Gong, X.; Van Pinxteren, M.; Welti, A.; Zeppenfeld, S.; Herrmann, H.; Stratmann, F.

    2017-12-01

    Ice nucleating particles (INPs) initiate the ice crystal formation in persistent Arctic mixed-phase clouds and are important for the formation of precipitation, which affects the radiative properties of the Arctic pack ice as well as the radiative properties of clouds. Sources of Arctic INP have been suggested to be local emissions from the marine boundary and long-range transport. To what extent local marine sources contribute to the INP population or if the majority of INPs originate from long-range transport is not yet known. Ship-based INP measurements in the PASCAL framework are reported. The field campaign took place from May 24 to July 20 2017 around and north of Svalbard (up to 84°N, between 0° and 35°E) onboard the RV Polarstern. INP concentrations were determined applying in-situ measurements (DMT Spectrometer for Ice Nuclei, SPIN) and offline filter techniques (filter sampling on both quartz fiber and polycarbonate filters with subsequent analysis of filter pieces and water suspension from particles collected on filters by means of immersion freezing experiments on cold stage setups). Additionally the compartments sea-surface micro layer (SML), bulk sea water, snow, sea ice and fog water were sampled and their ice nucleation potential quantified, also utilizing cold stages. The measurements yield comprehensive picture of the spatial and temporal distribution of INPs around Svalbard for the different compartments. The dependence of the INP concentration on meteorological conditions (e.g. wind speed) and the geographical situation (sea ice cover, distance to the ice edge) are investigated. Potential sources of INP are identified by the comparison of INP concentrations in the compartments and by back trajectory analysis.

  13. A laboratory investigation on the influence of adsorbed gases and particles from the exhaust of a kerosene burner on the evaporation rate of ice crystals and the ice nucleating ability of the exhaust particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diehl, K; Mitra, S K; Pruppacher, H R [Johannes Gutenberg Univ., Mainz (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik der Atmosphaere

    1998-12-31

    Laboratory experiments are described during which the influence of the exhausts of a kerosene burner on microphysical processes were studied. In one experimental investigation the evaporation rates of polluted ice crystals were compared with the evaporation rates of pure ice crystals. During another experimental investigation the ice nucleating ability of the exhaust particles was studied. The results show that the evaporation rate of polluted ice crystals was significantly reduced and also that ice nucleation takes place between -20 and -38 deg C. (author) 7 refs.

  14. A laboratory investigation on the influence of adsorbed gases and particles from the exhaust of a kerosene burner on the evaporation rate of ice crystals and the ice nucleating ability of the exhaust particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diehl, K.; Mitra, S.K.; Pruppacher, H.R. [Johannes Gutenberg Univ., Mainz (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik der Atmosphaere

    1997-12-31

    Laboratory experiments are described during which the influence of the exhausts of a kerosene burner on microphysical processes were studied. In one experimental investigation the evaporation rates of polluted ice crystals were compared with the evaporation rates of pure ice crystals. During another experimental investigation the ice nucleating ability of the exhaust particles was studied. The results show that the evaporation rate of polluted ice crystals was significantly reduced and also that ice nucleation takes place between -20 and -38 deg C. (author) 7 refs.

  15. Effect of ageing of K-feldspar on its ice nucleating efficiency in immersion, deposition and contact freezing modes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peckhaus, Andreas; Bachmann, Felix; Hoffmann, Nadine; Koch, Michael; Kiselev, Alexei; Leisner, Thomas

    2015-04-01

    Recently K-feldspar was identified as one of the most active atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INP) of mineral origin [1]. Seeking the explanation to this phenomena we have conducted extensive experimental investigation of the ice nucleating efficiency of K-feldspar in three heterogeneous freezing modes. The immersion freezing of K-feldspar was investigated with the cold stage using arrays of nanoliter-size droplets containing aqueous suspension of polydisperse feldspar particles. For contact freezing, the charged droplets of supercooled water were suspended in the laminar flow of the DMA-selected feldspar-containing particles, allowing for determination of freezing probability on a single particle-droplet contact [2]. The nucleation and growth of ice via vapor deposition on the crystalline surfaces of macroscopic feldspar particles have been investigated in the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) under humidified nitrogen atmosphere. The ice nucleation experiments were supplemented with measurements of effective surface area of feldspar particles and ion chromatography (IC) analysis of the leached framework cations (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+). In this contribution we focus on the role of surface chemistry influencing the IN efficiency of K-feldspar, in particular the connection between the degree of surface hydroxylation and its ability to induce local structural ordering in the interfacial layer in water molecules (as suggested by recent modeling efforts). We mimic the natural process of feldspar ageing by suspending it in water or weak aqueous solution of carbonic acid for different time periods, from minutes to months, and present its freezing efficiency as a function of time. Our immersion freezing experiments show that ageing have a nonlinear effect on the freezing behavior of feldspar within the investigated temperature range (-40°C to -10°C). On the other hand, deposition nucleation of ice observed in the ESEM reveals clear different pattern

  16. Anomalous Behavior of the Homogeneous Ice Nucleation Rate in “No-Man’s Land”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    We present an analysis of ice nucleation kinetics from near-ambient pressure water as temperature decreases below the homogeneous limit TH by cooling micrometer-sized droplets (microdroplets) evaporatively at 103–104 K/s and probing the structure ultrafast using femtosecond pulses from the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) free-electron X-ray laser. Below 232 K, we observed a slower nucleation rate increase with decreasing temperature than anticipated from previous measurements, which we suggest is due to the rapid decrease in water’s diffusivity. This is consistent with earlier findings that microdroplets do not crystallize at nucleation rate is connected with the proposed “fragile-to-strong” transition anomaly in water. PMID:26207172

  17. Patterns of ice nuclei from natural water sources in the mountains of Tirol, Austria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baloh, Philipp; Hanlon, Regina; Pietsch, Renee; Anderson, Christopher; Schmale, David G., III; Grothe, Hinrich

    2017-04-01

    Heterogeneous ice nucleation—the process by which particles can nucleate ice between 0 and -35°C—is important for generating artificial snow. Though abiotic and biotic ice nuclei are present in many different natural and managed ecosystems, little is known about their nature, sources, and ecological roles. We collected samples of water and snow from the mountains of Tyrol, Austria in June, July, and November, 2016. The collected water was mostly from sources with minimal anthropogenic pollution, since most of the water from the sampled streams came from glacial melt. The samples were filtered through a 0.22μm filter, and microorganisms were cultured on different types of media. Resulting colonies were tested for their ice nucleation ability using a droplet freezing assay and identified to the level of the species. The unfiltered water and the filtered water will be subjected to additional assays using cryo microscopy and vibrational microscopy (IR and Raman- spectroscopy). Preliminary analyses suggested that the percentage of ice-nucleating microbes varied with season; greater percentages of ice nucleating microbes were present during colder months. The glacial melt also varies strongly over the year with the fraction of mineral dust suspended in it which serves as an inorganic ice nucleation agent. Further investigation of these samples may help to show the combined ice nuleation abilities of biological and non biological particles present in the mountains of Tirol, Austria. Future work may shed light on how the nucleation properties of the natural water changes with the time of the year and what may be responsible for these changes.

  18. Freezing on a Chip—A New Approach to Determine Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation of Micrometer-Sized Water Droplets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Häusler

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available We are presenting a new approach to analyze the freezing behavior of aqueous droplets containing ice nucleating particles. The freezing chip consists of an etched and sputtered (15 × 15 × 1 mm gold-plated silicon or pure gold chip, enabling the formation of droplets with defined diameters between 20 and 80 µm. Several applications like an automated process control and an automated image evaluation were implemented to improve the quality of heterogeneous freezing experiments. To show the functionality of the setup, we compared freezing temperatures of aqueous droplets containing ice nucleating particles (i.e., microcline, birch pollen washing water, juniper pollen, and Snomax® solution measured with our setup, with literature data. The ice nucleation active surface/mass site density (ns/m of microcline, juniper pollen, and birch pollen washing water are shown to be in good agreement with literature data. Minor variations can be explained by slight differences in composition and droplet generation technique. The nm values of Snomax® differ by up to one order of magnitude at higher subzero temperatures when compared with fresh samples but are in agreement when compared with reported data of aged Snomax® samples.

  19. Phospholipid analysis and fractional reconstitution of the ice nucleation protein activity purified from Escherichia coli overexpressing the inaZ gene of Pseudomonas syringae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palaiomylitou, M A; Kalimanis, A; Koukkou, A I; Drainas, C; Anastassopoulos, E; Panopoulos, N J; Ekateriniadou, L V; Kyriakidis, D A

    1998-08-01

    Ice nucleation protein was partially purified from the membrane fraction of E. coli carrying inaZ from Pseudomonas syringae. The ice nucleation protein was totally localized in the bacterial envelope and was extracted by either salt (0.25 M NH4Cl) or the nonionic detergent Tween 20. The extracted protein was partially purified by sequential passage through DEAE-52 cellulose and Sephacryl-S400 columns. The activity of the purified protein was lost after treatment with phospholipase C, and its activity was subsequently restored by addition of the naturally occurring lipid phosphatidylethanolamine. These results suggest that ice nucleation proteins have a requirement for lipids that reconstitute a physiological hydrophobic environment similar to the one existing in vivo, to attain and maintain a structure that enables ice catalysis. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

  20. Pathogenic and Ice-Nucleation Active (INA) Bacteria causing Dieback of Willows in Short Rotation Forestry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nejad, Pajand

    2005-03-01

    To find out whether bacteria isolated from diseased plant parts can be the main causal agent for the dieback appearing in Salix energy forestry plantations in Sweden during the last few years, and if the joint effects of bacteria and frost injury are synergistic, extensive sampling of shoots from diseased Salix plants was performed. We performed several laboratory and greenhouse investigations and used evaluation techniques on the functions of the Ice-Nucleation Active (INA) bacteria. We carried out a comparison between spring and autumn bacterial communities isolated from within (endophytically) and surface (epiphytically) plant tissues of Salix viminalis. Seasonal variation of bacteria in willow clones with different levels of frost sensitivity and symptoms of bacterial damage was also investigated. We further focussed on possible effect of fertilisation and nutrient availability on the bacterial community in relation to plant dieback in Estonian willow plantations. The identification and detection of INA bacteria which cause damage in combination with frost to willow (Salix spp) plants in late fall, winter and spring was performed using BIOLOG MicroPlate, biochemical tests, selective INA primers and 16S rDNA analysis. To distinguish the character for differentiation between these bacteria morphologically and with respect to growing ability different culture media were used. We studied the temperature, at which ice nucleation occurred for individual bacteria, estimated the population of INA bacteria, effect of growth limiting factors, and evaluated the effect of chemical and physical agents for disruption and possible inhibition of INA among individual bacterial strains. The concentration of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus on INA is discussed. We demonstrate that among the bacterial isolates recovered from the willow plantations, there were many that were capable of ice nucleation at temperatures between -2 and -10 deg C, many that were capable of inducing a

  1. Overview: Nucleation of clathrate hydrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warrier, Pramod; Khan, M Naveed; Srivastava, Vishal; Maupin, C Mark; Koh, Carolyn A

    2016-12-07

    Molecular level knowledge of nucleation and growth of clathrate hydrates is of importance for advancing fundamental understanding on the nature of water and hydrophobic hydrate formers, and their interactions that result in the formation of ice-like solids at temperatures higher than the ice-point. The stochastic nature and the inability to probe the small length and time scales associated with the nucleation process make it very difficult to experimentally determine the molecular level changes that lead to the nucleation event. Conversely, for this reason, there have been increasing efforts to obtain this information using molecular simulations. Accurate knowledge of how and when hydrate structures nucleate will be tremendously beneficial for the development of sustainable hydrate management strategies in oil and gas flowlines, as well as for their application in energy storage and recovery, gas separation, carbon sequestration, seawater desalination, and refrigeration. This article reviews various aspects of hydrate nucleation. First, properties of supercooled water and ice nucleation are reviewed briefly due to their apparent similarity to hydrates. Hydrate nucleation is then reviewed starting from macroscopic observations as obtained from experiments in laboratories and operations in industries, followed by various hydrate nucleation hypotheses and hydrate nucleation driving force calculations based on the classical nucleation theory. Finally, molecular simulations on hydrate nucleation are discussed in detail followed by potential future research directions.

  2. Overview: Nucleation of clathrate hydrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warrier, Pramod; Khan, M. Naveed; Srivastava, Vishal; Maupin, C. Mark; Koh, Carolyn A.

    2016-12-01

    Molecular level knowledge of nucleation and growth of clathrate hydrates is of importance for advancing fundamental understanding on the nature of water and hydrophobic hydrate formers, and their interactions that result in the formation of ice-like solids at temperatures higher than the ice-point. The stochastic nature and the inability to probe the small length and time scales associated with the nucleation process make it very difficult to experimentally determine the molecular level changes that lead to the nucleation event. Conversely, for this reason, there have been increasing efforts to obtain this information using molecular simulations. Accurate knowledge of how and when hydrate structures nucleate will be tremendously beneficial for the development of sustainable hydrate management strategies in oil and gas flowlines, as well as for their application in energy storage and recovery, gas separation, carbon sequestration, seawater desalination, and refrigeration. This article reviews various aspects of hydrate nucleation. First, properties of supercooled water and ice nucleation are reviewed briefly due to their apparent similarity to hydrates. Hydrate nucleation is then reviewed starting from macroscopic observations as obtained from experiments in laboratories and operations in industries, followed by various hydrate nucleation hypotheses and hydrate nucleation driving force calculations based on the classical nucleation theory. Finally, molecular simulations on hydrate nucleation are discussed in detail followed by potential future research directions.

  3. Use of the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) as a pre-filter for ice nucleation measurements: effect of particle mixing state and determination of SP2 conditions to fully vaporize refractory black carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schill, Gregory P.; DeMott, Paul J.; Levin, Ezra J. T.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.

    2018-05-01

    Ice nucleation is a fundamental atmospheric process that impacts precipitation, cloud lifetimes, and climate. Challenges remain to identify and quantify the compositions and sources of ice-nucleating particles (INPs). Assessment of the role of black carbon (BC) as an INP is particularly important due to its anthropogenic sources and abundance at upper-tropospheric cloud levels. The role of BC as an INP, however, is unclear. This is, in part, driven by a lack of techniques that directly determine the contribution of refractory BC (rBC) to INP concentrations. One previously developed technique to measure this contribution uses the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) as a pre-filter to an online ice-nucleating particle counter. In this technique, rBC particles are selectively heated to their vaporization temperature in the SP2 cavity by a 1064 nm laser. From previous work, however, it is unclear under what SP2 conditions, if any, the original rBC particles were fully vaporized. Furthermore, previous work also left questions about the effect of the SP2 laser on the ice-nucleating properties of several INP proxies and their mixtures with rBC.To answer these questions, we sampled the exhaust of an SP2 with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer and a Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber. Using Aquadag® as an rBC proxy, the effect of several SP2 instrument parameters on the size distribution and physical properties of particles in rBC SP2 exhaust were explored. We found that a high SP2 laser power (930 nW/(220 nm PSL)) is required to fully vaporize a ˜ 0.76 fg rBC particle. We also found that the exhaust particle size distribution is minimally affected by the SP2 sheath-to-sample ratio; the size of the original rBC particle, however, greatly influences the size distribution of the SP2 exhaust. The effect of the SP2 laser on the ice nucleation efficiency of Snomax®, NX-illite, and Suwannee River Fulvic Acid was studied; these particles acted as proxies for biological, illite

  4. Responses of Mixed-Phase Cloud Condensates and Cloud Radiative Effects to Ice Nucleating Particle Concentrations in NCAR CAM5 and DOE ACME Climate Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, X.; Shi, Y.; Wu, M.; Zhang, K.

    2017-12-01

    Mixed-phase clouds frequently observed in the Arctic and mid-latitude storm tracks have the substantial impacts on the surface energy budget, precipitation and climate. In this study, we first implement the two empirical parameterizations (Niemand et al. 2012 and DeMott et al. 2015) of heterogeneous ice nucleation for mixed-phase clouds in the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model Version 5 (CAM5) and DOE Accelerated Climate Model for Energy Version 1 (ACME1). Model simulated ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations based on Niemand et al. and DeMott et al. are compared with those from the default ice nucleation parameterization based on the classical nucleation theory (CNT) in CAM5 and ACME, and with in situ observations. Significantly higher INP concentrations (by up to a factor of 5) are simulated from Niemand et al. than DeMott et al. and CNT especially over the dust source regions in both CAM5 and ACME. Interestingly the ACME model simulates higher INP concentrations than CAM5, especially in the Polar regions. This is also the case when we nudge the two models' winds and temperature towards the same reanalysis, indicating more efficient transport of aerosols (dust) to the Polar regions in ACME. Next, we examine the responses of model simulated cloud liquid water and ice water contents to different INP concentrations from three ice nucleation parameterizations (Niemand et al., DeMott et al., and CNT) in CAM5 and ACME. Changes in liquid water path (LWP) reach as much as 20% in the Arctic regions in ACME between the three parameterizations while the LWP changes are smaller and limited in the Northern Hemispheric mid-latitudes in CAM5. Finally, the impacts on cloud radiative forcing and dust indirect effects on mixed-phase clouds are quantified with the three ice nucleation parameterizations in CAM5 and ACME.

  5. Contributions of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation, Large-Scale Circulation, and Shallow Cumulus Detrainment to Cloud Phase Transition in Mixed-Phase Clouds with NCAR CAM5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, X.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, D.; Wang, Z.

    2016-12-01

    Mixed-phase clouds consisting of both liquid and ice water occur frequently at high-latitudes and in mid-latitude storm track regions. This type of clouds has been shown to play a critical role in the surface energy balance, surface air temperature, and sea ice melting in the Arctic. Cloud phase partitioning between liquid and ice water determines the cloud optical depth of mixed-phase clouds because of distinct optical properties of liquid and ice hydrometeors. The representation and simulation of cloud phase partitioning in state-of-the-art global climate models (GCMs) are associated with large biases. In this study, the cloud phase partition in mixed-phase clouds simulated from the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5) is evaluated against satellite observations. Observation-based supercooled liquid fraction (SLF) is calculated from CloudSat, MODIS and CPR radar detected liquid and ice water paths for clouds with cloud-top temperatures between -40 and 0°C. Sensitivity tests with CAM5 are conducted for different heterogeneous ice nucleation parameterizations with respect to aerosol influence (Wang et al., 2014), different phase transition temperatures for detrained cloud water from shallow convection (Kay et al., 2016), and different CAM5 model configurations (free-run versus nudged winds and temperature, Zhang et al., 2015). A classical nucleation theory-based ice nucleation parameterization in mixed-phase clouds increases the SLF especially at temperatures colder than -20°C, and significantly improves the model agreement with observations in the Arctic. The change of transition temperature for detrained cloud water increases the SLF at higher temperatures and improves the SLF mostly over the Southern Ocean. Even with the improved SLF from the ice nucleation and shallow cumulus detrainment, the low SLF biases in some regions can only be improved through the improved circulation with the nudging technique. Our study highlights the challenges of

  6. Evaluating Ice Nucleating Particle Concentrations From Prognostic Dust Minerals in an Earth System Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perlwitz, J. P.; Knopf, D. A.; Fridlind, A. M.; Miller, R. L.; Pérez García-Pando, C.; DeMott, P. J.

    2016-12-01

    The effect of aerosol particles on the radiative properties of clouds, the so-called, indirect effect of aerosols, is recognized as one of the largest sources of uncertainty in climate prediction. The distribution of water vapor, precipitation, and ice cloud formation are influenced by the atmospheric ice formation, thereby modulating cloud albedo and thus climate. It is well known that different particle types possess different ice formation propensities with mineral dust being a superior ice nucleating particle (INP) compared to soot particles. Furthermore, some dust mineral types are more proficient INP than others, depending on temperature and relative humidity.In recent work, we have presented an improved dust aerosol module in the NASA GISS Earth System ModelE2 with prognostic mineral composition of the dust aerosols. Thus, there are regional variations in dust composition. We evaluated the predicted mineral fractions of dust aerosols by comparing them to measurements from a compilation of about 60 published literature references. Additionally, the capability of the model to reproduce the elemental composition of the simulated dusthas been tested at Izana Observatory at Tenerife, Canary Islands, which is located off-shore of Africa and where frequent dust events are observed. We have been able to show that the new approach delivers a robust improvement of the predicted mineral fractions and elemental composition of dust.In the current study, we use three-dimensional dust mineral fields and thermodynamic conditions, which are simulated using GISS ModelE, to calculate offline the INP concentrations derived using different ice nucleation parameterizations that are currently discussed. We evaluate the calculated INP concentrations from the different parameterizations by comparing them to INP concentrations from field measurements.

  7. Laboratory-generated mixtures of mineral dust particles with biological substances: characterization of the particle mixing state and immersion freezing behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augustin-Bauditz, Stefanie; Wex, Heike; Denjean, Cyrielle; Hartmann, Susan; Schneider, Johannes; Schmidt, Susann; Ebert, Martin; Stratmann, Frank

    2016-05-01

    Biological particles such as bacteria, fungal spores or pollen are known to be efficient ice nucleating particles. Their ability to nucleate ice is due to ice nucleation active macromolecules (INMs). It has been suggested that these INMs maintain their nucleating ability even when they are separated from their original carriers. This opens the possibility of an accumulation of such INMs in soils, resulting in an internal mixture of mineral dust and INMs. If particles from such soils which contain biological INMs are then dispersed into the atmosphere due to wind erosion or agricultural processes, they could induce ice nucleation at temperatures typical for biological substances, i.e., above -20 up to almost 0 °C, while they might be characterized as mineral dust particles due to a possibly low content of biological material. We conducted a study within the research unit INUIT (Ice Nucleation research UnIT), where we investigated the ice nucleation behavior of mineral dust particles internally mixed with INM. Specifically, we mixed a pure mineral dust sample (illite-NX) with ice active biological material (birch pollen washing water) and quantified the immersion freezing behavior of the resulting particles utilizing the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS). A very important topic concerning the investigations presented here as well as for atmospheric application is the characterization of the mixing state of aerosol particles. In the present study we used different methods like single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and a Volatility-Hygroscopicity Tandem Differential Mobility Analyser (VH-TDMA) to investigate the mixing state of our generated aerosol. Not all applied methods performed similarly well in detecting small amounts of biological material on the mineral dust particles. Measuring the hygroscopicity/volatility of the mixed particles with the VH-TDMA was the most

  8. Laboratory-generated mixtures of mineral dust particles with biological substances: characterization of the particle mixing state and immersion freezing behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Augustin-Bauditz

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Biological particles such as bacteria, fungal spores or pollen are known to be efficient ice nucleating particles. Their ability to nucleate ice is due to ice nucleation active macromolecules (INMs. It has been suggested that these INMs maintain their nucleating ability even when they are separated from their original carriers. This opens the possibility of an accumulation of such INMs in soils, resulting in an internal mixture of mineral dust and INMs. If particles from such soils which contain biological INMs are then dispersed into the atmosphere due to wind erosion or agricultural processes, they could induce ice nucleation at temperatures typical for biological substances, i.e., above −20 up to almost 0 °C, while they might be characterized as mineral dust particles due to a possibly low content of biological material. We conducted a study within the research unit INUIT (Ice Nucleation research UnIT, where we investigated the ice nucleation behavior of mineral dust particles internally mixed with INM. Specifically, we mixed a pure mineral dust sample (illite-NX with ice active biological material (birch pollen washing water and quantified the immersion freezing behavior of the resulting particles utilizing the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS. A very important topic concerning the investigations presented here as well as for atmospheric application is the characterization of the mixing state of aerosol particles. In the present study we used different methods like single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM, Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX, and a Volatility–Hygroscopicity Tandem Differential Mobility Analyser (VH-TDMA to investigate the mixing state of our generated aerosol. Not all applied methods performed similarly well in detecting small amounts of biological material on the mineral dust particles. Measuring the hygroscopicity/volatility of the mixed particles with the VH

  9. Ice-nucleation negative fluorescent pseudomonads isolated from Hebridean cloud and rain water produce biosurfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahern, H. E.; Walsh, K. A.; Hill, T. C. J.; Moffett, B. F.

    2006-10-01

    Microorganisms were discovered in clouds over 100 years ago but information on bacterial community structure and function is limited. Clouds may not only be a niche within which bacteria could thrive but they might also influence dynamic processes using ice nucleating and cloud condensing abilities. Cloud and rain samples were collected from two mountains in the Outer Hebrides, NW Scotland, UK. Community composition was determined using a combination of amplified 16S ribosomal DNA restriction analysis and sequencing. 256 clones yielded 100 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of which half were related to bacteria from terrestrial psychrophilic environments. Cloud samples were dominated by a mixture of fluorescent Pseudomonas spp., some of which have been reported to be ice nucleators. It was therefore possible that these bacteria were using the ice nucleation (IN) gene to trigger the Bergeron-Findeisen process of raindrop formation as a mechanism for dispersal. In this study the IN gene was not detected in any of the isolates using both polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Instead 55% of the total isolates from both cloud and rain samples displayed significant biosurfactant activity when analyzed using the drop-collapse technique. All were characterised as fluorescent pseudomonads. Surfactants have been found to be very important in lowering atmospheric critical supersaturations required for the activation of aerosols into cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). It is also known that surfactants influence cloud droplet size and increase cloud lifetime and albedo. Some bacteria are known to act as CCN and so it is conceivable that these fluorescent pseudomonads are using surfactants to facilitate their activation from aerosols into CCN. This would allow water scavenging, countering desiccation, and assist in their widespread dispersal.

  10. Frost-related dieback of Swedish and Estonian Salix plantations due to pathogenic and ice nucleation-active bacteria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cambours, M.A.

    2004-07-01

    During the past decade, important dieback has been observed in short-rotation forestry plantations of Salix viminalis and S. dasyclados in Sweden and Estonia, plantations from which the isolation of ice nucleation-active (INA) and pathogenic bacteria has also been reported. This thesis investigates the connection between bacterial infection and frost as a possible cause for such damage, and the role played by internal and external factors (e.g. plant frost sensitivity, fertilisation) in the dieback observed. Bacterial floras isolated from ten Salix clones growing on fertilised/unfertilised mineral soil or nitrogen-rich organic soil, were studied. Culturable bacterial communities present both in internal necrotic tissues and on the plant surface (i.e. epiphytes) were isolated on two occasions (spring and autumn). The strains were biochemically characterised (with gram, oxidase and fluorescence tests), and tested for ice nucleation-activity. Their pathogenic properties were studied with and without association to a freezing stress. Certain strains were eventually identified with BIOLOG plates and 16S rRNA analysis. A high number of culturable bacterial strains was found in the plant samplings, belonging mainly to Erwinia and Sphingomonas spp.; pathogenic and INA communities being mostly Erwinia-, Sphingomonas- and Xanthomonas-like. The generally higher plant dieback noted in the field on nutrient-rich soils and for frost sensitive clones was found connected to higher numbers of pathogenic and INA bacteria in the plants. We thus confirm Salix dieback to be related to a synergistic effect of frost and bacterial infection, possibly aggravated by fertilisation.

  11. Single-particle characterization of ice-nucleating particles and ice particles residuals sampled by three different techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandler, Konrad; Worringen, Annette; Benker, Nathalie; Dirsch, Thomas; Mertes, Stephan; Schenk, Ludwig; Kästner, Udo; Frank, Fabian; Nillius, Björn; Bundke, Ulrich; Rose, Diana; Curtius, Joachim; Kupiszewski, Piotr; Weingartner, Ernest; Vochezer, Paul; Schneider, Johannes; Schmidt, Susan; Weinbruch, Stephan; Ebert, Martin

    2015-04-01

    During January/February 2013, at the High Alpine Research Station Jungfraujoch a measurement campaign was carried out, which was centered on atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INP) and ice particle residuals (IPR). Three different techniques for separation of INP and IPR from the non-ice-active particles are compared. The Ice Selective Inlet (ISI) and the Ice Counterflow Virtual Impactor (Ice-CVI) sample ice particles from mixed phase clouds and allow for the analysis of the residuals. The combination of the Fast Ice Nucleus Chamber (FINCH) and the Ice Nuclei Pumped Counterflow Virtual Impactor (IN-PCVI) provides ice-activating conditions to aerosol particles and extracts the activated INP for analysis. Collected particles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis to determine size, chemical composition and mixing state. All INP/IPR-separating techniques had considerable abundances (median 20 - 70 %) of instrumental contamination artifacts (ISI: Si-O spheres, probably calibration aerosol; Ice-CVI: Al-O particles; FINCH+IN-PCVI: steel particles). Also, potential sampling artifacts (e.g., pure soluble material) occurred with a median abundance of separated by all three techniques. Soot was a minor contributor. Lead was detected in less than 10 % of the particles, of which the majority were internal mixtures with other particle types. Sea-salt and sulfates were identified by all three methods as INP/IPR. Most samples showed a maximum of the INP/IPR size distribution at 400 nm geometric diameter. In a few cases, a second super-micron maximum was identified. Soot/carbonaceous material and metal oxides were present mainly in the submicron range. ISI and FINCH yielded silicates and Ca-rich particles mainly with diameters above 1 µm, while the Ice-CVI also separated many submicron IPR. As strictly parallel sampling could not be performed, a part of the discrepancies between the different techniques may result from

  12. Ice crystallization in ultrafine water-salt aerosols: nucleation, ice-solution equilibrium, and internal structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudait, Arpa; Molinero, Valeria

    2014-06-04

    Atmospheric aerosols have a strong influence on Earth's climate. Elucidating the physical state and internal structure of atmospheric aqueous aerosols is essential to predict their gas and water uptake, and the locus and rate of atmospherically important heterogeneous reactions. Ultrafine aerosols with sizes between 3 and 15 nm have been detected in large numbers in the troposphere and tropopause. Nanoscopic aerosols arising from bubble bursting of natural and artificial seawater have been identified in laboratory and field experiments. The internal structure and phase state of these aerosols, however, cannot yet be determined in experiments. Here we use molecular simulations to investigate the phase behavior and internal structure of liquid, vitrified, and crystallized water-salt ultrafine aerosols with radii from 2.5 to 9.5 nm and with up to 10% moles of ions. We find that both ice crystallization and vitrification of the nanodroplets lead to demixing of pure water from the solutions. Vitrification of aqueous nanodroplets yields nanodomains of pure low-density amorphous ice in coexistence with vitrified solute rich aqueous glass. The melting temperature of ice in the aerosols decreases monotonically with an increase of solute fraction and decrease of radius. The simulations reveal that nucleation of ice occurs homogeneously at the subsurface of the water-salt nanoparticles. Subsequent ice growth yields phase-segregated, internally mixed, aerosols with two phases in equilibrium: a concentrated water-salt amorphous mixture and a spherical cap-like ice nanophase. The surface of the crystallized aerosols is heterogeneous, with ice and solution exposed to the vapor. Free energy calculations indicate that as the concentration of salt in the particles, the advance of the crystallization, or the size of the particles increase, the stability of the spherical cap structure increases with respect to the alternative structure in which a core of ice is fully surrounded by

  13. Increase in Ice Nucleation Efficiency of Feldspars, Kaolinite and Mica in Dilute NH3 and NH4+-containing Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, A.; Marcolli, C.; Luo, B.; Krieger, U. K.; Peter, T.

    2017-12-01

    Semivolatile species present in the atmosphere are prone to adhere to mineral dust particle surfaces during long range transport, and could potentially change the particle surface properties and its ice nucleation (IN) efficiency. Immersion freezing experiments were performed with microcline (K-feldspar), known to be highly IN active, suspended in aqueous solutions of ammonia, (NH4)2SO4, NH4HSO4, NH4NO3, NH4Cl, Na2SO4, H2SO4, K2SO4 and KCl to investigate the effect of solutes on the IN efficiency. Freezing of emulsified droplets investigated with a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) showed that the heterogeneous ice nucleation temperatures deviate from the water activity-based IN theory, describing heterogeneous ice nucleation temperatures as a function of solution water activity by a constant offset with respect to the ice melting point curve (Zobrist et al. 2008). IN temperatures enhanced up to 4.5 K were observed for very dilute NH3 and NH4+-containing solutions while a decrease was observed as the concentration was further increased. For all solutes with cations other than NH4+, the IN efficiency decreased. An increase of the IN efficiency in very dilute NH3 and NH4+-containing solutions followed by a decrease with increasing concentration was also observed for sanidine (K-feldspar) and andesine (Na/Ca-feldspar). This is an important indication towards specific chemical interactions between solutes and the feldspar surface which is not captured by the water activity-based IN theory. A similar trend is present but less pronounced in case of kaolinite and mica, while quartz is barely affected. We hypothesize that the hydrogen bonding of NH3 molecules with surface -OH groups could be the reason for the enhanced freezing temperatures in dilute ammonia and ammonium containing solutions as they could form an ice-like overlayer providing hydrogen bonding groups for ice to nucleate on top of it. This implies to possibilities of enhanced IN efficiency, especially

  14. High ice nucleation activity located in blueberry stem bark is linked to primary freeze initiation and adaptive freezing behaviour of the bark

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kishimoto, Tadashi; Yamazaki, Hideyuki; Saruwatari, Atsushi; Murakawa, Hiroki; Sekozawa, Yoshihiko; Kuchitsu, Kazuyuki; Price, William S.; Ishikawa, Masaya

    2014-01-01

    Controlled ice nucleation is an important mechanism in cold-hardy plant tissues for avoiding excessive supercooling of the protoplasm, for inducing extracellular freezing and/or for accommodating ice crystals in specific tissues. To understand its nature, it is necessary to characterize the ice nucleation activity (INA), defined as the ability of a tissue to induce heterogeneous ice nucleation. Few studies have addressed the precise localization of INA in wintering plant tissues in respect of its function. For this purpose, we recently revised a test tube INA assay and examined INA in various tissues of over 600 species. Extremely high levels of INA (−1 to −4 °C) in two wintering blueberry cultivars of contrasting freezing tolerance were found. Their INA was much greater than in other cold-hardy species and was found to be evenly distributed along the stems of the current year's growth. Concentrations of active ice nuclei in the stem were estimated from quantitative analyses. Stem INA was localized mainly in the bark while the xylem and pith had much lower INA. Bark INA was located mostly in the cell wall fraction (cell walls and intercellular structural components). Intracellular fractions had much less INA. Some cultivar differences were identified. The results corresponded closely with the intrinsic freezing behaviour (extracellular freezing) of the bark, icicle accumulation in the bark and initial ice nucleation in the stem under dry surface conditions. Stem INA was resistant to various antimicrobial treatments. These properties and specific localization imply that high INA in blueberry stems is of intrinsic origin and contributes to the spontaneous initiation of freezing in extracellular spaces of the bark by acting as a subfreezing temperature sensor. PMID:25082142

  15. Ice nucleating particles measured during the laboratory and field intercomparisons FIN-2 and FIN-3 by the diffusion chamber FRIDGE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Daniel; Schrod, Jann; Curtius, Joachim; Haunold, Werner; Thomson, Erik; Bingemer, Heinz

    2016-04-01

    The measurement of atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INP) is still challenging. In the absence of easily applicable INP standards the intercomparison of different methods during collaborative laboratory and field workshops is a valuable tool that can shine light on the performance of individual methods for the measurement of INP [1]. FIN-2 was conducted in March 2015 at the AIDA facility in Karlsruhe as an intercomparison of mobile instruments for measuring INP [2]. FIN-3 was a field campaign at the Desert Research Institutes Storm Peak Laboratory in Colorado in September 2015 [3]. The FRankfurt Ice nucleation Deposition freezinG Experiment (FRIDGE) participated in both experiments. FRIDGE measures ice nucleating particles by electrostatic precipitation of aerosol particles onto Si-wafers in a collection unit, followed by activation, growth, and optical detection of ice crystals on the substrate in an isostatic diffusion chamber [4,5]. We will present and discuss results of our measurements of deposition/condensation INP and of immersion INP with FRIDGE during FIN-2 and FIN-3. Acknowledgements: The valuable contributions of the FIN organizers and their institutions, and of the FIN Workshop Science team are gratefully acknowledged. Our work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under the Research Unit FOR 1525 (INUIT) and the EU FP7-ENV- 2013 BACCHUS project under Grant Agreement 603445.

  16. Ice nucleation efficiency of clay minerals in the immersion mode

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Pinti

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Emulsion and bulk freezing experiments were performed to investigate immersion ice nucleation on clay minerals in pure water, using various kaolinites, montmorillonites, illites as well as natural dust from the Hoggar Mountains in the Saharan region. Differential scanning calorimeter measurements were performed on three different kaolinites (KGa-1b, KGa-2 and K-SA, two illites (Illite NX and Illite SE and four natural and acid-treated montmorillonites (SWy-2, STx-1b, KSF and K-10. The emulsion experiments provide information on the average freezing behaviour characterized by the average nucleation sites. These experiments revealed one to sometimes two distinct heterogeneous freezing peaks, which suggest the presence of a low number of qualitatively distinct average nucleation site classes. We refer to the peak at the lowest temperature as "standard peak" and to the one occurring in only some clay mineral types at higher temperatures as "special peak". Conversely, freezing in bulk samples is not initiated by the average nucleation sites, but by a very low number of "best sites". The kaolinites and montmorillonites showed quite narrow standard peaks with onset temperatures 238 K<Tonstd<242 K and best sites with averaged median freezing temperature Tmedbest=257 K, but only some featuring a special peak (i.e. KSF, K-10, K-SA and SWy-2 with freezing onsets in the range 240–248 K. The illites showed broad standard peaks with freezing onsets at 244 K Tonstd<246 K and best sites with averaged median freezing temperature Tmedbest=262 K. The large difference between freezing temperatures of standard and best sites shows that characterizing ice nucleation efficiencies of dust particles on the basis of freezing onset temperatures from bulk experiments, as has been done in some atmospheric studies, is not appropriate. Our investigations

  17. Long-range-transported bioaerosols captured in snow cover on Mount Tateyama, Japan: impacts of Asian-dust events on airborne bacterial dynamics relating to ice-nucleation activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Maki

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The westerly wind travelling at high altitudes over eastern Asia transports aerosols from the Asian deserts and urban areas to downwind areas such as Japan. These long-range-transported aerosols include not only mineral particles but also microbial particles (bioaerosols, that impact the ice-cloud formation processes as ice nuclei. However, the detailed relations of airborne bacterial dynamics to ice nucleation in high-elevation aerosols have not been investigated. Here, we used the aerosol particles captured in the snow cover at altitudes of 2450 m on Mt Tateyama to investigate sequential changes in the ice-nucleation activities and bacterial communities in aerosols and elucidate the relationships between the two processes. After stratification of the snow layers formed on the walls of a snow pit on Mt Tateyama, snow samples, including aerosol particles, were collected from 70 layers at the lower (winter accumulation and upper (spring accumulation parts of the snow wall. The aerosols recorded in the lower parts mainly came from Siberia (Russia, northern Asia and the Sea of Japan, whereas those in the upper parts showed an increase in Asian dust particles originating from the desert regions and industrial coasts of Asia. The snow samples exhibited high levels of ice nucleation corresponding to the increase in Asian dust particles. Amplicon sequencing analysis using 16S rRNA genes revealed that the bacterial communities in the snow samples predominately included plant associated and marine bacteria (phyla Proteobacteria during winter, whereas during spring, when dust events arrived frequently, the majority were terrestrial bacteria of phyla Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The relative abundances of Firmicutes (Bacilli showed a significant positive relationship with the ice nucleation in snow samples. Presumably, Asian dust events change the airborne bacterial communities over Mt Tateyama and carry terrestrial bacterial populations, which

  18. Long-range-transported bioaerosols captured in snow cover on Mount Tateyama, Japan: impacts of Asian-dust events on airborne bacterial dynamics relating to ice-nucleation activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maki, Teruya; Furumoto, Shogo; Asahi, Yuya; Lee, Kevin C.; Watanabe, Koichi; Aoki, Kazuma; Murakami, Masataka; Tajiri, Takuya; Hasegawa, Hiroshi; Mashio, Asami; Iwasaka, Yasunobu

    2018-06-01

    The westerly wind travelling at high altitudes over eastern Asia transports aerosols from the Asian deserts and urban areas to downwind areas such as Japan. These long-range-transported aerosols include not only mineral particles but also microbial particles (bioaerosols), that impact the ice-cloud formation processes as ice nuclei. However, the detailed relations of airborne bacterial dynamics to ice nucleation in high-elevation aerosols have not been investigated. Here, we used the aerosol particles captured in the snow cover at altitudes of 2450 m on Mt Tateyama to investigate sequential changes in the ice-nucleation activities and bacterial communities in aerosols and elucidate the relationships between the two processes. After stratification of the snow layers formed on the walls of a snow pit on Mt Tateyama, snow samples, including aerosol particles, were collected from 70 layers at the lower (winter accumulation) and upper (spring accumulation) parts of the snow wall. The aerosols recorded in the lower parts mainly came from Siberia (Russia), northern Asia and the Sea of Japan, whereas those in the upper parts showed an increase in Asian dust particles originating from the desert regions and industrial coasts of Asia. The snow samples exhibited high levels of ice nucleation corresponding to the increase in Asian dust particles. Amplicon sequencing analysis using 16S rRNA genes revealed that the bacterial communities in the snow samples predominately included plant associated and marine bacteria (phyla Proteobacteria) during winter, whereas during spring, when dust events arrived frequently, the majority were terrestrial bacteria of phyla Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The relative abundances of Firmicutes (Bacilli) showed a significant positive relationship with the ice nucleation in snow samples. Presumably, Asian dust events change the airborne bacterial communities over Mt Tateyama and carry terrestrial bacterial populations, which possibly induce ice-nucleation

  19. A water activity based model of heterogeneous ice nucleation kinetics for freezing of water and aqueous solution droplets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knopf, Daniel A; Alpert, Peter A

    2013-01-01

    Immersion freezing of water and aqueous solutions by particles acting as ice nuclei (IN) is a common process of heterogeneous ice nucleation which occurs in many environments, especially in the atmosphere where it results in the glaciation of clouds. Here we experimentally show, using a variety of IN types suspended in various aqueous solutions, that immersion freezing temperatures and kinetics can be described solely by temperature, T, and solution water activity, a(w), which is the ratio of the vapour pressure of the solution and the saturation water vapour pressure under the same conditions and, in equilibrium, equivalent to relative humidity (RH). This allows the freezing point and corresponding heterogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient, J(het), to be uniquely expressed by T and a(w), a result we term the a(w) based immersion freezing model (ABIFM). This method is independent of the nature of the solute and accounts for several varying parameters, including cooling rate and IN surface area, while providing a holistic description of immersion freezing and allowing prediction of freezing temperatures, J(het), frozen fractions, ice particle production rates and numbers. Our findings are based on experimental freezing data collected for various IN surface areas, A, and cooling rates, r, of droplets variously containing marine biogenic material, two soil humic acids, four mineral dusts, and one organic monolayer acting as IN. For all investigated IN types we demonstrate that droplet freezing temperatures increase as A increases. Similarly, droplet freezing temperatures increase as the cooling rate decreases. The log10(J(het)) values for the various IN types derived exclusively by Tand a(w), provide a complete description of the heterogeneous ice nucleation kinetics. Thus, the ABIFM can be applied over the entire range of T, RH, total particulate surface area, and cloud activation timescales typical of atmospheric conditions. Lastly, we demonstrate that ABIFM can

  20. Simulation and experiment of the unsteady heat transport in the onset time of nucleation and crystallization of ice from the subcooled solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qin, F.G.F.; Jian Chao Zhao; Russell, A.B.; Xiao Dong Chen; Chen, J.J. [University of Auckland (New Zealand). Dept. of Chemical and Materials Engineering; Robertson, L. [Fonterra Research Centre, Palmerston North (New Zealand)

    2003-08-01

    Heat transfer is an unsteady process in the initial period of ice nucleation or phase transition from aqueous solution. During this period the latent heat of freezing increases the temperature in bulk solution monotonously until the system reaches equilibrium. Meanwhile heat can transfer from the solution to the environment or vise versa. The analysis of this unsteady heat transfer process leads to the establishment of a mathematical model, which is represented by two simultaneous differential equations. Using the Laplace transform and inverse transform, and incorporating the initial condition of ice nucleation, we obtained an analytical solution of this model. Further discussion of the model's fitness by comparing to the experimental data leads to a recognition that ice fouling (or ice adhesion) on the cooler wall should be highlighted in estimating the heat transfer resistance at the very beginning of the ice formation. The model fits to the experimental data satisfactorily. (author)

  1. Isolating and identifying atmospheric ice-nucleating aerosols: a new technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreidenweis, S. M.; Chen, Y.; Rogers, D. C.; DeMott, P. J.

    Laboratory studies examined two key aspects of the performance of a continuous-flow diffusion chamber (CFD) instrument that detects ice nuclei (IN) concentrations in air samples: separating IN from non-IN, and collecting IN aerosols to determine chemical composition. In the first study, submicron AgI IN particles were mixed in a sample stream with submicron non-IN salt particles, and the sample stream was processed in the CFD at -19°C and 23% supersaturation with respect to ice. Examination of the residual particles from crystals nucleated in the CFD confirmed that only AgI particles served as IN in the mixed stream. The second study applied this technique to separate and analyze IN and non-IN particles in a natural air sample. Energy-dispersive X-ray analyses (EDS) of the elemental composition of selected particles from the IN and non-IN fractions in ambient air showed chemical differences: Si and Ca were present in both, but S, Fe and K were also detected in the non-IN fraction.

  2. Adsorption and structure of water on kaolinite surfaces: possible insight into ice nucleation from grand canonical monte carlo calculations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croteau, T; Bertram, A K; Patey, G N

    2008-10-30

    Grand canonical Monte Carlo calculations are used to determine water adsorption and structure on defect-free kaolinite surfaces as a function of relative humidity at 235 K. This information is then used to gain insight into ice nucleation on kaolinite surfaces. Results for both the SPC/E and TIP5P-E water models are compared and demonstrate that the Al-surface [(001) plane] and both protonated and unprotonated edges [(100) plane] strongly adsorb at atmospherically relevant relative humidities. Adsorption on the Al-surface exhibits properties of a first-order process with evidence of collective behavior, whereas adsorption on the edges is essentially continuous and appears dominated by strong water lattice interactions. For the protonated and unprotonated edges no structure that matches hexagonal ice is observed. For the Al-surface some of the water molecules formed hexagonal rings. However, the a o lattice parameter for these rings is significantly different from the corresponding constant for hexagonal ice ( Ih). A misfit strain of 14.0% is calculated between the hexagonal pattern of water adsorbed on the Al-surface and the basal plane of ice Ih. Hence, the ring structures that form on the Al-surface are not expected to be good building-blocks for ice nucleation due to the large misfit strain.

  3. A one-dimensional ice structure built from pentagons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrasco, Javier; Michaelides, Angelos

    2010-03-01

    Heterogeneous nucleation of water plays a key role in fields as diverse as atmospheric chemistry, astrophysics, and biology. Ice nucleation on metal surfaces offers an opportunity to watch this process unfold, providing a molecular-scale description at a well-defined, planar interface. We discuss a density-functional theory study on a metal surface specifically designed to understand such phenomena. Together with our colleges at the University of Liverpool, we found that the nanometer wide water-ice chains experimentally observed to nucleate and grow on Cu(110) are built from a face sharing arrangement of water pentagons [1]. The novel one-dimensional pentagon structure maximizes the water-metal bonding whilst simultaneously maintaining a strong hydrogen bonding network. These results reveal an unanticipated structural adaptability of water-ice films, demonstrating that the presence of the substrate can be sufficient to favor non-conventional structural units. [4pt] [1] J. Carrasco et al., Nature Mater. 8, 427 (2009).

  4. How the Emitted Size Distribution and Mixing State of Feldspar Affect Ice Nucleating Particles in a Global Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perlwitz, J. P.; Fridlind, A. M.; Knopf, D. A.; Miller, R. L.; Pérez García-Pando, C.

    2017-12-01

    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 climate prediction. We apply an improved dust mineral specific aerosol module in the NASA GISS Earth System ModelE, which takes into account soil aggregates and their fragmentation at emission as well as the emission of large particles. We calculate ice nucleating particle concentrations from K-feldspar abundance for an active site parameterization for a range of activation temperatures and external and internal mixing assumption. We find that the globally averaged INP concentration is reduced by a factor of two to three, compared to a simple assumption on the size distribution of emitted dust minerals. The decrease can amount to a factor of five in some geographical regions. The results vary little between external and internal mixing and different activation temperatures, except for the coldest temperatures. In the sectional size distribution, the size range 2-4 μm contributes the largest INP number.

  5. How the Emitted Size Distribution and Mixing State of Feldspar Affect Ice Nucleating Particles in a Global Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perlwitz, Jan P.; Fridlind, Ann M.; Knopf, Daniel A.; Miller, Ron L.; García-Pando, Carlos Perez

    2017-01-01

    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 climate prediction. We apply an improved dust mineral specific aerosol module in the NASA GISS Earth System ModelE, which takes into account soil aggregates and their fragmentation at emission as well as the emission of large particles. We calculate ice nucleating particle concentrations from K-feldspar abundance for an active site parameterization for a range of activation temperatures and external and internal mixing assumption. We find that the globally averaged INP concentration is reduced by a factor of two to three, compared to a simple assumption on the size distribution of emitted dust minerals. The decrease can amount to a factor of five in some geographical regions. The results vary little between external and internal mixing and different activation temperatures, except for the coldest temperatures. In the sectional size distribution, the size range 24 micrometer contributes the largest INP number.

  6. Endogenous and exogenous ice-nucleating agents constrain supercooling in the hatchling painted turtle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costanzo, Jon P; Baker, Patrick J; Dinkelacker, Stephen A; Lee, Richard E

    2003-02-01

    Hatchlings of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) commonly hibernate in their shallow, natal nests. Survival at temperatures below the limit of freeze tolerance (approximately -4 degrees C) apparently depends on their ability to remain supercooled, and, whereas previous studies have reported that supercooling capacity improves markedly with cold acclimation, the mechanistic basis for this change is incompletely understood. We report that the crystallization temperature (T(c)) of recently hatched (summer) turtles acclimated to 22 degrees C and reared on a substratum of vermiculite or nesting soil was approximately 5 degrees C higher than the T(c) determined for turtles acclimated to 4 degrees C and tested in winter. This increase in supercooling capacity coincided with elimination of substratum (and, in fewer cases, eggshell) that the hatchlings had ingested; however, this association was not necessarily causal because turtles reared on a paper-covered substratum did not ingest exogenous matter but nevertheless showed a similar increase in supercooling capacity. Our results for turtles reared on paper revealed that seasonal development of supercooling capacity fundamentally requires elimination of ice-nucleating agents (INA) of endogenous origin: summer turtles, but not winter turtles, produced feces (perhaps derived from residual yolk) that expressed ice-nucleating activity. Ingestion of vermiculite or eggshell, which had modest ice-nucleating activity, had no effect on the T(c), whereas ingestion of nesting soil, which contained two classes of potent INA, markedly reduced the supercooling capacity of summer turtles. This effect persisted long after the turtles had purged their guts of soil particles, because the T(c) of winter turtles reared on nesting soil (mean +/- S.E.M.=-11.6+/-1.4 degrees C) was approximately 6 degrees C higher than the T(c) of winter turtles reared on vermiculite or paper. Experiments in which winter turtles were fed INA commonly found in

  7. Ice Nucleation Activity of Black Carbon and Organic Aerosol Emitted from Biomass Burning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauker, A. M.; Schill, G. P.; Hill, T. C. J.; Levin, E. J.; DeMott, P. J.; Kreidenweis, S. M.

    2017-12-01

    Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) must be present in clouds warmer than approximately -36 °C for initial ice crystal formation to occur. Although rare, they modify the lifetime, albedo and precipitation rates of clouds. Black carbon (BC) particles are present in the upper troposphere, and have been implicated as possible INPs, but recent research has not led to a consensus on their importance as INPs. Biomass burning is known to be a source of INPs as well as a major contributor to BC concentrations. Preliminary research from both prescribed burns (Manhattan, Kanas) and wildfires (Boise, Idaho and Weldon, Colorado), using the Colorado State University Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber (CSU-CFDC) coupled to a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2), suggest that BC contributed ≤ 10% to INP concentrations in biomass burning conditions. To evaluate the identity of non-BC as an INP, filters were collected downwind from the same prescribed burns and wildfires, and particles re-suspended in water were subjected to the immersion freezing method to quantify INP concentrations. The contributions of biological and total organic species to INP concentrations were determined through heat and hydrogen peroxide pre-treatments. Total INPs ranged from 0.88 - 31 L-1 air at -20 °C with 82 - 99 % of the INPs at that temperature being organic (i.e., deactivated by H2O2 digestion). Results are consistent with CSU-CFDC-SP2 derived rBC INP contributions from the same fires. The results from the study also support previous findings that prescribed burns and wildfires produce plumes enriched in INPs.

  8. Snow algae and lichen algae differ in their resistance to freezing temperature: An ice nucleation study

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hajek, J.; Kvíderová, Jana; Worland, R.; Barták, M.; Elster, Josef; Vaczi, P.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 48, č. 4 (2009), s. 37-38 ISSN 0031-8884. [International Phycological Congress /9./. 02.08.2009-08.08.2009, Tokyo] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA600050702; GA AV ČR KJB601630808 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Keywords : ice nucleation * algae * freezing Subject RIV: EF - Botanics

  9. Biological Ice Nuclei: They are Everywhere, What are Their Roles? (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnell, R. C.

    2009-12-01

    Biological ice nuclei active at temperatures warmer than -2C were first observed in the late 1960s associated with decaying grass and tree leaves; discovered more by accident than in a planned experiment. The active component of the decaying leaves was subsequently found to be produced by a few living bacteria, the two most ubiquitous being strains of P. syringae and E. herbicola. The active bacterial ice nuclei are easily deactivated by anaerobic, chemical and heat stresses. The same grass and tree leaves, when well decayed, generally contain less active ice nuclei (threshold temperatures of -5C to - 6C) in the 0.1 micron diameter range compared to the larger (1 micron) bacteria associated ice nuclei. The well decayed leaf litter ice nuclei are stable over a wide range of stresses and time; some samples of leaf derived nuclei stored at room temperature have exhibited the same ice nucleus concentration for over 30 years. Fungi also have active ice nuclei that are stable over many decades. Active ice nuclei are found in marine waters associated with plankton, and are produced by at least one marine dinoflagellate (Heterocapsa niei) that expresses ice nucleus activity almost as warm as terrestrial bacteria ice nuclei. Living ice nucleus bacteria have been found in marine fogs far at sea, in precipitation in Antarctica as well as over many continental areas, in air in the high Arctic, on vegetation around the world, on remote ice bound islands, and growing on and inside water storing vegetation on isolated tropical mountain peaks. But why? What is the evolutionary advantage for the ice nucleus gene to be expressed in such a wide range of environments, by greatly different species? There is an energy cost for bacteria and fungi to support the ice gene, so it probably is not a genetic anomaly. Possibly the ice nuclei play many roles? These could include damaging plants to acquire a food source, an aid in survival and dispersal in clouds, initiation of precipitation to

  10. Effect of freeze-thaw repetitions upon the supercooling release ability of ice-nucleating bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsuchiya, Yooko; Hasegawa, Hiromi; Sasaki, Kazuhiro

    2004-01-01

    We have studied the durability of ice-nucleating bacteria with a potent supercooling release capacity through repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Through experiment, we confirmed that UV sterilized Erwinia ananas maintains a superior supercooling release capacity at around -1degC through 2000 freeze-thaw cycles. We also found that γ-ray sterilization, which is more suitable than UV for large-scale sterilization treatment, has a similar effect at appropriately selected doses. (author)

  11. Bacterial Ice Crystal Controlling Proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorv, Janet S. H.; Rose, David R.; Glick, Bernard R.

    2014-01-01

    Across the world, many ice active bacteria utilize ice crystal controlling proteins for aid in freezing tolerance at subzero temperatures. Ice crystal controlling proteins include both antifreeze and ice nucleation proteins. Antifreeze proteins minimize freezing damage by inhibiting growth of large ice crystals, while ice nucleation proteins induce formation of embryonic ice crystals. Although both protein classes have differing functions, these proteins use the same ice binding mechanisms. Rather than direct binding, it is probable that these protein classes create an ice surface prior to ice crystal surface adsorption. Function is differentiated by molecular size of the protein. This paper reviews the similar and different aspects of bacterial antifreeze and ice nucleation proteins, the role of these proteins in freezing tolerance, prevalence of these proteins in psychrophiles, and current mechanisms of protein-ice interactions. PMID:24579057

  12. High-definition infrared thermography of ice nucleation and propagation in wheat under natural frost conditions and controlled freezing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Infrared thermography has been used to visualize the freezing process in plants and has greatly enhanced our knowledge of ice nucleation and propagation in plants. The majority of IR analyses have been conducted under controlled rather than natural conditions and often on plant parts instead of wh...

  13. The use of high-resolution infrared thermography (HRIT) for the study of ice nucleation and ice propagation in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wisniewski, Michael; Neuner, Gilbert; Gusta, Lawrence V

    2015-05-08

    Freezing events that occur when plants are actively growing can be a lethal event, particularly if the plant has no freezing tolerance. Such frost events often have devastating effects on agricultural production and can also play an important role in shaping community structure in natural populations of plants, especially in alpine, sub-arctic, and arctic ecosystems. Therefore, a better understanding of the freezing process in plants can play an important role in the development of methods of frost protection and understanding mechanisms of freeze avoidance. Here, we describe a protocol to visualize the freezing process in plants using high-resolution infrared thermography (HRIT). The use of this technology allows one to determine the primary sites of ice formation in plants, how ice propagates, and the presence of ice barriers. Furthermore, it allows one to examine the role of extrinsic and intrinsic nucleators in determining the temperature at which plants freeze and evaluate the ability of various compounds to either affect the freezing process or increase freezing tolerance. The use of HRIT allows one to visualize the many adaptations that have evolved in plants, which directly or indirectly impact the freezing process and ultimately enables plants to survive frost events.

  14. Fluorescent pseudomonads isolated from Hebridean cloud and rain water produce biosurfactants but do not cause ice nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahern, H. E.; Walsh, K. A.; Hill, T. C. J.; Moffett, B. F.

    2007-02-01

    Microorganisms were discovered in clouds over 100 years ago but information on bacterial community structure and function is limited. Clouds may not only be a niche within which bacteria could thrive but they might also influence dynamic processes using ice nucleating and cloud condensing abilities. Cloud and rain samples were collected from two mountains in the Outer Hebrides, NW Scotland, UK. Community composition was determined using a combination of amplified 16S ribosomal DNA restriction analysis and sequencing. 256 clones yielded 100 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of which half were related to bacteria from terrestrial psychrophilic environments. Cloud samples were dominated by a mixture of fluorescent Pseudomonas spp., some of which have been reported to be ice nucleators. It was therefore possible that these bacteria were using the ice nucleation (IN) gene to trigger the Bergeron-Findeisen process of raindrop formation as a mechanism for dispersal. In this study the IN gene was not detected in any of the isolates using both polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Instead 55% of the total isolates from both cloud and rain samples displayed significant biosurfactant activity when analyzed using the drop-collapse technique. All isolates were characterised as fluorescent pseudomonads. Surfactants have been found to be very important in lowering atmospheric critical supersaturations required for the activation of aerosols into cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). It is also known that surfactants influence cloud droplet size and increase cloud lifetime and albedo. Some bacteria are known to act as CCN and so it is conceivable that these fluorescent pseudomonads are using surfactants to facilitate their activation from aerosols into CCN. This would allow water scavenging,~countering desiccation, and assist in their widespread dispersal.

  15. The Horizontal Ice Nucleation Chamber (HINC): INP measurements at conditions relevant for mixed-phase clouds at the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacher, Larissa; Lohmann, Ulrike; Boose, Yvonne; Zipori, Assaf; Herrmann, Erik; Bukowiecki, Nicolas; Steinbacher, Martin; Kanji, Zamin A.

    2017-12-01

    In this work we describe the Horizontal Ice Nucleation Chamber (HINC) as a new instrument to measure ambient ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations for conditions relevant to mixed-phase clouds. Laboratory verification and validation experiments confirm the accuracy of the thermodynamic conditions of temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) in HINC with uncertainties in T of ±0.4 K and in RH with respect to water (RHw) of ±1.5 %, which translates into an uncertainty in RH with respect to ice (RHi) of ±3.0 % at T > 235 K. For further validation of HINC as a field instrument, two measurement campaigns were conducted in winters 2015 and 2016 at the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch (JFJ; Switzerland, 3580 m a. s. l. ) to sample ambient INPs. During winters 2015 and 2016 the site encountered free-tropospheric conditions 92 and 79 % of the time, respectively. We measured INP concentrations at 242 K at water-subsaturated conditions (RHw = 94 %), relevant for the formation of ice clouds, and in the water-supersaturated regime (RHw = 104 %) to represent ice formation occurring under mixed-phase cloud conditions. In winters 2015 and 2016 the median INP concentrations at RHw = 94 % was below the minimum detectable concentration. At RHw = 104 %, INP concentrations were an order of magnitude higher, with median concentrations in winter 2015 of 2.8 per standard liter (std L-1; normalized to standard T of 273 K and pressure, p, of 1013 hPa) and 4.7 std L-1 in winter 2016. The measurements are in agreement with previous winter measurements obtained with the Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber (PINC) of 2.2 std L-1 at the same location. During winter 2015, two events caused the INP concentrations at RHw = 104 % to significantly increase above the campaign average. First, an increase to 72.1 std L-1 was measured during an event influenced by marine air, arriving at the JFJ from the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. The contribution from anthropogenic or other

  16. Global model comparison of heterogeneous ice nucleation parameterizations in mixed phase clouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, Yuxing; Penner, Joyce E.

    2012-04-01

    A new aerosol-dependent mixed phase cloud parameterization for deposition/condensation/immersion (DCI) ice nucleation and one for contact freezing are compared to the original formulations in a coupled general circulation model and aerosol transport model. The present-day cloud liquid and ice water fields and cloud radiative forcing are analyzed and compared to observations. The new DCI freezing parameterization changes the spatial distribution of the cloud water field. Significant changes are found in the cloud ice water fraction and in the middle cloud fractions. The new DCI freezing parameterization predicts less ice water path (IWP) than the original formulation, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. The smaller IWP leads to a less efficient Bergeron-Findeisen process resulting in a larger liquid water path, shortwave cloud forcing, and longwave cloud forcing. It is found that contact freezing parameterizations have a greater impact on the cloud water field and radiative forcing than the two DCI freezing parameterizations that we compared. The net solar flux at top of atmosphere and net longwave flux at the top of the atmosphere change by up to 8.73 and 3.52 W m-2, respectively, due to the use of different DCI and contact freezing parameterizations in mixed phase clouds. The total climate forcing from anthropogenic black carbon/organic matter in mixed phase clouds is estimated to be 0.16-0.93 W m-2using the aerosol-dependent parameterizations. A sensitivity test with contact ice nuclei concentration in the original parameterization fit to that recommended by Young (1974) gives results that are closer to the new contact freezing parameterization.

  17. High variability of the heterogeneous ice nucleation potential of oxalic acid dihydrate and sodium oxalate

    OpenAIRE

    R. Wagner; O. Möhler; H. Saathoff; M. Schnaiter; T. Leisner

    2010-01-01

    The heterogeneous ice nucleation potential of airborne oxalic acid dihydrate and sodium oxalate particles in the deposition and condensation mode has been investigated by controlled expansion cooling cycles in the AIDA aerosol and cloud chamber of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology at temperatures between 244 and 228 K. Previous laboratory studies have highlighted the particular role of oxalic acid dihydrate as the only species amongst a variety of other investigated dicarboxylic acids to ...

  18. Single-particle characterization of ice-nucleating particles and ice particle residuals sampled by three different techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worringen, A.; Kandler, K.; Benker, N.; Dirsch, T.; Mertes, S.; Schenk, L.; Kästner, U.; Frank, F.; Nillius, B.; Bundke, U.; Rose, D.; Curtius, J.; Kupiszewski, P.; Weingartner, E.; Vochezer, P.; Schneider, J.; Schmidt, S.; Weinbruch, S.; Ebert, M.

    2015-04-01

    In the present work, three different techniques to separate ice-nucleating particles (INPs) as well as ice particle residuals (IPRs) from non-ice-active particles are compared. The Ice Selective Inlet (ISI) and the Ice Counterflow Virtual Impactor (Ice-CVI) sample ice particles from mixed-phase clouds and allow after evaporation in the instrument for the analysis of the residuals. The Fast Ice Nucleus Chamber (FINCH) coupled with the Ice Nuclei Pumped Counterflow Virtual Impactor (IN-PCVI) provides ice-activating conditions to aerosol particles and extracts the activated particles for analysis. The instruments were run during a joint field campaign which took place in January and February 2013 at the High Alpine Research Station Jungfraujoch (Switzerland). INPs and IPRs were analyzed offline by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis to determine their size, chemical composition and mixing state. Online analysis of the size and chemical composition of INP activated in FINCH was performed by laser ablation mass spectrometry. With all three INP/IPR separation techniques high abundances (median 20-70%) of instrumental contamination artifacts were observed (ISI: Si-O spheres, probably calibration aerosol; Ice-CVI: Al-O particles; FINCH + IN-PCVI: steel particles). After removal of the instrumental contamination particles, silicates, Ca-rich particles, carbonaceous material and metal oxides were the major INP/IPR particle types obtained by all three techniques. In addition, considerable amounts (median abundance mostly a few percent) of soluble material (e.g., sea salt, sulfates) were observed. As these soluble particles are often not expected to act as INP/IPR, we consider them as potential measurement artifacts. Minor types of INP/IPR include soot and Pb-bearing particles. The Pb-bearing particles are mainly present as an internal mixture with other particle types. Most samples showed a maximum of the INP/IPR size distribution at 200

  19. Rate of Homogenous Nucleation of Ice in Supercooled Water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, James D; Murray, Benjamin J; O'Sullivan, Daniel

    2016-08-25

    The homogeneous freezing of water is of fundamental importance to a number of fields, including that of cloud formation. However, there is considerable scatter in homogeneous nucleation rate coefficients reported in the literature. Using a cold stage droplet system designed to minimize uncertainties in temperature measurements, we examined the freezing of over 1500 pure water droplets with diameters between 4 and 24 μm. Under the assumption that nucleation occurs within the bulk of the droplet, nucleation rate coefficients fall within the spread of literature data and are in good agreement with a subset of more recent measurements. To quantify the relative importance of surface and volume nucleation in our experiments, where droplets are supported by a hydrophobic surface and surrounded by oil, comparison of droplets with different surface area to volume ratios was performed. From our experiments it is shown that in droplets larger than 6 μm diameter (between 234.6 and 236.5 K), nucleation in the interior is more important than nucleation at the surface. At smaller sizes we cannot rule out a significant contribution of surface nucleation, and in order to further constrain surface nucleation, experiments with smaller droplets are necessary. Nevertheless, in our experiments, it is dominantly volume nucleation controlling the observed nucleation rate.

  20. Predicting abundance and variability of ice nucleating particles in precipitation at the high-altitude observatory Jungfraujoch

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Stopelli

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Nucleation of ice affects the properties of clouds and the formation of precipitation. Quantitative data on how ice nucleating particles (INPs determine the distribution, occurrence and intensity of precipitation are still scarce. INPs active at −8 °C (INPs−8 were observed for 2 years in precipitation samples at the High-Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch (Switzerland at 3580 m a.s.l. Several environmental parameters were scanned for their capability to predict the observed abundance and variability of INPs−8. Those singularly presenting the best correlations with observed number of INPs−8 (residual fraction of water vapour, wind speed, air temperature, number of particles with diameter larger than 0.5 µm, season, and source region of particles were implemented as potential predictor variables in statistical multiple linear regression models. These models were calibrated with 84 precipitation samples collected during the first year of observations; their predictive power was successively validated on the set of 15 precipitation samples collected during the second year. The model performing best in calibration and validation explains more than 75 % of the whole variability of INPs−8 in precipitation and indicates that a high abundance of INPs−8 is to be expected whenever high wind speed coincides with air masses having experienced little or no precipitation prior to sampling. Such conditions occur during frontal passages, often accompanied by precipitation. Therefore, the circumstances when INPs−8 could be sufficiently abundant to initiate the ice phase in clouds may frequently coincide with meteorological conditions favourable to the onset of precipitation events.

  1. Ice nucleating particles over the Eastern Mediterranean measured at ground and by unmanned aircraft systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Daniel; Schrod, Jann; Drücke, Jaqueline; Keleshis, Christos; Pikridas, Michael; Ebert, Martin; Cvetkovic, Bojan; Nickovic, Slobodan; Baars, Holger; Marinou, Eleni; Vrekoussis, Mihalis; Sciare, Jean; Mihalopoulos, Nikos; Curtius, Joachim; Bingemer, Heinz G.

    2017-04-01

    During the intensive INUIT-BACCHUS-ACTRIS field campaign focusing on aerosols, clouds and ice nucleation in the Eastern Mediterranean in April 2016, we have measured the abundance of ice nucleating particles (INP) in the lower troposphere both with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as well as from the ground. Aerosol samples were collected by miniaturized electrostatic precipitators onboard the UAS and were analyzed immediately after collection on site in the ice nucleus counter FRIDGE for INP active at -20˚ C to -30˚ C in the deposition/condensation mode (INPD). Immersion freezing INP (INPI) were sampled on membrane filters and were analysed in aqueous extracts by the drop freezing method on the cold stage of FRIDGE. Ground samples were collected at the Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory (CAO) in Agia Marina Xyliatou (Latitude; 35˚ 2' 8" N; Longitude: 33˚ 3' 26" E; Altitude: 532 m a.s.l.). During the one-month campaign, we encountered a series of Saharan dust plumes that traveled at several kilometers altitude. Here we present INP data from 42 individual flights, together with OPC aerosol number concentrations, backscatter and depolarization retrievals from the Polly-XT Raman Lidar, dust concentrations derived by the dust transport model DREAM (Dust Regional Atmospheric Model), and results from scanning electron microscopy. The effect of the dust plumes is reflected by the coincidence of INP with the particulate mass (PM), the Lidar retrievals and the predicted dust mass of the model. This suggests that mineral dust or a constituent related to dust was a major contributor to the ice nucleating properties of the aerosol. Peak concentrations of above 100 INP std.l-1 were measured at -30˚ C. The INPD concentration in elevated plumes was on average a factor of 10 higher than at ground level. The INPI concentration at ground also agreed with PM levels and exceeded the ground-based INPD concentration by more than one order of magnitude. Since desert dust is transported

  2. The Horizontal Ice Nucleation Chamber (HINC: INP measurements at conditions relevant for mixed-phase clouds at the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Lacher

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this work we describe the Horizontal Ice Nucleation Chamber (HINC as a new instrument to measure ambient ice-nucleating particle (INP concentrations for conditions relevant to mixed-phase clouds. Laboratory verification and validation experiments confirm the accuracy of the thermodynamic conditions of temperature (T and relative humidity (RH in HINC with uncertainties in T of ±0.4 K and in RH with respect to water (RHw of ±1.5 %, which translates into an uncertainty in RH with respect to ice (RHi of ±3.0 % at T > 235 K. For further validation of HINC as a field instrument, two measurement campaigns were conducted in winters 2015 and 2016 at the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch (JFJ; Switzerland, 3580 m a. s. l.  to sample ambient INPs. During winters 2015 and 2016 the site encountered free-tropospheric conditions 92 and 79 % of the time, respectively. We measured INP concentrations at 242 K at water-subsaturated conditions (RHw = 94 %, relevant for the formation of ice clouds, and in the water-supersaturated regime (RHw = 104 % to represent ice formation occurring under mixed-phase cloud conditions. In winters 2015 and 2016 the median INP concentrations at RHw = 94 % was below the minimum detectable concentration. At RHw = 104 %, INP concentrations were an order of magnitude higher, with median concentrations in winter 2015 of 2.8 per standard liter (std L−1; normalized to standard T of 273 K and pressure, p, of 1013 hPa and 4.7 std L−1 in winter 2016. The measurements are in agreement with previous winter measurements obtained with the Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber (PINC of 2.2 std L−1 at the same location. During winter 2015, two events caused the INP concentrations at RHw = 104 % to significantly increase above the campaign average. First, an increase to 72.1 std L−1 was measured during an event influenced by marine air, arriving at the JFJ

  3. Ice condensation on sulfuric acid tetrahydrate: Implications for polar stratospheric ice clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. J. Fortin

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The mechanism of ice nucleation to form Type 2 PSCs is important for controlling the ice particle size and hence the possible dehydration in the polar winter stratosphere. This paper probes heterogeneous ice nucleation on sulfuric acid tetrahydrate (SAT. Laboratory experiments were performed using a thin-film, high-vacuum apparatus in which the condensed phase is monitored via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and water pressure is monitored with the combination of an MKS baratron and an ionization gauge. Results show that SAT is an efficient ice nucleus with a critical ice saturation ratio of S*ice = 1.3 to 1.02 over the temperature range 169.8-194.5 K. This corresponds to a necessary supercooling of 0.1-1.3 K below the ice frost point. The laboratory data is used as input for a microphysical/photochemical model to probe the effect that this heterogeneous nucleation mechanism could have on Type 2 PSC formation and stratospheric dehydration. In the model simulations, even a very small number of SAT particles (e.g., 10-3 cm-3 result in ice nucleation on SAT as the dominant mechanism for Type 2 PSC formation. As a result, Type 2 PSC formation is more widespread, leading to larger-scale dehydration. The characteristics of the clouds are controlled by the assumed number of SAT particles present, demonstrating that a proper treatment of SAT is critical for correctly modeling Type 2 PSC formation and stratospheric dehydration.

  4. Frazil-ice growth rate and dynamics in mixed layers and sub-ice-shelf plumes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rees Jones, David W.; Wells, Andrew J.

    2018-01-01

    The growth of frazil or granular ice is an important mode of ice formation in the cryosphere. Recent advances have improved our understanding of the microphysical processes that control the rate of ice-crystal growth when water is cooled beneath its freezing temperature. These advances suggest that crystals grow much faster than previously thought. In this paper, we consider models of a population of ice crystals with different sizes to provide insight into the treatment of frazil ice in large-scale models. We consider the role of crystal growth alongside the other physical processes that determine the dynamics of frazil ice. We apply our model to a simple mixed layer (such as at the surface of the ocean) and to a buoyant plume under a floating ice shelf. We provide numerical calculations and scaling arguments to predict the occurrence of frazil-ice explosions, which we show are controlled by crystal growth, nucleation, and gravitational removal. Faster crystal growth, higher secondary nucleation, and slower gravitational removal make frazil-ice explosions more likely. We identify steady-state crystal size distributions, which are largely insensitive to crystal growth rate but are affected by the relative importance of secondary nucleation to gravitational removal. Finally, we show that the fate of plumes underneath ice shelves is dramatically affected by frazil-ice dynamics. Differences in the parameterization of crystal growth and nucleation give rise to radically different predictions of basal accretion and plume dynamics, and can even impact whether a plume reaches the end of the ice shelf or intrudes at depth.

  5. The immersion freezing behavior of mixtures of mineral dust and biological substances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augustin, Stefanie; Schneider, Johannes; Schmidt, Susan; Niedermeier, Dennis; Ebert, Martin; Voigtländer, Jens; Rösch, Michael; Stratmann, Frank; Wex, Heike

    2014-05-01

    Biological particles such as bacteria or pollen are known to be efficient ice nuclei. It is also known that ice nucleating active (INA) macromolecules, i.e. protein complexes in the case of bacteria (e.g. Wolber et al., 1986), and most likely polysaccharides in the case of pollen (Pummer et al., 2012) are responsible for the freezing. Very recently it was suggested that these INA macromolecules maintain their nucleating ability even when they are separated from their original carriers (Hartmann et al., 2013; Augustin et al., 2013). This opens the possibility of accumulation of such INA macromolecules in e.g. soils and the resulting particles could be an internal mixture of mineral dust and INA macromolecules. If such biological IN containing soil particles are then dispersed into the atmosphere due to e.g. wind erosion or agricultural processes they could induce ice nucleation at temperatures higher than -20°C. To explore this hypothesis, we performed a measurement campaign within the research unit INUIT, where we investigated the ice nucleation behavior of mineral dust particles internally mixed with INA macromolecules. Specifically, we mixed pure mineral dust (illite) with INA biological material (SNOMAX and birch pollen washing water) and quantified the immersion freezing behavior of the resulting particles utilizing the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS). To characterize the mixing state of the produced aerosol we used single mass spectrometry as well as electron microscopy. We found that internally mixed particles which containing ice active biological material show the same ice nucleation behavior as the purely biological particles. That shows that INA macromolecules which are located on a mineral dust particle dominate the freezing process. Acknowledgement: Part of this work was done within the framework of the DFG funded Ice Nucleation research UnIT (INUIT, FOR 1525) under WE 4722/1-1. Augustin, S., Hartmann, S., Pummer, B., Grothe, H

  6. Ice nucleation onto Arizona test dust at cirrus temperatures: effect of temperature and aerosol size on onset relative humidity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanji, Z A; Abbatt, J P D

    2010-01-21

    The University of Toronto Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber (UT-CFDC) was used to study ice formation onto monodisperse Arizona Test Dust (ATD) particles. The onset relative humidity with respect to ice (RH(i)) was measured as a function of temperature in the range 251-223 K for 100 nm ATD particles. It was found that for 0.1% of the particles to freeze, water saturation was required at all temperatures except 223 K where particles activated at RH(i) below water saturation. At this temperature, where deposition mode freezing is occurring, we find that the larger the particle size, the lower the onset RH(i). We also demonstrate that the total number of particles present may influence the onset RH(i) observed. The surface area for ice activation, aerosol size, and temperature must all be considered when reporting onset values of ice formation onto ATD mineral dust particles. In addition, we calculate nucleation rates and contact angles of ice germs with ATD aerosols which indicate that there exists a range of active sites on the surface with different efficiencies for activating ice formation.

  7. Aerosolization, Chemical Characterization, Hygroscopicity and Ice Formation of Marine Biogenic Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alpert, P. A.; Radway, J.; Kilthau, W.; Bothe, D.; Knopf, D. A.; Aller, J. Y.

    2013-12-01

    The oceans cover the majority of the earth's surface, host nearly half the total global primary productivity and are a major source of atmospheric aerosol particles. However, effects of biological activity on sea spray generation and composition, and subsequent cloud formation are not well understood. Our goal is to elucidate these effects which will be particularly important over nutrient rich seas, where microorganisms can reach concentrations of 10^9 per mL and along with transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) can become aerosolized. Here we report the results of mesocosm experiments in which bubbles were generated by two methods, either recirculating impinging water jets or glass frits, in natural or artificial seawater containing bacteria and unialgal cultures of three representative phytoplankton species, Thalassiosira pseudonana, Emiliania huxleyi, and Nannochloris atomus. Over time we followed the size distribution of aerosolized particles as well as their hygroscopicity, heterogeneous ice nucleation potential, and individual physical-chemical characteristics. Numbers of cells and the mass of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC, POC), TEP (which includes polysaccharide-containing microgels and nanogels >0.4 μm in diameter) were determined in the bulk water, the surface microlayer, and aerosolized material. Aerosolized particles were also impacted onto substrates for ice nucleation and water uptake experiments, elemental analysis using computer controlled scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (CCSEM/EDX), and determination of carbon bonding with scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (STXM/NEXAFS). Regardless of bubble generation method, the overall concentration of aerosol particles, TEP, POC and DOC increased as concentrations of bacterial and phytoplankton cells increased, stabilized, and subsequently declined. Particles cloud formation and potential

  8. Nucleation in the atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hegg, D A; Baker, M B

    2009-01-01

    Small particles play major roles in modulating radiative and hydrological fluxes in the atmosphere and thus they impact both climate (IPCC 2007) and weather. Most atmospheric particles outside clouds are created in situ through nucleation from gas phase precursors and most ice particles within clouds are formed by nucleation, usually from the liquid. Thus, the nucleation process is of great significance in the Earth's atmosphere. The theoretical examination of nucleation in the atmosphere has been based mostly on classical nucleation theory. While diagnostically very useful, the prognostic skill demonstrated by this approach has been marginal. Microscopic approaches such as molecular dynamics and density functional theory have also proven useful in elucidating various aspects of the process but are not yet sufficiently refined to offer a significant prognostic advantage to the classical approach, due primarily to the heteromolecular nature of atmospheric nucleation. An important aspect of the nucleation process in the atmosphere is that the degree of metastability of the parent phase for the nucleation is modulated by a number of atmospheric processes such as condensation onto pre-existing particles, updraft velocities that are the main driving force for supersaturation of water (a major factor in all atmospheric nucleation), and photochemical production rates of nucleation precursors. Hence, atmospheric nucleation is both temporally and spatially inhomogeneous

  9. Biologically-Oriented Processes in the Coastal Sea Ice Zone of the White Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melnikov, I. A.

    2002-12-01

    The annual advance and retreat of sea ice is a major physical determinant of spatial and temporal changes in the structure and function of marine coastal biological communities. Sea ice biological data obtained in the tidal zone of Kandalaksha Gulf (White Sea) during 1996-2001 period will be presented. Previous observations in this area were mainly conducted during the ice-free summer season. However, there is little information on the ice-covered winter season (6-7 months duration), and, especially, on the sea-ice biology in the coastal zone within tidal regimes. During the January-May period time-series observations were conducted on transects along shorelines with coastal and fast ice. Trends in the annual extent of sea ice showed significant impacts on ice-associated biological communities. Three types of sea ice impact on kelps, balanoides, littorinas and amphipods are distinguished: (i) positive, when sea ice protects these populations from grinding (ii) negative, when ice grinds both fauna and flora, and (iii) a combined effect, when fast ice protects, but anchored ice grinds plant and animals. To understand the full spectrum of ecological problems caused by pollution on the coastal zone, as well as the problems of sea ice melting caused by global warming, an integrated, long-term study of the physical, chemical, and biological processes is needed.

  10. On the Role of Ammonia in Arctic Aerosol Nucleation and Cloud Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Browse, J.; Dall'Osto, M.; Geels, C.; Skov, H.; Massling, A.; Boertmann, D.; Beddows, D.; Gordon, H.; Pringle, K.

    2017-12-01

    This study investigates the importance of ammonia in Arctic aerosol nucleation and the formation of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) at high-latitudes. The importance of atmospheric nucleation processes to summertime Arctic aerosol concentration has been frequently noted at ground-stations, during campaigns and within models (which typically predict that the majority of aerosol in the Arctic summertime boundary layer derives from nucleation). However, as nucleation mechanisms in global models have increased in complexity (improving model skill globally) our skill in the Arctic has generally decreased. This decrease in model skill is likely due to a lack of organic compounds (monterpenes etc.) in the modelled high Arctic which have been identified as a key component in atmospheric nucleation in the mid-latitudes and thus incorporated into many global nucleation parametrisations. Recently it has been suggested that ammonia (also identified as a potentially important component in atmospheric nucleation) may control nucleation processes in the Arctic. However, the source (or sources) of Arctic ammonia remain unclear. Here, we use modelling, long-term aerosol in-situ observations, high resolution sea-ice satellite observations and new emission inventories to investigate the link between ammonia sources (including bird colonies, sea-ice melt and open ocean in the marginal ice zones) and nucleation events in the mid-to-high Arctic, and thus quantify the importance of individual ammonia sources to Arctic-wide CCN and cloud droplet populations.

  11. The Contribution of Black Carbon to Ice Nucleating Particle Concentrations from Prescribed Burns and Wildfires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schill, G. P.; DeMott, P. J.; Suski, K. J.; Emerson, E. W.; Rauker, A. M.; Kodros, J.; Levin, E. J.; Hill, T. C. J.; Farmer, D.; Pierce, J. R.; Kreidenweis, S. M.

    2017-12-01

    Black carbon (BC) has been implicated as a potential immersion-mode ice nucleating particle (INP) because of its relative abundance in the upper troposphere. Furthermore, several field and aircraft measurements have observed positive correlations between BC and INP concentrations. Despite this, the efficiency of BC to act as an immersion-mode INP is poorly constrained. Indeed, previous results from laboratory studies are in conflict, with estimates of BC's impact on INP ranging from no impact to being efficient enough to rival the well-known INP mineral dust. It is, however, becoming clear that the ice nucleation activity of BC may depend on both its fuel type and combustion conditions. For example, previous work has shown that diesel exhaust BC is an extremely poor immersion-mode INP, but laboratory burns of biomass fuels indicate that BC can contribute up to 70% of all INP for some fuel types. Given these dependencies, we propose that sampling from real-world biomass burning sources would provide the most useful new information on the contribution of BC to atmospheric INP. In this work, we will present recent results looking at the sources of INP from prescribed burns and wildfires. To determine the specific contribution of refractory black carbon (rBC) to INP concentrations, we utilized a new technique that couples the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) to the Colorado State University Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber (CFDC). The SP2 utilizes laser-induced incandescence to quantify rBC mass on a particle-by-particle basis; in doing so, it also selectively destroys rBC particles by heating them to their vaporization temperature. Thus, the SP2 can be used as a selective pre-filter for rBC into the CFDC. Furthermore, we have also used a filter-based technique for measuring INP, the Ice Spectrometer, which can employ pretreatments such as heating and digestion by H2O2 to determine the contribution of heat-labile and organic particles, respectively.

  12. Anatomical regulation of ice nucleation and cavitation helps trees to survive freezing and drought stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lintunen, A.; Hölttä, T.; Kulmala, M.

    2013-01-01

    Water in the xylem, the water transport system of plants, is vulnerable to freezing and cavitation, i.e. to phase change from liquid to ice or gaseous phase. The former is a threat in cold and the latter in dry environmental conditions. Here we show that a small xylem conduit diameter, which has previously been shown to be associated with lower cavitation pressure thus making a plant more drought resistant, is also associated with a decrease in the temperature required for ice nucleation in the xylem. Thus the susceptibility of freezing and cavitation are linked together in the xylem of plants. We explain this linkage by the regulation of the sizes of the nuclei catalysing freezing and drought cavitation. Our results offer better understanding of the similarities of adaption of plants to cold and drought stress, and offer new insights into the ability of plants to adapt to the changing environment. PMID:23778457

  13. Isolation, Characterization, and Genetic Diversity of Ice Nucleation Active Bacteria on Various Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DIANA ELIZABETH WATURANGI

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Ice nucleation active (INA bacteria is a group of bacteria with the ability to catalyze the ice formation at temperature above -10 °C and causing frost injury in plants. Since, most of the literature on INA bacteria were from subtropical area, studies of INA bacteria from tropical area are needed. We sampled eight fruits and 36 leaves of 21 plant species, and then identified through biochemical and genetic analysis. INA bacteria were characterized for INA protein classification, pH stability, and optimization of heat endurance. We discovered 15 INA bacteria from seven plants species. Most of bacteria are oxidase and H2S negative, catalase and citrate positive, gram negative, and cocoid formed. These INA bacteria were classified in to three classes based on their freezing temperature. Most of the isolates were active in heat and pH stability assay. Some isolates were analysed for 16S rRNA gene. We observed that isolates from Morinda citrifolia shared 97% similiarity with Pseudomonas sp. Isolate from Piper betle shared 93% similarity with P. pseudoalcaligenes. Isolate from Carica papaya shared 94% similarity with Pseudomonas sp. While isolate from Fragaria vesca shared 90% similarity with Sphingomonas sp.

  14. Isolation, Characterization, and Genetic Diversity of Ice Nucleation Active Bacteria on Various Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DIANA ELIZABETH WATURANGI

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Ice nucleation active (INA bacteria is a group of bacteria with the ability to catalyze the ice formation at temperature above -10 oC and causing frost injury in plants. Since, most of the literature on INA bacteria were from subtropical area, studies of INA bacteria from tropical area are needed. We sampled eight fruits and 36 leaves of 21 plant species, and then identified through biochemical and genetic analysis. INA bacteria were characterized for INA protein classification, pH stability, and optimization of heat endurance. We discovered 15 INA bacteria from seven plants species. Most of bacteria are oxidase and H2S negative, catalase and citrate positive, gram negative, and cocoid formed. These INA bacteria were classified in to three classes based on their freezing temperature. Most of the isolates were active in heat and pH stability assay. Some isolates were analysed for 16S rRNA gene. We observed that isolates from Morinda citrifolia shared 97% similiarity with Pseudomonas sp. Isolate from Piper betle shared 93% similarity with P. pseudoalcaligenes. Isolate from Carica papaya shared 94% similarity with Pseudomonas sp. While isolate from Fragaria vesca shared 90% similarity with Sphingomonas sp.

  15. Survival and ice nucleation activity of bacteria as aerosols in a cloud simulation chamber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amato, P.; Joly, M.; Schaupp, C.; Attard, E.; Möhler, O.; Morris, C. E.; Brunet, Y.; Delort, A.-M.

    2015-06-01

    The residence time of bacterial cells in the atmosphere is predictable by numerical models. However, estimations of their aerial dispersion as living entities are limited by a lack of information concerning survival rates and behavior in relation to atmospheric water. Here we investigate the viability and ice nucleation (IN) activity of typical atmospheric ice nucleation active bacteria (Pseudomonas syringae and P. fluorescens) when airborne in a cloud simulation chamber (AIDA, Karlsruhe, Germany). Cell suspensions were sprayed into the chamber and aerosol samples were collected by impingement at designated times over a total duration of up to 18 h, and at some occasions after dissipation of a cloud formed by depressurization. Aerosol concentration was monitored simultaneously by online instruments. The cultivability of airborne cells decreased exponentially over time with a half-life time of 250 ± 30 min (about 3.5 to 4.5 h). In contrast, IN activity remained unchanged for several hours after aerosolization, demonstrating that IN activity was maintained after cell death. Interestingly, the relative abundance of IN active cells still airborne in the chamber was strongly decreased after cloud formation and dissipation. This illustrates the preferential precipitation of IN active cells by wet processes. Our results indicate that from 106 cells aerosolized from a surface, one would survive the average duration of its atmospheric journey estimated at 3.4 days. Statistically, this corresponds to the emission of 1 cell that achieves dissemination every ~ 33 min m-2 of cultivated crops fields, a strong source of airborne bacteria. Based on the observed survival rates, depending on wind speed, the trajectory endpoint could be situated several hundreds to thousands of kilometers from the emission source. These results should improve the representation of the aerial dissemination of bacteria in numeric models.

  16. Midlatitude Cirrus Clouds Derived from Hurricane Nora: A Case Study with Implications for Ice Crystal Nucleation and Shape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sassen, Kenneth; Arnott, W. Patrick; O'C. Starr, David; Mace, Gerald G.; Wang, Zhien; Poellot, Michael R.

    2003-04-01

    Hurricane Nora traveled up the Baja Peninsula coast in the unusually warm El Niño waters of September 1997 until rapidly decaying as it approached southern California on 24 September. The anvil cirrus blowoff from the final surge of tropical convection became embedded in subtropical flow that advected the cirrus across the western United States, where it was studied from the Facility for Atmospheric Remote Sensing (FARS) in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 25 September. A day later, the cirrus shield remnants were redirected southward by midlatitude circulations into the southern Great Plains, providing a case study opportunity for the research aircraft and ground-based remote sensors assembled at the Clouds and Radiation Testbed (CART) site in northern Oklahoma. Using these comprehensive resources and new remote sensing cloud retrieval algorithms, the microphysical and radiative cloud properties of this unusual cirrus event are uniquely characterized.Importantly, at both the FARS and CART sites the cirrus generated spectacular halos and arcs, which acted as a tracer for the hurricane cirrus, despite the limited lifetimes of individual ice crystals. Lidar depolarization data indicate widespread regions of uniform ice plate orientations, and in situ particle replicator data show a preponderance of pristine, solid hexagonal plates and columns. It is suggested that these unusual aspects are the result of the mode of cirrus particle nucleation, presumably involving the lofting of sea salt nuclei in strong thunderstorm updrafts into the upper troposphere. This created a reservoir of haze particles that continued to produce halide-salt-contaminated ice crystals during the extended period of cirrus cloud maintenance. The inference that marine microbiota are embedded in the replicas of some ice crystals collected over the CART site points to the longevity of marine effects. Various nucleation scenarios proposed for cirrus clouds based on this and other studies, and the

  17. Numerical simulations of contrail-to-cirrus transition – Part 2: Impact of initial ice crystal number, radiation, stratification, secondary nucleation and layer depth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Unterstrasser

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Simulations of contrail-to-cirrus transition were performed with an LES model. In Part 1 the impact of relative humidity, temperature and vertical wind shear was explored in a detailed parametric study. Here, we study atmospheric parameters like stratification and depth of the supersaturated layer and processes which may affect the contrail evolution. We consider contrails in various radiation scenarios herein defined by the season, time of day and the presence of lower-level cloudiness which controls the radiance incident on the contrail layer. Under suitable conditions, controlled by the radiation scenario and stratification, radiative heating lifts the contrail-cirrus and prolongs its lifetime. The potential of contrail-driven secondary nucleation is investigated. We consider homogeneous nucleation and heterogeneous nucleation of preactivated soot cores released from sublimated contrail ice crystals. In our model the contrail dynamics triggered by radiative heating does not suffice to force homogeneous freezing of ambient liquid aerosol particles. Furthermore, our model results suggest that heterogeneous nucleation of preactivated soot cores is unimportant. Contrail evolution is not controlled by the depth of the supersaturated layer as long as it exceeds roughly 500 m. Deep fallstreaks however need thicker layers. A variation of the initial ice crystal number is effective during the whole evolution of a contrail. A cut of the soot particle emission by two orders of magnitude can reduce the contrail timescale by one hour and the optical thickness by a factor of 5. Hence future engines with lower soot particle emissions could potentially lead to a reduction of the climate impact of aviation.

  18. Diversity and Abundance of Ice Nucleating Strains of Pseudomonas syringae in a Freshwater Lake in Virginia, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietsch, Renée B; Vinatzer, Boris A; Schmale, David G

    2017-01-01

    The bacterium Pseudomonas syringae is found in a variety of terrestrial and aquatic environments. Some strains of P. syringae express an ice nucleation protein (hereafter referred to as Ice+) allowing them to catalyze the heterogeneous freezing of water. Though P. syringae has been sampled intensively from freshwater sources in France, little is known about the genetic diversity of P. syringae in natural aquatic habitats in North America. We collected samples of freshwater from three different depths in Claytor Lake, Virginia, USA between November 2015 and June 2016. Samples were plated on non-selective medium (TSA) and on medium selective for Pseudomonas (KBC) and closely related species to estimate the total number of culturable bacteria and of Pseudomonas , respectively. A droplet freezing assay was used to screen colonies for the Ice+ phenotype. Ice+ colonies were then molecularly identified based on the cts (citrate synthase) gene and the 16S rDNA gene. Phylogenetic analysis of cts sequences showed a surprising diversity of phylogenetic subgroups of P. syringae . Frequencies of Ice+ isolates on P. syringae selective medium ranged from 0 to 15% per sample with the highest frequency being found in spring. Our work shows that freshwater lakes can be a significant reservoir of Ice+ P. syringae . Future work is needed to determine the contribution of P. syringae from freshwater lakes to the P. syringae populations present in the atmosphere and on plants and, in particular, if freshwater lakes could be an inoculum source of P. syringae -caused plant disease outbreaks.

  19. Microbial production of ice crystals in clouds as a novel atmospheric biosignature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santl-Temkiv, T.; Sahyoun, M.; Kjeldsen, H.; Ling, M.; Boesen, T.; Karlson, U. G.; Finster, K.

    2014-03-01

    A diverse assembly of exoplanets has been discovered during recent decades (Howard 2013), their atmospheres providing some of the most accessible evidence for the presence of biological activity on these planets. Metabolic gases have been commonly proposed as atmospheric biosignatures (Seager et al 2012). However, airborne microbes are also involved in cloud- and precipitation formation on Earth. Thus, meteorological phenomena may serve as alternative atmospheric biosignatures, for which appropriate observational techniques have yet to be developed. The atmospheric part of the Earth's water cycle heavily relies on the presence of nucleating particles, which promote the condensation and freezing of atmospheric water, both potentially leading to precipitation. While cloud condensation nuclei are diverse and relatively common, ice nuclei are poorly understood and comparably rare airborne particles. According to current knowledge, most ice nucleation below ñ15∞C is driven by the presence of inorganic dust particles, which are considered inactive at higher temperatures. Biogenic IN are the only reported particles that promote ice formation above ñ10∞C. Some bacteria, e.g. Pseudomonas syringae, produce Ice Nucleation Active (INA) proteins that are most efficient ice nuclei currently known. These INA bacteria are common in the atmosphere, and may thus be involved in precipitation processes of mixed phase clouds (Möhler et al 2007). We investigate the relevance of bacterial INA proteins for atmospheric processes using three approaches: (i) study of the presence of INA bacteria and their INA proteins in the atmosphere, (ii) a detailed molecular and physical study of isolated INA proteins, and finally (iii) a modeling study of the importance of INA proteins for ice-path in clouds as well as their importance for precipitation. During 14 precipitation events, we observed that 12% of isolated bacteria carried INA genes. INA bacteria had likely been emitted to the

  20. Investigating Freezing Point Depression and Cirrus Cloud Nucleation Mechanisms Using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodzewski, Kentaro Y.; Caylor, Ryan L.; Comstock, Ashley M.; Hadley, Austin T.; Imholt, Felisha M.; Kirwan, Kory D.; Oyama, Kira S.; Wise, Matthew E.

    2016-01-01

    A differential scanning calorimeter was used to study homogeneous nucleation of ice from micron-sized aqueous ammonium sulfate aerosol particles. It is important to understand the conditions at which these particles nucleate ice because of their connection to cirrus cloud formation. Additionally, the concept of freezing point depression, a topic…

  1. Automation and heat transfer characterization of immersion mode spectroscopy for analysis of ice nucleating particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beall, Charlotte M.; Stokes, M. Dale; Hill, Thomas C.; DeMott, Paul J.; DeWald, Jesse T.; Prather, Kimberly A.

    2017-07-01

    Ice nucleating particles (INPs) influence cloud properties and can affect the overall precipitation efficiency. Developing a parameterization of INPs in global climate models has proven challenging. More INP measurements - including studies of their spatial distribution, sources and sinks, and fundamental freezing mechanisms - must be conducted in order to further improve INP parameterizations. In this paper, an immersion mode INP measurement technique is modified and automated using a software-controlled, real-time image stream designed to leverage optical changes of water droplets to detect freezing events. For the first time, heat transfer properties of the INP measurement technique are characterized using a finite-element-analysis-based heat transfer simulation to improve accuracy of INP freezing temperature measurement. The heat transfer simulation is proposed as a tool that could be used to explain the sources of bias in temperature measurements in INP measurement techniques and ultimately explain the observed discrepancies in measured INP freezing temperatures between different instruments. The simulation results show that a difference of +8.4 °C between the well base temperature and the headspace gas results in an up to 0.6 °C stratification of the aliquot, whereas a difference of +4.2 °C or less results in a thermally homogenous water volume within the error of the thermal probe, ±0.2 °C. The results also show that there is a strong temperature gradient in the immediate vicinity of the aliquot, such that without careful placement of temperature probes, or characterization of heat transfer properties of the water and cooling environment, INP measurements can be biased toward colder temperatures. Based on a modified immersion mode technique, the Automated Ice Spectrometer (AIS), measurements of the standard test dust illite NX are reported and compared against six other immersion mode droplet assay techniques featured in Hiranuma et al. (2015) that used

  2. Parameterizing the competition between homogeneous and heterogeneous freezing in ice cloud formation – polydisperse ice nuclei

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Barahona

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available This study presents a comprehensive ice cloud formation parameterization that computes the ice crystal number, size distribution, and maximum supersaturation from precursor aerosol and ice nuclei. The parameterization provides an analytical solution of the cloud parcel model equations and accounts for the competition effects between homogeneous and heterogeneous freezing, and, between heterogeneous freezing in different modes. The diversity of heterogeneous nuclei is described through a nucleation spectrum function which is allowed to follow any form (i.e., derived from classical nucleation theory or from observations. The parameterization reproduces the predictions of a detailed numerical parcel model over a wide range of conditions, and several expressions for the nucleation spectrum. The average error in ice crystal number concentration was −2.0±8.5% for conditions of pure heterogeneous freezing, and, 4.7±21% when both homogeneous and heterogeneous freezing were active. The formulation presented is fast and free from requirements of numerical integration.

  3. Ice formation in model biological membranes in the presence of cryoprotectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kiselev, M.A. E-mail: kiselev@nf.jinr.ru; Lesieur, P.; Kisselev, A.M.; Ollivon, M

    2000-06-21

    Ice formation in model biological membranes is studied by SAXS and WAXS in the presence of cryoprotectors: dimethyl sulfoxide and glycerol. Three types of phospholipid membranes: DPPC, DMPC, DSPC are chosen for the investigation as well-studied model biological membranes. A special cryostat is used for sample cooling from 14.1 deg. C to -55.4 deg. C. The ice formation is detected only by WAXS in binary phospholipid/water and ternary phospholipid/cryoprotector/water systems in the condition of excess solvent. Ice formation in a binary phospholipid/water system creates an abrupt decrease of the membrane repeat distance by {delta}d, the so-called ice-induced dehydration of intermembrane space. The value of {delta}d decreases as the cryoprotector concentration increases. The formation of ice does not influence the membrane structure ({delta}d=0) for cryoprotector mole fractions higher than 0.05.

  4. Inhibition of ice crystallisation in highly viscous aqueous organic acid droplets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. J. Murray

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Homogeneous nucleation of ice within aqueous solution droplets and their subsequent crystallisation is thought to play a significant role in upper tropospheric ice cloud formation. It is normally assumed that homogeneous nucleation will take place at a threshold supersaturation, irrespective of the identity of the solute, and that rapid growth of ice particles will follow immediately after nucleation. However, it is shown here through laboratory experiments that droplets may not readily freeze in the very cold tropical tropopause layer (TTL, typical temperatures of 186–200 K. In these experiments ice crystal growth in citric acid solution droplets did not occur when ice nucleated below 197±6 K. Citric acid, 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxyllic acid, is a molecule with similar functionality to oxygenated organic compounds which are ubiquitous in atmospheric aerosol. It is therefore thought to be a sensible proxy for atmospheric organic material. Evidence is presented that suggests citric acid solution droplets become ultra-viscous and form glassy solids under atmospherically relevant conditions. Diffusion of liquid water molecules to ice nuclei is expected to be very slow in ultra-viscous solution droplets and nucleation is negligible in glassy droplets; this most likely provides an explanation for the experimentally observed inhibition of ice crystallisation. The implications of ultra-viscous and glassy solution droplets for ice cloud formation and supersaturations in the TTL are discussed.

  5. Light scattering of a Bessel beam by a nucleated biological cell: An eccentric sphere model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jia Jie; Han, Yi Ping; Chang, Jiao Yong; Chen, Zhu Yang

    2018-02-01

    Within the framework of generalized Lorenz-Mie theory (GLMT), an eccentrically stratified dielectric sphere model illuminated by an arbitrarily incident Bessel beam is applied to investigate the scattering characteristics of a single nucleated biological cell. The Bessel beam propagating in an arbitrary direction is expanded in terms of vector spherical wave functions (VSWFs), where the beam shape coefficients (BSCs) are calculated rigorously in a closed analytical form. The effects of the half-cone angle of Bessel beam, the location of the particle in the beam, the size ratio of nucleus to cell, and the location of the nucleus inside the cell on the scattering properties of a nucleated cell are analyzed. The results provide useful references for optical diagnostic and imaging of particle having nucleated structure.

  6. Modelling of cirrus clouds – Part 2: Competition of different nucleation mechanisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Spichtinger

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available We study the competition of two different freezing mechanisms (homogeneous and heterogeneous freezing in the same environment for cold cirrus clouds. To this goal we use the recently developed and validated ice microphysics scheme (Spichtinger and Gierens, 2009a which distinguishes between ice classes according to their formation process. We investigate cases with purely homogeneous ice formation and compare them with cases where background ice nuclei in varying concentration heterogeneously form ice prior to homogeneous nucleation. We perform additionally a couple of sensitivity studies regarding threshold humidity for heterogeneous freezing, uplift speed, and ambient temperature, and we study the influence of random motions induced by temperature fluctuations in the clouds. We find three types of cloud evolution, homogeneously dominated, heterogeneously dominated, and a mixed type where neither nucleation process dominates. The latter case is prone to long–lasting in–cloud ice supersaturation of the order 30% and more.

  7. Heterogeneous primary nucleation of ice in water and aqueous solutions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thijssen, H.A.C.; Vorstman, M.A.G.; Roels, J.A.

    1968-01-01

    The effect of the volume of the liquid sample, the degree of turbulence in the liquid, and the rate of cooling upon the probability of nucleation has been studied for water and aqueous solutions. Nucleation rates were measured for droplets nearly instantaneously cooled to a predetermined

  8. A classical view on nonclassical nucleation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smeets, P.J.M.; Finney, A.R.; Habraken, W.J.E.M.; Nudelman, F.; Friedrich, H.; Laven, J.; De Yoreo, J.J.; Rodger, P.M.; Sommerdijk, N.A.J.M.

    2017-01-01

    Understanding and controlling nucleation is important for many crystallization applications. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is often used as a model system to investigate nucleation mechanisms. Despite its great importance in geology, biology, and many industrial applications, CaCO3 nucleation is still a

  9. Initiation of secondary ice production in clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. C. Sullivan

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Disparities between the measured concentrations of ice-nucleating particles (INPs and in-cloud ice crystal number concentrations (ICNCs have led to the hypothesis that mechanisms other than primary nucleation form ice in the atmosphere. Here, we model three of these secondary production mechanisms – rime splintering, frozen droplet shattering, and ice–ice collisional breakup – with a six-hydrometeor-class parcel model. We perform three sets of simulations to understand temporal evolution of ice hydrometeor number (Nice, thermodynamic limitations, and the impact of parametric uncertainty when secondary production is active. Output is assessed in terms of the number of primarily nucleated ice crystals that must exist before secondary production initiates (NINP(lim as well as the ICNC enhancement from secondary production and the timing of a 100-fold enhancement. Nice evolution can be understood in terms of collision-based nonlinearity and the phasedness of the process, i.e., whether it involves ice hydrometeors, liquid ones, or both. Ice–ice collisional breakup is the only process for which a meaningful NINP(lim exists (0.002 up to 0.15 L−1. For droplet shattering and rime splintering, a warm enough cloud base temperature and modest updraft are the more important criteria for initiation. The low values of NINP(lim here suggest that, under appropriate thermodynamic conditions for secondary ice production, perturbations in cloud concentration nuclei concentrations are more influential in mixed-phase partitioning than those in INP concentrations.

  10. Ice nucleation activity in various tissues of Rhododendron flower buds: their relevance to extraorgan freezing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masaya eIshikawa

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Wintering flower buds of cold hardy Rhododendron japonicum cooled slowly to subfreezing temperatures are known to undergo extraorgan freezing, whose mechanisms remain obscure. We revisited this material to demonstrate why bud scales freeze first in spite of their lower water content, why florets remain deeply supercooled and how seasonal adaptive responses occur in regard to extraorgan freezing in flower buds. We determined ice nucleation activity (INA of various flower bud tissues of using a test tube-based assay. Irrespective of collection sites, outer and inner bud scales that function as ice sinks in extraorgan freezing had high INA levels whilst florets that remain supercooled and act as a water source lacked INA. The INA level of bud scales was not high in late August when flower bud formation was ending, but increased to reach the highest level in late October just before the first autumnal freeze. The results support the following hypothesis: the high INA in bud scales functions as the subfreezing sensor, ensuring the primary freezing in bud scales at warmer subzero temperatures, which likely allows the migration of floret water to the bud scales and accumulation of icicles within the bud scales. The low INA in the florets helps them remain unfrozen by deep supercooling. The INA in the bud scales was resistant to grinding and autoclaving at 121°C for 15 min, implying the intrinsic nature of the INA rather than of microbial origin, whilst the INA in stem bark was autoclaving labile. Anti-nucleation activity (ANA was implicated in the leachate of autoclaved bud scales, which suppresses the INA at millimolar levels of concentration and likely differs from the colligative effects of the solutes. The tissue INA levels likely contribute to the establishment of freezing behaviors by ensuring the order of freezing in the tissues: from the primary freeze to the last tissue remaining unfrozen.

  11. Sensitivity of warm-frontal processes to cloud-nucleating aerosol concentrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Igel, Adele L.; Van Den Heever, Susan C.; Naud, Catherine M.; Saleeby, Stephen M.; Posselt, Derek J.

    2013-01-01

    An extratropical cyclone that crossed the United States on 9-11 April 2009 was successfully simulated at high resolution (3-km horizontal grid spacing) using the Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modeling System. The sensitivity of the associated warm front to increasing pollution levels was then explored by conducting the same experiment with three different background profiles of cloud-nucleating aerosol concentration. To the authors' knowledge, no study has examined the indirect effects of aerosols on warm fronts. The budgets of ice, cloud water, and rain in the simulation with the lowest aerosol concentrations were examined. The ice mass was found to be produced in equal amounts through vapor deposition and riming, and the melting of ice produced approximately 75% of the total rain. Conversion of cloud water to rain accounted for the other 25%. When cloud-nucleating aerosol concentrations were increased, significant changes were seen in the budget terms, but total precipitation remained relatively constant. Vapor deposition onto ice increased, but riming of cloud water decreased such that there was only a small change in the total ice production and hence there was no significant change in melting. These responses can be understood in terms of a buffering effect in which smaller cloud droplets in the mixed-phase region lead to both an enhanced vapor deposition and decreased riming efficiency with increasing aerosol concentrations. Overall, while large changes were seen in the microphysical structure of the frontal cloud, cloud-nucleating aerosols had little impact on the precipitation production of the warm front.

  12. Nutrient availability limits biological production in Arctic sea ice melt ponds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Heidi Louise; Thamdrup, Bo; Jeppesen, Erik

    2017-01-01

    nutrient limitation in melt ponds. We also document that the addition of nutrients, although at relative high concentrations, can stimulate biological productivity at several trophic levels. Given the projected increase in first-year ice, increased melt pond coverage during the Arctic spring and potential......Every spring and summer melt ponds form at the surface of polar sea ice and become habitats where biological production may take place. Previous studies report a large variability in the productivity, but the causes are unknown. We investigated if nutrients limit the productivity in these first...... additional nutrient supply from, e.g. terrestrial sources imply that biological activity of melt ponds may become increasingly important for the sympagic carbon cycling in the future Arctic....

  13. On the usage of classical nucleation theory in predicting the impact of bacteria on weather and climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahyoun, Maher; Woetmann Nielsen, Niels; Havskov Sørensen, Jens; Finster, Kai; Bay Gosewinkel Karlson, Ulrich; Šantl-Temkiv, Tina; Smith Korsholm, Ulrik

    2014-05-01

    Bacteria, e.g. Pseudomonas syringae, have previously been found efficient in nucleating ice heterogeneously at temperatures close to -2°C in laboratory tests. Therefore, ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria may be involved in the formation of precipitation in mixed phase clouds, and could potentially influence weather and climate. Investigations into the impact of INA bacteria on climate have shown that emissions were too low to significantly impact the climate (Hoose et al., 2010). The goal of this study is to clarify the reason for finding the marginal impact on climate when INA bacteria were considered, by investigating the usability of ice nucleation rate parameterization based on classical nucleation theory (CNT). For this purpose, two parameterizations of heterogeneous ice nucleation were compared. Both parameterizations were implemented and tested in a 1-d version of the operational weather model (HIRLAM) (Lynch et al., 2000; Unden et al., 2002) in two different meteorological cases. The first parameterization is based on CNT and denoted CH08 (Chen et al., 2008). This parameterization is a function of temperature and the size of the IN. The second parameterization, denoted HAR13, was derived from nucleation measurements of SnomaxTM (Hartmann et al., 2013). It is a function of temperature and the number of protein complexes on the outer membranes of the cell. The fraction of cloud droplets containing each type of IN as percentage in the cloud droplets population were used and the sensitivity of cloud ice production in each parameterization was compared. In this study, HAR13 produces more cloud ice and precipitation than CH08 when the bacteria fraction increases. In CH08, the increase of the bacteria fraction leads to decreasing the cloud ice mixing ratio. The ice production using HAR13 was found to be more sensitive to the change of the bacterial fraction than CH08 which did not show a similar sensitivity. As a result, this may explain the marginal impact of

  14. Ice nucleation activity of silicates and aluminosilicates in pure water and aqueous solutions - Part 1: The K-feldspar microcline

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Anand; Marcolli, Claudia; Luo, Beiping; Peter, Thomas

    2018-05-01

    Potassium-containing feldspars (K-feldspars) have been considered as 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 IN onset temperatures, Thet(aw), deviate strongly from ThetΔawhet(aw), the values calculated from the water-activity-based approach (where ThetΔawhet(aw) = Tmelt(aw + Δawhet) with a constant offset Δawhet with respect to the ice melting point curve). Surprisingly, for very dilute solutions of NH3 and NH4+ salts (molalities ≲1 mol kg-1 corresponding to aw ≳ 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 ThetΔawhet(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 ThetΔawhet(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) NH4+). However, the presence of a similar increase in IN efficiency in dilute ammonia solutions indicates that the cation exchange cannot explain the increase in IN temperatures. Instead, we hypothesize that NH3 molecules hydrogen bonded on the microcline surface form an ice-like overlayer, which provides hydrogen bonding favorable for ice to nucleate on, thus enhancing both the freezing temperatures and the

  15. Development of a Capacitive Ice Sensor to Measure Ice Growth in Real Time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang Zhi

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the development of the capacitive sensor to measure the growth of ice on a fuel pipe surface in real time. The ice sensor consists of pairs of electrodes to detect the change in capacitance and a thermocouple temperature sensor to examine the ice formation situation. In addition, an environmental chamber was specially designed to control the humidity and temperature to simulate the ice formation conditions. From the humidity, a water film is formed on the ice sensor, which results in an increase in capacitance. Ice nucleation occurs, followed by the rapid formation of frost ice that decreases the capacitance suddenly. The capacitance is saturated. The developed ice sensor explains the ice growth providing information about the icing temperature in real time.

  16. Development of a capacitive ice sensor to measure ice growth in real time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhi, Xiang; Cho, Hyo Chang; Wang, Bo; Ahn, Cheol Hee; Moon, Hyeong Soon; Go, Jeung Sang

    2015-03-19

    This paper presents the development of the capacitive sensor to measure the growth of ice on a fuel pipe surface in real time. The ice sensor consists of pairs of electrodes to detect the change in capacitance and a thermocouple temperature sensor to examine the ice formation situation. In addition, an environmental chamber was specially designed to control the humidity and temperature to simulate the ice formation conditions. From the humidity, a water film is formed on the ice sensor, which results in an increase in capacitance. Ice nucleation occurs, followed by the rapid formation of frost ice that decreases the capacitance suddenly. The capacitance is saturated. The developed ice sensor explains the ice growth providing information about the icing temperature in real time.

  17. Nucleation in Polymers and Soft Matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xiaofei; Ting, Christina L.; Kusaka, Isamu; Wang, Zhen-Gang

    2014-04-01

    Nucleation is a ubiquitous phenomenon in many physical, chemical, and biological processes. In this review, we describe recent progress on the theoretical study of nucleation in polymeric fluids and soft matter, including binary mixtures (polymer blends, polymers in poor solvents, compressible polymer-small molecule mixtures), block copolymer melts, and lipid membranes. We discuss the methodological development for studying nucleation as well as novel insights and new physics obtained in the study of the nucleation behavior in these systems.

  18. Slow-slip events on the Whillans Ice Plain, Antarctica, described using rate-and-state friction as an ice stream sliding law

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipovsky, Bradley Paul; Dunham, Eric M.

    2017-04-01

    The Whillans Ice Plain (WIP), Antarctica, experiences twice daily tidally modulated stick-slip cycles. Slip events last about 30 min, have sliding velocities as high as ˜0.5 mm/s (15 km/yr), and have total slip ˜0.5 m. Slip events tend to occur during falling ocean tide: just after high tide and just before low tide. To reproduce these characteristics, we use rate-and-state friction, which is commonly used to simulate tectonic faulting, as an ice stream sliding law. This framework describes the evolving strength of the ice-bed interface throughout stick-slip cycles. We present simulations that resolve the cross-stream dimension using a depth-integrated treatment of an elastic ice layer loaded by tides and steady ice inflow. Steady sliding with rate-weakening friction is conditionally stable with steady sliding occurring for sufficiently narrow ice streams relative to a nucleation length. Stick-slip cycles occur when the ice stream is wider than the nucleation length or, equivalently, when effective pressures exceed a critical value. Ice streams barely wider than the nucleation length experience slow-slip events, and our simulations suggest that the WIP is in this slow-slip regime. Slip events on the WIP show a sense of propagation, and we reproduce this behavior by introducing a rate-strengthening region in the center of the otherwise rate-weakening ice stream. If pore pressures are raised above a critical value, our simulations predict that the WIP would exhibit quasi-steady tidally modulated sliding as observed on other ice streams. This study validates rate-and-state friction as a sliding law to describe ice stream sliding styles.

  19. Measurement of Ice-nucleating Particles over the Western North Pacific, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean during a R/V Mirai Cruise in 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murata, K.; Tobo, Y.; Taketani, F.; Miyakawa, T.; Kanaya, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Measurement of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) was performed using aerosol samples collected during a cruise of R/V Mirai across the western North Pacific, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean from August to October, 2016. We used the National Institute of Polar Research Cryogenic Refrigerator Applied to Freezing Test (NIPR-CRAFT) device to examine the immersion freezing efficiency of the collected aerosols in the temperature range of -25°C to 0°C and measured the number concentration of atmospheric INPs. The INP concentrations varied over about three orders of magnitude during the cruise. Over the Arctic Ocean (i.e., >70°N), the INPs were simulations, extremely high concentrations of INPs during the returning leg would be attributed to transport of smoke from fires in Siberia. Different INP concentrations during the cruise indicates that INPs in marine air can vary dramatically in response to long-range transport of continental aerosols, such as smoke, in addition to local emissions from the sea surface. The observed concentrations of INPs were reasonably well expressed by power law fits with the number concentration of fluorescent biological aerosol particles simultaneously measured with a Waveband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS-4) during the cruise, which suggests that biological aerosol particles may play a role in determining INP populations in the marine air of this case.

  20. The relative contributions of biological and abiotic processes to carbon dynamics in subarctic sea ice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søgaard, Dorte Haubjerg; Thomas, David; Rysgaard, Søren

    2013-01-01

    Knowledge on the relative effects of biological activity and precipitation/dissolution of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in influencing the air-ice CO2 exchange in sea-ice-covered season is currently lacking. Furthermore, the spatial and temporal occurrence of CaCO3 and other biogeochemical parameters...... in sea ice are still not well described. Here we investigated autotrophic and heterotrophic activity as well as the precipitation/dissolution of CaCO3 in subarctic sea ice in South West Greenland. Integrated over the entire ice season (71 days), the sea ice was net autotrophic with a net carbon fixation...... and CaCO3 precipitation. The net biological production could only explain 4 % of this sea-ice-driven CO2 uptake. Abiotic processes contributed to an air-sea CO2 uptake of 1.5 mmol m(-2) sea ice day(-1), and dissolution of CaCO3 increased the air-sea CO2 uptake by 36 % compared to a theoretical estimate...

  1. A Prototype Ice-Melting Probe for Collecting Biological Samples from Cryogenic Ice at Low Pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Ashley

    2017-08-01

    In the Solar System, the surface of an icy moon is composed of irregular ice formations at cryogenic temperatures (pumps. The device contains a heated conical probe with a central orifice, which is forced into surface ice and directs the meltwater upward into a reservoir. The force on the probe is proportional to the height of meltwater (pressure) obtained in the system and allows regulation of the melt rate and temperature of the sample. The device can collect 5-50 mL of meltwater from the surface of an ice block at 233-208 K with an environmental pressure of less than 10-2 atm while maintaining a sample temperature between 273 and 293 K. These conditions maintain most biological samples in a pristine state and maintain the integrity of most organisms' structure and function.

  2. The competition between mineral dust and soot ice nuclei in mixed-phase clouds (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, B. J.; Atkinson, J.; Umo, N.; Browse, J.; Woodhouse, M. T.; Whale, T.; Baustian, K. J.; Carslaw, K. S.; Dobbie, S.; O'Sullivan, D.; Malkin, T. L.

    2013-12-01

    The amount of ice present in mixed-phase clouds, which contain both supercooled liquid water droplets and ice particles, affects cloud extent, lifetime, particle size and radiative properties. The freezing of cloud droplets can be catalysed by the presence of aerosol particles known as ice nuclei. In this talk our recent laboratory and global aerosol modelling work on mineral dust and soot ice nuclei will be presented. We have performed immersion mode experiments to quantify ice nucleation by the individual minerals which make up desert mineral dusts and have shown that the feldspar component, rather than the clay component, is most important for ice nucleation (Atkinson et al. 2013). Experiments with well-characterised soot generated with eugenol, an intermediate in biomass burning, and n-decane show soot has a significant ice nucleation activity in mixed-phase cloud conditions. Our results for soot are in good agreement with previous results for acetylene soot (DeMott, 1990), but extend the efficiency to much higher temperatures. We then use a global aerosol model (GLOMAP) to map the distribution of soot and feldspar particles on a global basis. We show that below about -15oC that dust and soot together can explain most observed ice nuclei in the Earth's atmosphere, while at warmer temperatures other ice nuclei types are needed. We show that in some regions soot is the most important ice nuclei (below -15oC), while in others feldspar dust dominates. Our results suggest that there is a strong anthropogenic contribution to the ice nuclei population, since a large proportion of soot aerosol in the atmosphere results from human activities. Atkinson, J. D., Murray, B. J., Woodhouse, M. T., Carslaw, K. S., Whale, T. F., Baustian, K. J., Dobbie, S., O'Sullivan, D., and Malkin, T. L.: The importance of feldspar for ice nucleation by mineral dust in mixed-phase clouds, Nature, 10.1038/nature12278, (2013). Demott, P. J. 1990. An Exploratory-Study of Ice Nucleation by Soot

  3. Concentration and variability of ice nuclei in the subtropical maritime boundary layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welti, André; Müller, Konrad; Fleming, Zoë L.; Stratmann, Frank

    2018-04-01

    Measurements of the concentration and variability of ice nucleating particles in the subtropical maritime boundary layer are reported. Filter samples collected in Cabo Verde over the period 2009-2013 are analyzed with a drop freezing experiment with sensitivity to detect the few rare ice nuclei active at low supercooling. The data set is augmented with continuous flow diffusion chamber measurements at temperatures below -24 °C from a 2-month field campaign in Cabo Verde in 2016. The data set is used to address the following questions: what are typical concentrations of ice nucleating particles active at a certain temperature? What affects their concentration and where are their sources? Concentration of ice nucleating particles is found to increase exponentially by 7 orders of magnitude from -5 to -38 °C. Sample-to-sample variation in the steepness of the increase indicates that particles of different origin, with different ice nucleation properties (size, composition), contribute to the ice nuclei concentration at different temperatures. The concentration of ice nuclei active at a specific temperature varies over a range of up to 4 orders of magnitude. The frequency with which a certain ice nuclei concentration is measured within this range is found to follow a lognormal distribution, which can be explained by random dilution during transport. To investigate the geographic origin of ice nuclei, source attribution of air masses from dispersion modeling is used to classify the data into seven typical conditions. While no source could be attributed to the ice nuclei active at temperatures higher than -12 °C, concentrations at lower temperatures tend to be elevated in air masses originating from the Sahara.

  4. Ice Nucleation and Dehydration in the Tropical Tropopause Layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Eric J.; Diskin, Glenn S.; Lawson, R Paul; Lance, Sara; Bui, Thaopaul Van; Hlavka, Dennis L.; Mcgill, Matthew J.; Pfister, Leonhard; Toon, Owen B.; Gao, Rushan

    2013-01-01

    Optically thin cirrus near the tropical tropopause regulate the humidity of air entering the stratosphere, which in turn has a strong influence on the Earth's radiation budget and climate. Recent highaltitude, unmanned aircraft measurements provide evidence for two distinct classes of cirrus formed in the tropical tropopause region: (i) vertically extensive cirrus with low ice number concentrations, low extinctions, and large supersaturations (up to approx. 70%) with respect to ice; and (ii) vertically thin cirrus layers with much higher ice concentrations that effectively deplete the vapor in excess of saturation. The persistent supersaturation in the former class of cirrus is consistent with the long time-scales (several hours or longer) for quenching of vapor in excess of saturation given the low ice concentrations and cold tropical tropopause temperatures. The low-concentration clouds are likely formed on a background population of insoluble particles with concentrations less than 100 L-1 (often less than 20 L-1), whereas the high ice concentration layers (with concentrations up to 10,000 L-1) can only be produced by homogeneous freezing of an abundant population of aqueous aerosols. These measurements, along with past high-altitude aircraft measurements, indicate that the low-concentration cirrus occur frequently in the tropical tropopause region, whereas the high-concentration cirrus occur infrequently. The predominance of the low-concentration clouds means cirrus near the tropical tropopause may typically allow entry of air into the stratosphere with as much as approx. 1.7 times the ice saturation mixing ratio.

  5. Ice nucleation and dehydration in the Tropical Tropopause Layer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Eric J; Diskin, Glenn; Lawson, R Paul; Lance, Sara; Bui, T Paul; Hlavka, Dennis; McGill, Matthew; Pfister, Leonhard; Toon, Owen B; Gao, Rushan

    2013-02-05

    Optically thin cirrus near the tropical tropopause regulate the humidity of air entering the stratosphere, which in turn has a strong influence on the Earth's radiation budget and climate. Recent high-altitude, unmanned aircraft measurements provide evidence for two distinct classes of cirrus formed in the tropical tropopause region: (i) vertically extensive cirrus with low ice number concentrations, low extinctions, and large supersaturations (up to ∼70%) with respect to ice; and (ii) vertically thin cirrus layers with much higher ice concentrations that effectively deplete the vapor in excess of saturation. The persistent supersaturation in the former class of cirrus is consistent with the long time-scales (several hours or longer) for quenching of vapor in excess of saturation given the low ice concentrations and cold tropical tropopause temperatures. The low-concentration clouds are likely formed on a background population of insoluble particles with concentrations less than 100 L(-1) (often less than 20 L(-1)), whereas the high ice concentration layers (with concentrations up to 10,000 L(-1)) can only be produced by homogeneous freezing of an abundant population of aqueous aerosols. These measurements, along with past high-altitude aircraft measurements, indicate that the low-concentration cirrus occur frequently in the tropical tropopause region, whereas the high-concentration cirrus occur infrequently. The predominance of the low-concentration clouds means cirrus near the tropical tropopause may typically allow entry of air into the stratosphere with as much as ∼1.7 times the ice saturation mixing ratio.

  6. Time-Lapse, in Situ Imaging of Ice Crystal Growth Using Confocal Microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcellini, Moreno; Noirjean, Cecile; Dedovets, Dmytro; Maria, Juliette; Deville, Sylvain

    2016-11-30

    Ice crystals nucleate and grow when a water solution is cooled below its freezing point. The growth velocities and morphologies of the ice crystals depend on many parameters, such as the temperature of ice growth, the melting temperature, and the interactions of solutes with the growing crystals. Three types of morphologies may appear: dendritic, cellular (or fingerlike), or the faceted equilibrium form. Understanding and controlling which type of morphology is formed is essential in several domains, from biology to geophysics and materials science. Obtaining, in situ, three dimensional observations without introducing artifacts due to the experimental technique is nevertheless challenging. Here we show how we can use laser scanning confocal microscopy to follow in real-time the growth of smoothed and faceted ice crystals in zirconium acetate solutions. Both qualitative and quantitative observations can be made. In particular, we can precisely measure the lateral growth velocity of the crystals, a measure otherwise difficult to obtain. Such observations should help us understand the influence of the parameters that control the growth of ice crystals in various systems.

  7. Cirrus Susceptibility to Changes in Ice Nuclei: Physical Processes, Model Uncertainties, and Measurement Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Eric

    2018-01-01

    One of the proposed concepts for mitigating the warming effect of increasing greenhouse gases is seeding cirrus cloud with ice nuclei (IN) in order to reduce the lifetime and coverage of cold cirrus that have a net warming impact on the earth's surface. Global model simulations of the net impact of changing upper tropospheric IN have given widely disparate results, partly as a result of poor understanding of ice nucleation processes in the current atmosphere, and partly as a result of poor representation of these processes in global models. Here, we present detailed process-model simulations of tropical tropopause layer (TTL) transport and cirrus formation with ice nuclei properties based on recent laboratory nucleation experiments and field measurements of aerosol composition. The model is used to assess the sensitivity of TTL cirrus occurrence frequency and microphysical properties to the abundance and efficacy of ice nuclei. The simulated cloud properties compared with recent high-altitude aircraft measurements of TTL cirrus and ice supersaturation. We find that abundant effective IN (either from glassy organic aerosols or crystalline ammonium sulfate with concentrations greater than about 100/L) prevent the occurrences of large ice concentration and large ice supersaturations, both of which are clearly indicated by the in situ observations. We find that concentrations of effective ice nuclei larger than about 50/L can drive significant changes in cirrus microphysical properties and occurrence frequency. However, the cloud occurrence frequency can either increase or decrease, depending on the efficacy and abundance of IN added to the TTL. We suggest that our lack of information about ice nuclei properties in the current atmosphere, as well as uncertainties in ice nucleation processes and their representations in global models, preclude meaningful estimates of climate impacts associated with addition of ice nuclei in the upper troposphere. We will briefly discuss

  8. Atmospheric Ice Nucleating Particle measurements at the high mountain observatory Mt. Cimone (2165 m a.s.l., Italy)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rinaldi, M.; Santachiara, G.; Nicosia, A.; Piazza, M.; Decesari, S.; Gilardoni, S.; Paglione, M.; Cristofanelli, P.; Marinoni, A.; Bonasoni, P.; Belosi, F.

    2017-12-01

    Measurement campaigns at the high mountain Observatory Mt. Cimone (CMN; 2165 m a.s.l.) were performed during May 2014 and October 2015. The concentration of Ice Nucleating Particles (INPs) were measured offline with a dynamic filter processing chamber (DFPC), in the deposition and condensation mode, after collecting PM1 and PM10 aerosol samples. Presented INP data are the first ever published for a high mountain site in the Mediterranean basin. During the May campaign, parallel INP measurements were also carried out at San Pietro Capofiume (SPC), a low altitude rural background area within the Po Valley basin, by the same offline technique. The average INPPM10 concentration at CMN was 86 m-3 (saturation ratio Sw = 1.01; T = -18 °C) during the May 2014 campaign, while it was 171 m-3 at SPC, in the same period. A lower average INPPM10 concentration was observed at CMN during October 2015 (43 m-3). A significantly higher activated fraction (AF) characterized the October 2015 campaign, suggesting that the seasonal changes in the aerosol sources have an impact on the INP efficiency of the aerosol at CMN. Super-micrometer INP contributed for ∼30% of total INP in the May 2014 campaign, at both sites, and for ∼70% in the October 2015 campaign, showing the importance of coarse particles in the INP population. The analysis of meteorological parameters, gaseous tracers concentrations and backwards trajectories suggests that the INP population at CMN is contributed by transport processes occurring at diverse spatial scales, from the local to the synoptic scale. During the Saharan Dust transport Event observed in May 2014, a reduction of the AF was observed, suggesting, for this case, a limited ice nucleating activity for Saharan dust particles. This may be due to physico-chemical aging of the Saharan dust particles during transport or to the relatively high activation temperature at which the experiments were performed in this study.

  9. Animal ice-binding (antifreeze) proteins and glycolipids: an overview with emphasis on physiological function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duman, John G

    2015-06-01

    Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) assist in subzero tolerance of multiple cold-tolerant organisms: animals, plants, fungi, bacteria etc. IBPs include: (1) antifreeze proteins (AFPs) with high thermal hysteresis antifreeze activity; (2) low thermal hysteresis IBPs; and (3) ice-nucleating proteins (INPs). Several structurally different IBPs have evolved, even within related taxa. Proteins that produce thermal hysteresis inhibit freezing by a non-colligative mechanism, whereby they adsorb onto ice crystals or ice-nucleating surfaces and prevent further growth. This lowers the so-called hysteretic freezing point below the normal equilibrium freezing/melting point, producing a difference between the two, termed thermal hysteresis. True AFPs with high thermal hysteresis are found in freeze-avoiding animals (those that must prevent freezing, as they die if frozen) especially marine fish, insects and other terrestrial arthropods where they function to prevent freezing at temperatures below those commonly experienced by the organism. Low thermal hysteresis IBPs are found in freeze-tolerant organisms (those able to survive extracellular freezing), and function to inhibit recrystallization - a potentially damaging process whereby larger ice crystals grow at the expense of smaller ones - and in some cases, prevent lethal propagation of extracellular ice into the cytoplasm. Ice-nucleator proteins inhibit supercooling and induce freezing in the extracellular fluid at high subzero temperatures in many freeze-tolerant species, thereby allowing them to control the location and temperature of ice nucleation, and the rate of ice growth. Numerous nuances to these functions have evolved. Antifreeze glycolipids with significant thermal hysteresis activity were recently identified in insects, frogs and plants. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  10. Nanoscale-Agglomerate-Mediated Heterogeneous Nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cha, Hyeongyun; Wu, Alex; Kim, Moon-Kyung; Saigusa, Kosuke; Liu, Aihua; Miljkovic, Nenad

    2017-12-13

    Water vapor condensation on hydrophobic surfaces has received much attention due to its ability to rapidly shed water droplets and enhance heat transfer, anti-icing, water harvesting, energy harvesting, and self-cleaning performance. However, the mechanism of heterogeneous nucleation on hydrophobic surfaces remains poorly understood and is attributed to defects in the hydrophobic coating exposing the high surface energy substrate. Here, we observe the formation of high surface energy nanoscale agglomerates on hydrophobic coatings after condensation/evaporation cycles in ambient conditions. To investigate the deposition dynamics, we studied the nanoscale agglomerates as a function of condensation/evaporation cycles via optical and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), microgoniometric contact angle measurements, nucleation statistics, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The FESEM and EDS results indicated that the nanoscale agglomerates stem from absorption of sulfuric acid based aerosol particles inside the droplet and adsorption of volatile organic compounds such as methanethiol (CH 3 SH), dimethyl disulfide (CH 3 SSCH), and dimethyl trisulfide (CH 3 SSSCH 3 ) on the liquid-vapor interface during water vapor condensation, which act as preferential sites for heterogeneous nucleation after evaporation. The insights gained from this study elucidate fundamental aspects governing the behavior of both short- and long-term heterogeneous nucleation on hydrophobic surfaces, suggest previously unexplored microfabrication and air purification techniques, and present insights into the challenges facing the development of durable dropwise condensing surfaces.

  11. Atmospheric ice nuclei: No detectable effects from a coal-fired powerplant plume

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schnell, R.C.; Van Valin, C.C.; Pueschel, R.F.

    1976-01-01

    Atmospheric ice nuclei were measured upwind and within the effluent plume of a coalfired powerplant during February 1976. Aerosol particles were captured on two types of membrane filters (Nuclepore and Millipore) and processed in two different thermal diffusion chambers, one calibrated to produce a 100% saturation relative to water and the other to produce a slight supersaturation relative to water. Consequently, the ice nuclei measured were active in the modes that are dominant in diffusion chambers, viz., deposition nucleation and condensation-followed-by-freezing nucleation. Results indicate that plume particles do not act as ice nuclei between the temperatures of -10 and -20degreeC, nor do combustion gases in the plume deactivate natural ice nuclei

  12. Biological and physical induced oxygen dynamics in melting sea ice of the Fram Strait

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glud, Ronnie; Rysgaard, Søren; Turner, Gavin

    2014-01-01

    correlation (EC) measurements on the underside of the ice revealed a light-dependent O2 exchange rate. However, the integrated signal resolved a net O2 uptake of 7.70 mmol m−2 d−1. The net O2 exchange was therefore dominated by the production of O2-depleted meltwater rather than biological activity. The EC......We investigated the production, consumption, and exchange of O2 in melting sea ice to assess the biological- and physical-induced O2 turnover. The underside of the ice was covered with 5–20 cm3 large, buoyant algal aggregates. Their gross primary production amounted to 0.49 mmol C m−2 d−1, which...... was 4.5 times higher than the primary production of sea ice–encrusted microalgae (0.11 mmol C m−2 d−1). The phototrophic biomass of the aggregates (2.94 mg chlorophyll a m−2) was six times higher than that encountered in the sea ice itself. Taxono-specific investigations strongly suggest...

  13. Ice nucleation activity of silicates and aluminosilicates in pure water and aqueous solutions – Part 1: The K-feldspar microcline

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Kumar

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Potassium-containing feldspars (K-feldspars have been considered as 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, (NH42SO4, 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 IN onset temperatures, Thet(aw, deviate strongly from ThetΔawhet(aw, the values calculated from the water-activity-based approach (where ThetΔawhet(aw = Tmelt(aw + Δawhet with a constant offset Δawhet with respect to the ice melting point curve. Surprisingly, for very dilute solutions of NH3 and NH4+ salts (molalities ≲1 mol kg−1 corresponding to aw ≳ 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 ThetΔawhet(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 ThetΔawhet(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 < ThetΔawhet(aw even at very small solute concentrations. In all these cases, the heterogeneous freezing peak displays a decrease as solute concentration increases. This deviation from Δawhet  =  const. indicates specific chemical interactions between particular solutes and the microcline surface not captured by the water-activity-based approach. One

  14. Impact of the Bergeron-Findeisen process on the release of aerosol particles during the evolution of cloud ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarzenböck, A.; Mertes, S.; Heintzenberg, J.; Wobrock, W.; Laj, P.

    The paper focuses on the redistribution of aerosol particles (APs) during the artificial nucleation and subsequent growth of ice crystals in a supercooled cloud. A significant number of the supercooled cloud droplets during icing periods (seeding agents: C 3H 8, CO 2) did not freeze as was presumed prior to the experiment but instead evaporated. The net mass flux of water vapour from the evaporating droplets to the nucleating ice crystals (Bergeron-Findeisen mechanism) led to the release of residual particles that simultaneously appeared in the interstitial phase. The strong decrease of the droplet residuals confirms the nucleation of ice particles on seeding germs without natural aerosol particles serving as ice nuclei. As the number of residual particles during the seedings did not drop to zero, other processes such as heterogeneous ice nucleation, spontaneous freezing, entrainment of supercooled droplets and diffusion to the created particle-free ice germs must have contributed to the experimental findings. During the icing periods, residual mass concentrations in the condensed phase dropped by a factor of 1.1-6.7, as compared to the unperturbed supercooled cloud. As the Bergeron-Findeisen process also occurs without artificial seeding in the atmosphere, this study demonstrated that the hydrometeors in mixed-phase clouds might be much cleaner than anticipated for the simple freezing process of supercooled droplets in tropospheric mid latitude clouds.

  15. Surface Assisted Formation of methane Hydrates on Ice and Na Montmorillonite Clay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gordon, Margaret Ellen [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Teich-McGoldrick, Stephanie [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Cygan, Randall Timothy [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Meserole, Stephen P. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Rodriguez, Mark A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2015-07-01

    Methane hydrates are extremely important naturally-occurring crystalline materials that impact climate change, energy resources, geological hazards, and other major environmental issues. Whereas significant experimental effort has been completed to understanding the bulk thermodynamics of methane hydrate assemblies, little is understood on heterogeneous nucleation and growth of methane hydrates in clay-rich environments. Controlled synthesis experiments were completed at 265-285 K and 6.89 MPa to examine the impact of montmorillonite surfaces in clay-ice mixtures to nucleate and form methane hydrate. The results suggest that the hydrophilic and methane adsorbing properties of Namontmorillonite reduce the nucleation period of methane hydrate formation in pure ice systems.

  16. Quantifying bioalbedo: a new physically based model and discussion of empirical methods for characterising biological influence on ice and snow albedo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Joseph M.; Hodson, Andrew J.; Gardner, Alex S.; Flanner, Mark; Tedstone, Andrew J.; Williamson, Christopher; Irvine-Fynn, Tristram D. L.; Nilsson, Johan; Bryant, Robert; Tranter, Martyn

    2017-11-01

    The darkening effects of biological impurities on ice and snow have been recognised as a control on the surface energy balance of terrestrial snow, sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets. With a heightened interest in understanding the impacts of a changing climate on snow and ice processes, quantifying the impact of biological impurities on ice and snow albedo (bioalbedo) and its evolution through time is a rapidly growing field of research. However, rigorous quantification of bioalbedo has remained elusive because of difficulties in isolating the biological contribution to ice albedo from that of inorganic impurities and the variable optical properties of the ice itself. For this reason, isolation of the biological signature in reflectance data obtained from aerial/orbital platforms has not been achieved, even when ground-based biological measurements have been available. This paper provides the cell-specific optical properties that are required to model the spectral signatures and broadband darkening of ice. Applying radiative transfer theory, these properties provide the physical basis needed to link biological and glaciological ground measurements with remotely sensed reflectance data. Using these new capabilities we confirm that biological impurities can influence ice albedo, then we identify 10 challenges to the measurement of bioalbedo in the field with the aim of improving future experimental designs to better quantify bioalbedo feedbacks. These challenges are (1) ambiguity in terminology, (2) characterising snow or ice optical properties, (3) characterising solar irradiance, (4) determining optical properties of cells, (5) measuring biomass, (6) characterising vertical distribution of cells, (7) characterising abiotic impurities, (8) surface anisotropy, (9) measuring indirect albedo feedbacks, and (10) measurement and instrument configurations. This paper aims to provide a broad audience of glaciologists and biologists with an overview of radiative transfer and

  17. Quantifying bioalbedo: a new physically based model and discussion of empirical methods for characterising biological influence on ice and snow albedo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. Cook

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The darkening effects of biological impurities on ice and snow have been recognised as a control on the surface energy balance of terrestrial snow, sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets. With a heightened interest in understanding the impacts of a changing climate on snow and ice processes, quantifying the impact of biological impurities on ice and snow albedo (bioalbedo and its evolution through time is a rapidly growing field of research. However, rigorous quantification of bioalbedo has remained elusive because of difficulties in isolating the biological contribution to ice albedo from that of inorganic impurities and the variable optical properties of the ice itself. For this reason, isolation of the biological signature in reflectance data obtained from aerial/orbital platforms has not been achieved, even when ground-based biological measurements have been available. This paper provides the cell-specific optical properties that are required to model the spectral signatures and broadband darkening of ice. Applying radiative transfer theory, these properties provide the physical basis needed to link biological and glaciological ground measurements with remotely sensed reflectance data. Using these new capabilities we confirm that biological impurities can influence ice albedo, then we identify 10 challenges to the measurement of bioalbedo in the field with the aim of improving future experimental designs to better quantify bioalbedo feedbacks. These challenges are (1 ambiguity in terminology, (2 characterising snow or ice optical properties, (3 characterising solar irradiance, (4 determining optical properties of cells, (5 measuring biomass, (6 characterising vertical distribution of cells, (7 characterising abiotic impurities, (8 surface anisotropy, (9 measuring indirect albedo feedbacks, and (10 measurement and instrument configurations. This paper aims to provide a broad audience of glaciologists and biologists with an overview of

  18. Competition for water vapour results in suppression of ice formation in mixed-phase clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. L. Simpson

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The formation of ice in clouds can initiate precipitation and influence a cloud's reflectivity and lifetime, affecting climate to a highly uncertain degree. Nucleation of ice at elevated temperatures requires an ice nucleating particle (INP, which results in so-called heterogeneous freezing. Previously reported measurements for the ability of a particle to nucleate ice have been made in the absence of other aerosol which will act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN and are ubiquitous in the atmosphere. Here we show that CCN can outcompete INPs for available water vapour thus suppressing ice formation, which has the potential to significantly affect the Earth's radiation budget. The magnitude of this suppression is shown to be dependent on the mass of condensed water required for freezing. Here we show that ice formation in a state-of-the-art cloud parcel model is strongly dependent on the criteria for heterogeneous freezing selected from those previously hypothesised. We have developed an alternative criteria which agrees well with observations from cloud chamber experiments. This study demonstrates the dominant role that competition for water vapour can play in ice formation, highlighting both a need for clarity in the requirements for heterogeneous freezing and for measurements under atmospherically appropriate conditions.

  19. Competition for water vapour results in suppression of ice formation in mixed-phase clouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simpson, Emma L.; Connolly, Paul J.; McFiggans, Gordon

    2018-05-01

    The formation of ice in clouds can initiate precipitation and influence a cloud's reflectivity and lifetime, affecting climate to a highly uncertain degree. Nucleation of ice at elevated temperatures requires an ice nucleating particle (INP), which results in so-called heterogeneous freezing. Previously reported measurements for the ability of a particle to nucleate ice have been made in the absence of other aerosol which will act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and are ubiquitous in the atmosphere. Here we show that CCN can outcompete INPs for available water vapour thus suppressing ice formation, which has the potential to significantly affect the Earth's radiation budget. The magnitude of this suppression is shown to be dependent on the mass of condensed water required for freezing. Here we show that ice formation in a state-of-the-art cloud parcel model is strongly dependent on the criteria for heterogeneous freezing selected from those previously hypothesised. We have developed an alternative criteria which agrees well with observations from cloud chamber experiments. This study demonstrates the dominant role that competition for water vapour can play in ice formation, highlighting both a need for clarity in the requirements for heterogeneous freezing and for measurements under atmospherically appropriate conditions.

  20. Anti-icing/frosting and self-cleaning performance of superhydrophobic aluminum alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Libang; Yan, Zhongna; Shi, Xueting; Sultonzoda, Firdavs

    2018-02-01

    Ice formation and frost deposition on cryogenic equipment and systems can result in serious problems and huge economic loss. Hence, it is quite necessary to develop new materials to prevent icing and frosting on cold surfaces in engineering fields. Here, a superhydrophobic aluminum alloy with enhanced anti-frosting, anti-icing, and self-cleaning performance has been developed by a facile one-step method. The anti-frosting/icing performance of superhydrophobic aluminum alloys is confirmed by frosting/icing time delay, consolidating and freezing temperature reduction, and lower amount of frost/ice adhesion. Meanwhile, the excellent self-cleaning performance is authenticated by the fact that simulated pollution particles can be cleaned out by rolling water droplets completely. Finally, based on the classical nucleation theory, anti-icing and anti-frosting mechanisms of the superhydrophobic aluminum alloys are deduced. Results show that grounded on "air cushion" and "heat insulation" effect, a larger nucleation barrier and a lower crystal growth rate can be observed, which, hence, inhibit ice formation and frost deposition. It can be concluded that preparing superhydrophobic surfaces would be an effective strategy for improving anti-icing, anti-frosting, and self-cleaning performance of aluminum alloys.

  1. Laboratory Investigation of Contact Freezing and the Aerosol to Ice Crystal Transformation Process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaw, Raymond A. [Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States)

    2014-10-28

    This project has been focused on the following objectives: 1. Investigations of the physical processes governing immersion versus contact nucleation, specifically surface-induced crystallization; 2. Development of a quadrupole particle trap with full thermodynamic control over the temperature range 0 to –40 °C and precisely controlled water vapor saturation ratios for continuous, single-particle measurement of the aerosol to ice crystal transformation process for realistic ice nuclei; 3. Understanding the role of ice nucleation in determining the microphysical properties of mixed-phase clouds, within a framework that allows bridging between laboratory and field measurements.

  2. Longwave indirect effect of mineral dusts on ice clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Q. Min

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available In addition to microphysical changes in clouds, changes in nucleation processes of ice cloud due to aerosols would result in substantial changes in cloud top temperature as mildly supercooled clouds are glaciated through heterogenous nucleation processes. Measurements from multiple sensors on multiple observing platforms over the Atlantic Ocean show that the cloud effective temperature increases with mineral dust loading with a slope of +3.06 °C per unit aerosol optical depth. The macrophysical changes in ice cloud top distributions as a consequence of mineral dust-cloud interaction exert a strong cooling effect (up to 16 Wm−2 of thermal infrared radiation on cloud systems. Induced changes of ice particle size by mineral dusts influence cloud emissivity and play a minor role in modulating the outgoing longwave radiation for optically thin ice clouds. Such a strong cooling forcing of thermal infrared radiation would have significant impacts on cloud systems and subsequently on climate.

  3. Laboratory measurements of immersion freezing abilities of non-proteinaceous and proteinaceous biological particulate proxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cory, K.; Tobo, Y.; Murata, K.; Whiteside, C. L.; McCauley, B.; Bouma, C.; Hiranuma, N.

    2017-12-01

    Non-proteinaceous and proteinaceous biological aerosols are abundant within the atmosphere and have the potential to impact the climate through cloud and precipitation formation. In this study, we present the differences in the laboratory-measured freezing capabilities of the non-proteinaceous and proteinaceous biological materials to determine which has more potential to impact the ice nucleation in the clouds. As non-proteinaceous surrogates, we examined multiple cellulose materials (e.g., microcrystalline and nanocrystalline cellulose) whose sizes range from 100 nm to >100 μm (according to manufacturer report). For proteinaceous proxies, we looked at different gram-negative bacteria, such as Pseudamonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Citrobacter freundii, and Snomax, (which contains P. syringae) that can be found around the proximity of the Texas Panhandle. By using the Cryogenic Refrigeration Applied Freezing Test (CRAFT) system, we estimated immersion freezing efficiency (i.e., ice nucleation activity scaled to a unit of mass) of each sample at the temperatures greater than -30°C. We have observed that not all gram-negative bacteria has high immersion freezing activity, but the few do have a warmer temperature onset (>-20 °C) than the cellulose used. For those that did not exhibit substantial freezing efficiencies, they had similar freezing properties as the broth, in which the bacteria were incubated, as well as the cellulose materials examined. These observations suggest the presence and potential importance of bacterial cellulose in the atmospheric ice nucleation. From here, we need to conduct more in-depth investigation in the effects of a wider variety of atmospherically relevant biological aerosols to get a better understanding of the effects of said aerosols on overall aerosol-cloud interactions. Acknowledgments: K. Cory would like to acknowledge NSF-EAPSI and JSPS Summer Program for the travel fellowship support. N. Hiranuma

  4. The effect of mineral dust and soot aerosols on ice microphysics near the foothills of the Himalayas: A numerical investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazra, Anupam; Padmakumari, B.; Maheskumar, R. S.; Chen, Jen-Ping

    2016-05-01

    This study investigates the influence of different ice nuclei (IN) species and their number concentrations on cloud ice production. The numerical simulation with different species of ice nuclei is investigated using an explicit bulk-water microphysical scheme in a Mesoscale Meteorological Model version 5 (MM5). The species dependent ice nucleation parameterization that is based on the classical nucleation theory has been implemented into the model. The IN species considered include dust and soot with two different concentrations (Low and High). The simulated cloud microphysical properties like droplet number concentration and droplet effective radii as well as macro-properties (equivalent potential temperature and relative humidity) are comparable with aircraft observations. When higher dust IN concentrations are considered, the simulation results showed good agreement with the cloud ice and cloud water mixing ratio from aircraft measurements during Cloud Aerosol Interactions and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX) and Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) reanalysis. Relative importance of IN species is shown as compared to the homogeneous freezing nucleation process. The tendency of cloud ice production rates is also analyzed and found that dust IN is more efficient in producing cloud ice when compared to soot IN. The dust IN with high concentration can produce more surface precipitation than soot IN at the same concentration. This study highlights the need to improve the ice nucleation parameterization in numerical models.

  5. The composition of nucleation and Aitken modes particles during coastal nucleation events: evidence for marine secondary organic contribution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Vaattovaara

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Newly-formed nanometer-sized particles have been observed at coastal and marine environments world wide. Organic species have so far not been detected in those newly-formed nucleation mode particles. In this study, we applied the ultrafine organic tandem differential mobility analyzer method to study the possible existence of an organic fraction in recently formed coastal nucleation mode particles (d<20 nm at the Mace Head research station. Furthermore, effects of those nucleation events on potential cloud condensation nuclei were studied. The coastal events were typical for the Mace Head region and they occurred at low tide conditions during efficient solar radiation and enhanced biological activity in spring 2002. Additionally, a pulse height analyzer ultrafine condensation particle counter technique was used to study the composition of newly-formed particles formed in low tide conditions during a lower biological activity in October 2002. The overall results of the ultrafine organic tandem differential mobility analyzer and the pulse height analyzer ultrafine condensation particle counter measurements indicate that those coastally/marinely formed nucleation mode particles include a remarkable fraction of secondary organic products, beside iodine oxides, which are likely to be responsible for the nucleation. During clean marine air mass conditions, the origin of those secondary organic oxidation compounds can be related to marine coast and open ocean biota and thus a major fraction of the organics may originate from biosynthetic production of alkenes such as isoprene and their oxidation driven by iodine radicals, hydroxyl radicals, acid catalysis, and ozone during efficient solar radiation. During modified marine conditions, also anthropogenic secondary organic compounds may contribute to the nucleation mode organic mass, in addition to biogenic secondary organic compounds. Thus, the ultrafine organic tandem differential mobility analyzer

  6. Design, implementation and practice of JBEI-ICE: an open source biological part registry platform and tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ham, Timothy S; Dmytriv, Zinovii; Plahar, Hector; Chen, Joanna; Hillson, Nathan J; Keasling, Jay D

    2012-10-01

    The Joint BioEnergy Institute Inventory of Composable Elements (JBEI-ICEs) is an open source registry platform for managing information about biological parts. It is capable of recording information about 'legacy' parts, such as plasmids, microbial host strains and Arabidopsis seeds, as well as DNA parts in various assembly standards. ICE is built on the idea of a web of registries and thus provides strong support for distributed interconnected use. The information deposited in an ICE installation instance is accessible both via a web browser and through the web application programming interfaces, which allows automated access to parts via third-party programs. JBEI-ICE includes several useful web browser-based graphical applications for sequence annotation, manipulation and analysis that are also open source. As with open source software, users are encouraged to install, use and customize JBEI-ICE and its components for their particular purposes. As a web application programming interface, ICE provides well-developed parts storage functionality for other synthetic biology software projects. A public instance is available at public-registry.jbei.org, where users can try out features, upload parts or simply use it for their projects. The ICE software suite is available via Google Code, a hosting site for community-driven open source projects.

  7. Micro-Spectroscopic Chemical Imaging of Individual Identified Marine Biogenic and Ambient Organic Ice Nuclei (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knopf, D. A.; Alpert, P. A.; Wang, B.; OBrien, R. E.; Moffet, R. C.; Aller, J. Y.; Laskin, A.; Gilles, M.

    2013-12-01

    Atmospheric ice formation represents one of the least understood atmospheric processes with important implications for the hydrological cycle and climate. Current freezing descriptions assume that ice active sites on the particle surface initiate ice nucleation, however, the nature of these sites remains elusive. Here, we present a new experimental method that allows us to relate physical and chemical properties of individual particles with observed water uptake and ice nucleation ability using a combination of micro-spectroscopic and optical single particle analytical techniques. We apply this method to field-collected particles and particles generated via bursting of bubbles produced by glass frit aeration and plunging water impingement jets in a mesocosm containing artificial sea water and bacteria and/or phytoplankton. The most efficient ice nuclei (IN) within a particle population are identified and characterized. Single particle characterization is achieved by computer controlled scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (CCSEM/EDX) and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy with near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. A vapor controlled cooling-stage coupled to an optical microscope is used to determine the onsets of water uptake, immersion freezing, and deposition ice nucleation of the individual particles as a function of temperature (T) as low as 200 K and relative humidity (RH) up to water saturation. In addition, we perform CCSEM/EDX to obtain on a single particle level the elemental composition of the entire particle population. Thus, we can determine if the IN are exceptional in nature or belong to a major particle type class with respect to composition and size. We find that ambient and sea spray particles are coated by organic material and can induce ice formation under tropospheric relevant conditions. Micro-spectroscopic single particle analysis of the investigated particle samples invokes a potential

  8. Ice nucleating particles from a large-scale sampling network: insight into geographic and temporal variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrod, Jann; Weber, Daniel; Thomson, Erik S.; Pöhlker, Christopher; Saturno, Jorge; Artaxo, Paulo; Curtius, Joachim; Bingemer, Heinz

    2017-04-01

    The number concentration of ice nucleating particles (INP) is an important, yet under quantified atmospheric parameter. The temporal and geographic extent of observations worldwide remains relatively small, with many regions of the world (even whole continents and oceans), almost completely unrepresented by observational data. Measurements at pristine sites are particularly rare, but all the more valuable because such observations are necessary to estimate the pre-industrial baseline of aerosol and cloud related parameters that are needed to better understand the climate system and forecast future scenarios. As a partner of BACCHUS we began in September 2014 to operate an INP measurement network of four sampling stations, with a global geographic distribution. The stations are located at unique sites reaching from the Arctic to the equator: the Amazonian Tall Tower Observatory ATTO in Brazil, the Observatoire Volcanologique et Sismologique on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, the Zeppelin Observatory at Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic and the Taunus Observatory near Frankfurt, Germany. Since 2014 samples were collected regularly by electrostatic precipitation of aerosol particles onto silicon substrates. The INP on the substrate are activated and analyzed in the isothermal static diffusion chamber FRIDGE at temperatures between -20°C and -30°C and relative humidity with respect to ice from 115 to 135%. Here we present data from the years 2015 and 2016 from this novel INP network and from selected campaign-based measurements from remote sites, including the Mt. Kenya GAW station. Acknowledgements The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) project BACCHUS under grant agreement No 603445 and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under the Research Unit FOR 1525 (INUIT).

  9. Regulation of microtubule nucleation mediated by gamma-tubulin complexes

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Sulimenko, Vadym; Hájková, Zuzana; Klebanovych, Anastasiya; Dráber, Pavel

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 254, č. 3 (2017), s. 1187-1199 ISSN 0033-183X R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LD13015 Institutional support: RVO:68378050 Keywords : mitotic spindle formation * ring complex * fission yeast * organizing centers * protein complex * golgi-complex * cell-cycle * pole body * augmin * centrosome * Centrosomes * Microtubule nucleation * Microtubule-organizing centers * Non-centrosomal nucleation sites * Spindle pole bodies * gamma-Tubulin complexes Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology OBOR OECD: Cell biology Impact factor: 2.870, year: 2016

  10. Studies of propane flame soot acting as heterogeneous ice nuclei in conjunction with single particle soot photometer measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Crawford

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The ice nucleation efficiency of propane flame soot particles with and without a sulphuric acid coating was investigated using the aerosol and cloud chamber facility AIDA (Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere. The test soot for cloud formation simulations was produced using a propane flame Combustion Aerosol Standard generator (CAST, Jing-CAST Technologies. The organic carbon content (OC of the test soot was altered in a reproducible fashion by changing the fuel/air mixture of the generator. The soot content of ice nuclei was subsequently investigated using a combination of a pumped counterflow virtual impactor (PCVI to separate and evaporate the ice crystals, and a DMT single particle soot photometer (SP2 to examine the mixing state of the BC containing ice residuals.

    Ice nucleation was found to be most efficient for uncoated soot of low organic carbon content (~5 % organic carbon content where deposition freezing occurred at an ice saturation ratio Sice ~ 1.22 at a temperature T = 226.6 K with 25 % of the test soot becoming active as ice nuclei. Propane flame soot of higher organic carbon content (~30 % and ~70 % organic carbon content showed significantly lower ice nucleation efficiency (an activated fraction of the order of a few percent in the experiments than the low organic carbon content soot, with water saturation being required for freezing to occur. Ice nucleation occurred over the range Sice = 1.22–1.70, and T = 223.2–226.6 K. Analysis of the SP2 data showed that the 5 % organic carbon content soot had an undetectable OC coating whereas the 30 % organic carbon content soot had a thicker or less volatile OC coating.

    The application of a sulphuric acid coating to the flame soot shifted the threshold of the onset of freezing towards that of the homogeneous freezing of sulphuric acid; for the minimum OC flame soot this inhibited nucleation since the

  11. The Relevance of Grain Dissection for Grain Size Reduction in Polar Ice: Insights from Numerical Models and Ice Core Microstructure Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Steinbach

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The flow of ice depends on the properties of the aggregate of individual ice crystals, such as grain size or lattice orientation distributions. Therefore, an understanding of the processes controlling ice micro-dynamics is needed to ultimately develop a physically based macroscopic ice flow law. We investigated the relevance of the process of grain dissection as a grain-size-modifying process in natural ice. For that purpose, we performed numerical multi-process microstructure modeling and analyzed microstructure and crystallographic orientation maps from natural deep ice-core samples from the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM project. Full crystallographic orientations measured by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD have been used together with c-axis orientations using an optical technique (Fabric Analyser. Grain dissection is a feature of strain-induced grain boundary migration. During grain dissection, grain boundaries bulge into a neighboring grain in an area of high dislocation energy and merge with the opposite grain boundary. This splits the high dislocation-energy grain into two parts, effectively decreasing the local grain size. Currently, grain size reduction in ice is thought to be achieved by either the progressive transformation from dislocation walls into new high-angle grain boundaries, called subgrain rotation or polygonisation, or bulging nucleation that is assisted by subgrain rotation. Both our time-resolved numerical modeling and NEEM ice core samples show that grain dissection is a common mechanism during ice deformation and can provide an efficient process to reduce grain sizes and counter-act dynamic grain-growth in addition to polygonisation or bulging nucleation. Thus, our results show that solely strain-induced boundary migration, in absence of subgrain rotation, can reduce grain sizes in polar ice, in particular if strain energy gradients are high. We describe the microstructural characteristics that can be

  12. The relevance of grain dissection for grain size reduction in polar ice: insights from numerical models and ice core microstructure analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinbach, Florian; Kuiper, Ernst-Jan N.; Eichler, Jan; Bons, Paul D.; Drury, Martyn R.; Griera, Albert; Pennock, Gill M.; Weikusat, Ilka

    2017-09-01

    The flow of ice depends on the properties of the aggregate of individual ice crystals, such as grain size or lattice orientation distributions. Therefore, an understanding of the processes controlling ice micro-dynamics is needed to ultimately develop a physically based macroscopic ice flow law. We investigated the relevance of the process of grain dissection as a grain-size-modifying process in natural ice. For that purpose, we performed numerical multi-process microstructure modelling and analysed microstructure and crystallographic orientation maps from natural deep ice-core samples from the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) project. Full crystallographic orientations measured by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) have been used together with c-axis orientations using an optical technique (Fabric Analyser). Grain dissection is a feature of strain-induced grain boundary migration. During grain dissection, grain boundaries bulge into a neighbouring grain in an area of high dislocation energy and merge with the opposite grain boundary. This splits the high dislocation-energy grain into two parts, effectively decreasing the local grain size. Currently, grain size reduction in ice is thought to be achieved by either the progressive transformation from dislocation walls into new high-angle grain boundaries, called subgrain rotation or polygonisation, or bulging nucleation that is assisted by subgrain rotation. Both our time-resolved numerical modelling and NEEM ice core samples show that grain dissection is a common mechanism during ice deformation and can provide an efficient process to reduce grain sizes and counter-act dynamic grain-growth in addition to polygonisation or bulging nucleation. Thus, our results show that solely strain-induced boundary migration, in absence of subgrain rotation, can reduce grain sizes in polar ice, in particular if strain energy gradients are high. We describe the microstructural characteristics that can be used to

  13. Observing Physical and Biological Drivers of pH and O2 in a Seasonal Ice Zone in the Ross Sea Using Profiling Float Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briggs, E.; Martz, T. R.; Talley, L. D.; Mazloff, M. R.

    2015-12-01

    Ice cover has strong influence over gas exchange, vertical stability, and biological production which are critical to understanding the Southern Ocean's central role in oceanic biogeochemical cycling and heat and carbon uptake under a changing climate. However the relative influence of physical versus biological processes in this hard-to-study region is poorly understood due to limited observations. Here we present new findings from a profiling float equipped with biogeochemical sensors in the seasonal ice zone of the Ross Sea capturing, for the first time, under-ice pH profile data over a two year timespan from 2014 to the present. The relative influence of physical (e.g. vertical mixing and air-sea gas exchange) and biological (e.g. production and respiration) drivers of pH and O2 within the mixed layer are explored during the phases of ice formation, ice cover, and ice melt over the two seasonal cycles. During the austral fall just prior to and during ice formation, O2 increases as expected due to surface-layer undersaturation and enhanced gas exchange. A small increase in pH is also observed during this phase, but without a biological signal in accompanying profiling float chlorophyll data, which goes against common reasoning from both a biological and physical standpoint. During the phase of ice cover, gas exchange is inhibited and a clear respiration signal is observed in pH and O2 data from which respiration rates are calculated. In the austral spring, ice melt gives rise to substantial ice edge phytoplankton blooms indicated by O2 supersaturation and corresponding increase in pH and large chlorophyll signal. The influence of the duration of ice cover and mixed layer depth on the magnitude of the ice edge blooms is explored between the two seasonal cycles.

  14. Crystal Nucleation in Liquids: Open Questions and Future Challenges in Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sosso, Gabriele C; Chen, Ji; Cox, Stephen J; Fitzner, Martin; Pedevilla, Philipp; Zen, Andrea; Michaelides, Angelos

    2016-06-22

    The nucleation of crystals in liquids is one of nature's most ubiquitous phenomena, playing an important role in areas such as climate change and the production of drugs. As the early stages of nucleation involve exceedingly small time and length scales, atomistic computer simulations can provide unique insights into the microscopic aspects of crystallization. In this review, we take stock of the numerous molecular dynamics simulations that, in the past few decades, have unraveled crucial aspects of crystal nucleation in liquids. We put into context the theoretical framework of classical nucleation theory and the state-of-the-art computational methods by reviewing simulations of such processes as ice nucleation and the crystallization of molecules in solutions. We shall see that molecular dynamics simulations have provided key insights into diverse nucleation scenarios, ranging from colloidal particles to natural gas hydrates, and that, as a result, the general applicability of classical nucleation theory has been repeatedly called into question. We have attempted to identify the most pressing open questions in the field. We believe that, by improving (i) existing interatomic potentials and (ii) currently available enhanced sampling methods, the community can move toward accurate investigations of realistic systems of practical interest, thus bringing simulations a step closer to experiments.

  15. Characterization of individual ice residual particles by the single droplet freezing method: a case study in the Asian dust outflow region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwata, Ayumi; Matsuki, Atsushi

    2018-02-01

    In order to better characterize ice nucleating (IN) aerosol particles in the atmosphere, we investigated the chemical composition, mixing state, and morphology of atmospheric aerosols that nucleate ice under conditions relevant for mixed-phase clouds. Five standard mineral dust samples (quartz, K-feldspar, Na-feldspar, Arizona test dust, and Asian dust source particles) were compared with actual aerosol particles collected from the west coast of Japan (the city of Kanazawa) during Asian dust events in February and April 2016. Following droplet activation by particles deposited on a hydrophobic Si (silicon) wafer substrate under supersaturated air, individual IN particles were located using an optical microscope by gradually cooling the temperature to -30 °C. For the aerosol samples, both the IN active particles and non-active particles were analyzed individually by atomic force microscopy (AFM), micro-Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Heterogeneous ice nucleation in all standard mineral dust samples tested in this study was observed at consistently higher temperatures (e.g., -22.2 to -24.2 °C with K-feldspar) than the homogeneous freezing temperature (-36.5 °C). Meanwhile, most of the IN active atmospheric particles formed ice below -28 °C, i.e., at lower temperatures than the standard mineral dust samples of pure components. The most abundant IN active particles above -30 °C were predominantly irregular solid particles that showed clay mineral characteristics (or mixtures of several mineral components). Other than clay, Ca-rich particles internally mixed with other components, such as sulfate, were also regarded as IN active particle types. Moreover, sea salt particles were predominantly found in the non-active fraction, and internal mixing with sea salt clearly acted as a significant inhibiting agent for the ice nucleation activity of mineral dust particles. Also, relatively

  16. Improving Heat Transfer at the Bottom of Vials for Consistent Freeze Drying with Unidirectional Structured Ice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosa, Mónica; Tiago, João M; Singh, Satish K; Geraldes, Vítor; Rodrigues, Miguel A

    2016-10-01

    The quality of lyophilized products is dependent of the ice structure formed during the freezing step. Herein, we evaluate the importance of the air gap at the bottom of lyophilization vials for consistent nucleation, ice structure, and cake appearance. The bottom of lyophilization vials was modified by attaching a rectified aluminum disc with an adhesive material. Freezing was studied for normal and converted vials, with different volumes of solution, varying initial solution temperature (from 5°C to 20°C) and shelf temperature (from -20°C to -40°C). The impact of the air gap on the overall heat transfer was interpreted with the assistance of a computational fluid dynamics model. Converted vials caused nucleation at the bottom and decreased the nucleation time up to one order of magnitude. The formation of ice crystals unidirectionally structured from bottom to top lead to a honeycomb-structured cake after lyophilization of a solution with 4% mannitol. The primary drying time was reduced by approximately 35%. Converted vials that were frozen radially instead of bottom-up showed similar improvements compared with normal vials but very poor cake quality. Overall, the curvature of the bottom of glass vials presents a considerable threat to consistency by delaying nucleation and causing radial ice growth. Rectifying the vials bottom with an adhesive material revealed to be a relatively simple alternative to overcome this inconsistency.

  17. Modeling the Hydrological Cycle in the Atmosphere of Mars: Influence of a Bimodal Size Distribution of Aerosol Nucleation Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaposhnikov, Dmitry S.; Rodin, Alexander V.; Medvedev, Alexander S.; Fedorova, Anna A.; Kuroda, Takeshi; Hartogh, Paul

    2018-02-01

    We present a new implementation of the hydrological cycle scheme into a general circulation model of the Martian atmosphere. The model includes a semi-Lagrangian transport scheme for water vapor and ice and accounts for microphysics of phase transitions between them. The hydrological scheme includes processes of saturation, nucleation, particle growth, sublimation, and sedimentation under the assumption of a variable size distribution. The scheme has been implemented into the Max Planck Institute Martian general circulation model and tested assuming monomodal and bimodal lognormal distributions of ice condensation nuclei. We present a comparison of the simulated annual variations, horizontal and vertical distributions of water vapor, and ice clouds with the available observations from instruments on board Mars orbiters. The accounting for bimodality of aerosol particle distribution improves the simulations of the annual hydrological cycle, including predicted ice clouds mass, opacity, number density, and particle radii. The increased number density and lower nucleation rates bring the simulated cloud opacities closer to observations. Simulations show a weak effect of the excess of small aerosol particles on the simulated water vapor distributions.

  18. Effect of particle surface area on ice active site densities retrieved from droplet freezing spectra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Beydoun

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Heterogeneous ice nucleation remains one of the outstanding problems in cloud physics and atmospheric science. Experimental challenges in properly simulating particle-induced freezing processes under atmospherically relevant conditions have largely contributed to the absence of a well-established parameterization of immersion freezing properties. Here, we formulate an ice active, surface-site-based stochastic model of heterogeneous freezing with the unique feature of invoking a continuum assumption on the ice nucleating activity (contact angle of an aerosol particle's surface that requires no assumptions about the size or number of active sites. The result is a particle-specific property g that defines a distribution of local ice nucleation rates. Upon integration, this yields a full freezing probability function for an ice nucleating particle. Current cold plate droplet freezing measurements provide a valuable and inexpensive resource for studying the freezing properties of many atmospheric aerosol systems. We apply our g framework to explain the observed dependence of the freezing temperature of droplets in a cold plate on the concentration of the particle species investigated. Normalizing to the total particle mass or surface area present to derive the commonly used ice nuclei active surface (INAS density (ns often cannot account for the effects of particle concentration, yet concentration is typically varied to span a wider measurable freezing temperature range. A method based on determining what is denoted an ice nucleating species' specific critical surface area is presented and explains the concentration dependence as a result of increasing the variability in ice nucleating active sites between droplets. By applying this method to experimental droplet freezing data from four different systems, we demonstrate its ability to interpret immersion freezing temperature spectra of droplets containing variable particle concentrations. It is shown

  19. A classical view on nonclassical nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smeets, Paul J M; Finney, Aaron R; Habraken, Wouter J E M; Nudelman, Fabio; Friedrich, Heiner; Laven, Jozua; De Yoreo, James J; Rodger, P Mark; Sommerdijk, Nico A J M

    2017-09-19

    Understanding and controlling nucleation is important for many crystallization applications. Calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) is often used as a model system to investigate nucleation mechanisms. Despite its great importance in geology, biology, and many industrial applications, CaCO 3 nucleation is still a topic of intense discussion, with new pathways for its growth from ions in solution proposed in recent years. These new pathways include the so-called nonclassical nucleation mechanism via the assembly of thermodynamically stable prenucleation clusters, as well as the formation of a dense liquid precursor phase via liquid-liquid phase separation. Here, we present results from a combined experimental and computational investigation on the precipitation of CaCO 3 in dilute aqueous solutions. We propose that a dense liquid phase (containing 4-7 H 2 O per CaCO 3 unit) forms in supersaturated solutions through the association of ions and ion pairs without significant participation of larger ion clusters. This liquid acts as the precursor for the formation of solid CaCO 3 in the form of vaterite, which grows via a net transfer of ions from solution according to z Ca 2+ + z CO 3 2- → z CaCO 3 The results show that all steps in this process can be explained according to classical concepts of crystal nucleation and growth, and that long-standing physical concepts of nucleation can describe multistep, multiphase growth mechanisms.

  20. Sensitivity of Cirrus and Mixed-phase Clouds to the Ice Nuclei Spectra in McRAS-AC: Single Column Model Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betancourt, R. Morales; Lee, D.; Oreopoulos, L.; Sud, Y. C.; Barahona, D.; Nenes, A.

    2012-01-01

    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 approximately 260K, 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 20 average values of IWP within plus or minus 15% of the observations.

  1. Arctic sea ice melt leads to atmospheric new particle formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dall Osto, M; Beddows, D C S; Tunved, P; Krejci, R; Ström, J; Hansson, H-C; Yoon, Y J; Park, Ki-Tae; Becagli, S; Udisti, R; Onasch, T; O Dowd, C D; Simó, R; Harrison, Roy M

    2017-06-12

    Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) and growth significantly influences climate by supplying new seeds for cloud condensation and brightness. Currently, there is a lack of understanding of whether and how marine biota emissions affect aerosol-cloud-climate interactions in the Arctic. Here, the aerosol population was categorised via cluster analysis of aerosol size distributions taken at Mt Zeppelin (Svalbard) during a 11 year record. The daily temporal occurrence of NPF events likely caused by nucleation in the polar marine boundary layer was quantified annually as 18%, with a peak of 51% during summer months. Air mass trajectory analysis and atmospheric nitrogen and sulphur tracers link these frequent nucleation events to biogenic precursors released by open water and melting sea ice regions. The occurrence of such events across a full decade was anti-correlated with sea ice extent. New particles originating from open water and open pack ice increased the cloud condensation nuclei concentration background by at least ca. 20%, supporting a marine biosphere-climate link through sea ice melt and low altitude clouds that may have contributed to accelerate Arctic warming. Our results prompt a better representation of biogenic aerosol sources in Arctic climate models.

  2. Two types of amorphous protein particles facilitate crystal nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamazaki, Tomoya; Kimura, Yuki; Vekilov, Peter G; Furukawa, Erika; Shirai, Manabu; Matsumoto, Hiroaki; Van Driessche, Alexander E S; Tsukamoto, Katsuo

    2017-02-28

    Nucleation, the primary step in crystallization, dictates the number of crystals, the distribution of their sizes, the polymorph selection, and other crucial properties of the crystal population. We used time-resolved liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to perform an in situ examination of the nucleation of lysozyme crystals. Our TEM images revealed that mesoscopic clusters, which are similar to those previously assumed to consist of a dense liquid and serve as nucleation precursors, are actually amorphous solid particles (ASPs) and act only as heterogeneous nucleation sites. Crystalline phases never form inside them. We demonstrate that a crystal appears within a noncrystalline particle assembling lysozyme on an ASP or a container wall, highlighting the role of heterogeneous nucleation. These findings represent a significant departure from the existing formulation of the two-step nucleation mechanism while reaffirming the role of noncrystalline particles. The insights gained may have significant implications in areas that rely on the production of protein crystals, such as structural biology, pharmacy, and biophysics, and for the fundamental understanding of crystallization mechanisms.

  3. Selected physical, biological and biogeochemical implications of a rapidly changing Arctic Marginal Ice Zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barber, David G.; Hop, Haakon; Mundy, Christopher J.; Else, Brent; Dmitrenko, Igor A.; Tremblay, Jean-Eric; Ehn, Jens K.; Assmy, Philipp; Daase, Malin; Candlish, Lauren M.; Rysgaard, Søren

    2015-12-01

    The Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) of the Arctic Ocean is changing rapidly due to a warming Arctic climate with commensurate reductions in sea ice extent and thickness. This Pan-Arctic review summarizes the main changes in the Arctic ocean-sea ice-atmosphere (OSA) interface, with implications for primary- and secondary producers in the ice and the underlying water column. Changes in the Arctic MIZ were interpreted for the period 1979-2010, based on best-fit regressions for each month. Trends of increasingly open water were statistically significant for each month, with quadratic fit for August-November, illustrating particularly strong seasonal feedbacks in sea-ice formation and decay. Geographic interpretations of physical and biological changes were based on comparison of regions with significant changes in sea ice: (1) The Pacific Sector of the Arctic Ocean including the Canada Basin and the Beaufort, Chukchi and East Siberian seas; (2) The Canadian Arctic Archipelago; (3) Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay; and (4) the Barents and Kara seas. Changes in ice conditions in the Barents sea/Kara sea region appear to be primarily forced by ocean heat fluxes during winter, whereas changes in the other sectors appear to be more summer-autumn related and primarily atmospherically forced. Effects of seasonal and regional changes in OSA-system with regard to increased open water were summarized for photosynthetically available radiation, nutrient delivery to the euphotic zone, primary production of ice algae and phytoplankton, ice-associated fauna and zooplankton, and gas exchange of CO2. Changes in the physical factors varied amongst regions, and showed direct effects on organisms linked to sea ice. Zooplankton species appear to be more flexible and likely able to adapt to variability in the onset of primary production. The major changes identified for the ice-associated ecosystem are with regard to production timing and abundance or biomass of ice flora and fauna, which are related to

  4. Heterogeneous Formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds- Part 1: Nucleation of Nitric Acid Trihydrate (NAT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoyle, C. R.; Engel, I.; Luo, B. P.; Pitts, M. C.; Poole, L. R.; Grooss, J.-U.; Peter, T.

    2013-01-01

    Satellite-based observations during the Arctic winter of 2009/2010 provide firm evidence that, in contrast to the current understanding, the nucleation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) in the polar stratosphere does not only occur on preexisting ice particles. In order to explain the NAT clouds observed over the Arctic in mid-December 2009, a heterogeneous nucleation mechanism is required, occurring via immersion freezing on the surface of solid particles, likely of meteoritic origin. For the first time, a detailed microphysical modelling of this NAT formation pathway has been carried out. Heterogeneous NAT formation was calculated along more than sixty thousand trajectories, ending at Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) observation points. Comparing the optical properties of the modelled NAT with these observations enabled a thorough validation of a newly developed NAT nucleation parameterisation, which has been built into the Zurich Optical and Microphysical box Model (ZOMM). The parameterisation is based on active site theory, is simple to implement in models and provides substantial advantages over previous approaches which involved a constant rate of NAT nucleation in a given volume of air. It is shown that the new method is capable of reproducing observed polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) very well, despite the varied conditions experienced by air parcels travelling along the different trajectories. In a companion paper, ZOMM is applied to a later period of the winter, when ice PSCs are also present, and it is shown that the observed PSCs are also represented extremely well under these conditions.

  5. Characterization of individual ice residual particles by the single droplet freezing method: a case study in the Asian dust outflow region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Iwata

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available In order to better characterize ice nucleating (IN aerosol particles in the atmosphere, we investigated the chemical composition, mixing state, and morphology of atmospheric aerosols that nucleate ice under conditions relevant for mixed-phase clouds. Five standard mineral dust samples (quartz, K-feldspar, Na-feldspar, Arizona test dust, and Asian dust source particles were compared with actual aerosol particles collected from the west coast of Japan (the city of Kanazawa during Asian dust events in February and April 2016. Following droplet activation by particles deposited on a hydrophobic Si (silicon wafer substrate under supersaturated air, individual IN particles were located using an optical microscope by gradually cooling the temperature to −30 °C. For the aerosol samples, both the IN active particles and non-active particles were analyzed individually by atomic force microscopy (AFM, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX. Heterogeneous ice nucleation in all standard mineral dust samples tested in this study was observed at consistently higher temperatures (e.g., −22.2 to −24.2 °C with K-feldspar than the homogeneous freezing temperature (−36.5 °C. Meanwhile, most of the IN active atmospheric particles formed ice below −28 °C, i.e., at lower temperatures than the standard mineral dust samples of pure components. The most abundant IN active particles above −30 °C were predominantly irregular solid particles that showed clay mineral characteristics (or mixtures of several mineral components. Other than clay, Ca-rich particles internally mixed with other components, such as sulfate, were also regarded as IN active particle types. Moreover, sea salt particles were predominantly found in the non-active fraction, and internal mixing with sea salt clearly acted as a significant inhibiting agent for the ice nucleation activity of mineral

  6. Stick-slip Cycles and Tidal Modulation of Ice Stream Flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipovsky, B.; Dunham, E. M.

    2016-12-01

    The reactivation of a single dormant Antarctic ice stream would double the continent's mass imbalance. Despite importance of understanding the likelihood of such an event, direct observation of the basal processes that lead to the activation and stagnation of streaming ice are minimal. As the only ice stream undergoing stagnation, the Whillans Ice Plain (WIP) occupies a central role in our understanding of these subglacial processes. Complicating matters is the observation, from GPS records, that the WIP experiences most of its motion during episodes of rapid sliding. These sliding events are tidally modulated and separated by 12 hour periods of quiescence. We conduct numerical simulations of ice stream stick-slip cycles. Our simulations include rate- and state-dependent frictional sliding, tidal forcing, inertia, upstream loading in a cross-stream, thickness-averaged formulation. Our principal finding is that ice stream motion may respond to ocean tidal forcing with one of two end member behaviors. In one limit, tidally modulated slip events have rupture velocities that approach the shear wave speed and slip events have a duration that scales with the ice stream width divided by the shear wave speed. In the other limit, tidal modulation results in ice stream sliding velocities with lower amplitude variation but at much longer timescales, i.e. semi-diurnal and longer. This latter behavior more closely mimics the behavior of several active ice streams (Bindschadler, Rutford). We find that WIP slip events exist between these two end member behaviors: rupture velocities are far below the inertial limit yet sliding occurs only episodically. The continuum of sliding behaviors is governed by a critical ice stream width over which slip event nucleate. When the critical width is much longer than the ice stream width, slip events are unable to nucleate. The critical width depends on the subglacial effective pressure, ice thickness, and frictional and elastic constitutive

  7. Physical and chemical properties of ice residuals during the 2013 and 2014 CLACE campaigns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kupiszewski, Piotr; Weingartner, Ernest; Vochezer, Paul; Hammer, Emanuel; Gysel, Martin; Färber, Raphael; Fuchs, Claudia; Schnaiter, Martin; Baltensperger, Urs; Schmidt, Susan; Schneider, Johannes; Bigi, Alessandro; Toprak, Emre; Linke, Claudia; Klimach, Thomas

    2014-05-01

    The shortcomings in our understanding and, thus, representation of aerosol-cloud interactions are one of the major sources of uncertainty in climate model projections. Among the poorly understood processes is mixed-phase cloud formation via heterogeneous nucleation, and the subsequent spatial and temporal evolution of such clouds. Cloud glaciation augments precipitation formation, resulting in decreased cloud cover and lifetime, and affects cloud radiative properties. Meanwhile, the physical and chemical properties of atmospherically relevant ice nuclei (IN), the sub-population of aerosol particles which enable heterogeneous nucleation, are not well known. Extraction of ice residuals (IR) in mixed-phase clouds is a difficult task, requiring separation of the few small, freshly formed ice crystals (the IR within such crystals can be deemed representative of the original IN) not only from interstitial particles, but also from the numerous supercooled droplets which have aerodynamic diameters similar to those of the ice crystals. In order to address the difficulties with ice crystal sampling and IR extraction in mixed-phase clouds, the new Ice Selective Inlet (ISI) has been designed and deployed at the Jungfraujoch field site. Small ice crystals are selectively sampled via the inlet with simultaneous counting, sizing and imaging of hydrometeors contained in the cloud by a set of optical particle spectrometers, namely Welas optical particle counters (OPC) and a Particle Phase Discriminator (PPD). The heart of the ISI is a droplet evaporation unit with ice-covered inner walls, resulting in removal of droplets using the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process, while transmitting a relatively high fraction of small ice crystals. The ISI was deployed in the winters of 2013 and 2014 at the high alpine Jungfraujoch site (3580 m.a.s.l) during the intensive CLACE field campaigns. The measurements focused on analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of IR and the

  8. Ambient and laboratory measurements of ice nuclei and their biological faction with the Fast Ice Nuclei CHamber FINCH-HALO using the new 405nm Version of the BIO-IN Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bundke, U.; Nillius, B.; Bingemer, H.; Curtius, J.

    2012-04-01

    We have designed the BIO-IN detector as part of the ice nucleus counter FINCH (Fast Ice Nuclei CHamber counter) to distinguish activated Ice Nuclei (IN) ice crystals from water droplets (CCN) (Bundke et al. 2008) and their fraction of biological origin (Bundke 2010). The modified BIO-IN sensor illuminates an aerosol stream with a 405 nm laser, replacing a 365nm LED of the original BIO IN design. Particles will scatter the light and those of biological origin will show intrinsic fluorescence emissions by excitation of mainly Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2. The incident laser light is circularly polarized by introducing a quarter-wave-plate. The circular depolarization ratio (p44/p11) of the scattering matrix is measured in the backward direction by two photomultipliers at 110° scattering angle using a combination of quarter-wave-plate and a beam splitting cube to analyze the two circular polarization components. The detection limit was lowered towards particle size of about 400nm diameter (non activated particles). It is now possible to calculate the activated fraction of IN of biological origin with respect to all biological particles measured with one detector. The performance of the sensor will be demonstrated showing the circular- depolarization properties of different test aerosol, dust samples, volcanic ashes as well as different biological particles. Measurements on the mountain Puy de Dôme of IN number concentration of ambient air, as well as measurements at the AIDA facility in Karlsruhe of the IN activation curves from different bacteria are shown. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the German Research Foundation, Grant: BU 1432/3-2 BU 1432/4-1

  9. Rainfall drives atmospheric ice-nucleating particles in the coastal climate of southern Norway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Conen

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Ice-nucleating particles (INPs active at modest supercooling (e.g. −8 °C; INP−8 can transform clouds from liquid to mixed phase, even at very small number concentrations (< 10 m−3. Over the course of 15 months, we found very similar patterns in weekly concentrations of INP−8 in PM10 (median  =  1.7 m−3, maximum  =  10.1 m−3 and weekly amounts of rainfall (median  =  28 mm, maximum  =  153 mm at Birkenes, southern Norway. Most INP−8 were probably aerosolised locally by the impact of raindrops on plant, litter and soil surfaces. Major snowfall and heavy rain onto snow-covered ground were not mirrored by enhanced numbers of INP−8. Further, transport model calculations for large (> 4 m−3 and small (< 4 m−3 numbers of INP−8 revealed that potential source regions likely to provide precipitation to southern Norway were associated with large numbers of INP−8. The proportion of land cover and land use type in potential source regions was similar for large and small numbers of INP−8. In PM2. 5 we found consistently about half as many INP−8 as in PM10. From mid-May to mid-September, INP−8 correlated positively with the fungal spore markers arabitol and mannitol, suggesting that some fraction of INP−8 during that period may consist of fungal spores. In the future, warmer winters with more rain instead of snow may enhance airborne concentrations of INP−8 during the cold season in southern Norway and in other regions with a similar climate.

  10. Experimental Study on Ice Forming Process of Cryogenic Liquid Releasing underwater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Bin; Wu, Wanqing; Zhang, Xingdong; Zhang, Yi; Zhang, Chuanlin; Zhang, Haoran; Wang, Peng

    2017-11-01

    Cryogenic liquid releasing into water would be a process combines hyperactive boiling with ice forming. There are still few researches on the experimental study on the environmental conditions for deciding ice forming speed and liquid surviving state. In this paper, to advance our understanding of ice forming deciding factors in the process of LN2 releasing underwater, a visualization experimental system is built. The results show that the pressure difference significantly influences the ice forming speed and liquid surviving distance, which is observed by the experiment and theoretically analysed by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Adding nucleating agent is helpful to provide ice nucleus which can accelerate the ice forming speed. Water flowing has some effect on changing pressure difference, which can affect the ice forming speed and liquid surviving distance.

  11. Mammalian amyloidogenic proteins promote prion nucleation in yeast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandramowlishwaran, Pavithra; Sun, Meng; Casey, Kristin L; Romanyuk, Andrey V; Grizel, Anastasiya V; Sopova, Julia V; Rubel, Aleksandr A; Nussbaum-Krammer, Carmen; Vorberg, Ina M; Chernoff, Yury O

    2018-03-02

    Fibrous cross-β aggregates (amyloids) and their transmissible forms (prions) cause diseases in mammals (including humans) and control heritable traits in yeast. Initial nucleation of a yeast prion by transiently overproduced prion-forming protein or its (typically, QN-rich) prion domain is efficient only in the presence of another aggregated (in most cases, QN-rich) protein. Here, we demonstrate that a fusion of the prion domain of yeast protein Sup35 to some non-QN-rich mammalian proteins, associated with amyloid diseases, promotes nucleation of Sup35 prions in the absence of pre-existing aggregates. In contrast, both a fusion of the Sup35 prion domain to a multimeric non-amyloidogenic protein and the expression of a mammalian amyloidogenic protein that is not fused to the Sup35 prion domain failed to promote prion nucleation, further indicating that physical linkage of a mammalian amyloidogenic protein to the prion domain of a yeast protein is required for the nucleation of a yeast prion. Biochemical and cytological approaches confirmed the nucleation of protein aggregates in the yeast cell. Sequence alterations antagonizing or enhancing amyloidogenicity of human amyloid-β (associated with Alzheimer's disease) and mouse prion protein (associated with prion diseases), respectively, antagonized or enhanced nucleation of a yeast prion by these proteins. The yeast-based prion nucleation assay, developed in our work, can be employed for mutational dissection of amyloidogenic proteins. We anticipate that it will aid in the identification of chemicals that influence initial amyloid nucleation and in searching for new amyloidogenic proteins in a variety of proteomes. © 2018 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  12. Physical and chemical characterization of bioaerosols - Implications for nucleation processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ariya, P. A.; Sun, J.; Eltouny, N. A.; Hudson, E. D.; Hayes, C. T.; Kos, G.

    The importance of organic compounds in the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere, and as cloud condensation and ice-forming nuclei, has been recognized for several decades. Organic compounds comprise a significant fraction of the suspended matter mass, leading to local (e.g. toxicity, health hazards) and global (e.g. climate change) impacts. The state of knowledge of the physical chemistry of organic aerosols has increased during the last few decades. However, due to their complex chemistry and the multifaceted processes in which they are involved, the importance of organic aerosols, particularly bioaerosols, in driving physical and chemical atmospheric processes is still very uncertain and poorly understood. Factors such as solubility, surface tension, chemical impurities, volatility, morphology, contact angle, deliquescence, wettability, and the oxidation process are pivotal in the understanding of the activation processes of cloud droplets, and their chemical structures, solubilities and even the molecular configuration of the microbial outer membrane, all impact ice and cloud nucleation processes in the atmosphere. The aim of this review paper is to assess the current state of knowledge regarding chemical and physical characterization of bioaerosols with a focus on those properties important in nucleation processes. We herein discuss the potential importance (or lack thereof) of physical and chemical properties of bioaerosols and illustrate how the knowledge of these properties can be employed to study nucleation processes using a modeling exercise. We also outline a list of major uncertainties due to a lack of understanding of the processes involved or lack of available data. We will also discuss key issues of atmospheric significance deserving future physical chemistry research in the fields of bioaerosol characterization and microphysics, as well as bioaerosol modeling. These fundamental questions are to be addressed prior to any definite conclusions on the

  13. Fungal spores as potential ice nuclei in fog/cloud water and snow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, Heidi; Goncalves, Fabio L. T.; Schueller, Elisabeth; Puxbaum, Hans

    2010-05-01

    INTRODUCTION: In discussions about climate change and precipitation frequency biological ice nucleation has become an issue. While bacterial ice nucleation (IN) is already well characterized and even utilized in industrial processes such as the production of artificial snow or to improve freezing processes in food industry, less is known about the IN potential of fungal spores which are also ubiquitous in the atmosphere. A recent study performed at a mountain top in the Rocky Mountains suggests that fungal spores and/or pollen might play a role in increased IN abundance during periods of cloud cover (Bowers et al. 2009). In the present work concentrations of fungal spores in fog/cloud water and snow were determined. EXPERIMENTAL: Fog samples were taken with an active fog sampler in 2008 in a traffic dominated area and in a national park in São Paulo, Brazil. The number concentrations of fungal spores were determined by microscopic by direct enumeration by epifluorescence microscopy after staining with SYBR Gold nucleic acid gel stain (Bauer et al. 2008). RESULTS: In the fog water collected in the polluted area at a junction of two highly frequented highways around 22,000 fungal spores mL-1 were counted. Fog in the national park contained 35,000 spores mL-1. These results were compared with cloud water and snow samples from Mt. Rax, situated at the eastern rim of the Austrian Alps. Clouds contained on average 5,900 fungal spores mL-1 cloud water (1,300 - 11,000) or 2,200 spores m-3 (304 - 5,000). In freshly fallen snow spore concentrations were lower than in cloud water, around 1,000 fungal spores mL-1 were counted (Bauer et al. 2002). In both sets of samples representatives of the ice nucleating genus Fusarium could be observed. REFERENCES: Bauer, H., Kasper-Giebl, A., Löflund, M., Giebl, H., Hitzenberger, R., Zibuschka, F., Puxbaum, H. (2002). The contribution of bacteria and fungal spores to the organic carbon content of cloud water, precipitation and aerosols

  14. Heterogeneous nucleation from a supercooled ionic liquid on a carbon surface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xiaoxia; Shen, Yan; Hung, Francisco R; Santiso, Erik E

    2016-12-07

    Classical molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the nucleation of the crystal phase of the ionic liquid [dmim + ][Cl - ] from its supercooled liquid phase, both in the bulk and in contact with a graphitic surface of D = 3 nm. By combining the string method in collective variables [Maragliano et al., J. Chem. Phys. 125, 024106 (2006)], with Markovian milestoning with Voronoi tessellations [Maragliano et al., J. Chem. Theory Comput. 5, 2589-2594 (2009)] and order parameters for molecular crystals [Santiso and Trout, J. Chem. Phys. 134, 064109 (2011)], we computed minimum free energy paths, the approximate size of the critical nucleus, the free energy barrier, and the rates involved in these nucleation processes. For homogeneous nucleation, the subcooled liquid phase has to overcome a free energy barrier of ∼85 kcal/mol to form a critical nucleus of size ∼3.6 nm, which then grows into the monoclinic crystal phase. This free energy barrier becomes about 42% smaller (∼49 kcal/mol) when the subcooled liquid phase is in contact with a graphitic disk, and the critical nucleus formed is about 17% smaller (∼3.0 nm) than the one observed for homogeneous nucleation. The crystal formed in the heterogeneous nucleation scenario has a structure that is similar to that of the bulk crystal, with the exception of the layers of ions next to the graphene surface, which have larger local density and the cations lie with their imidazolium rings parallel to the graphitic surface. The critical nucleus forms near the graphene surface separated only by these layers of ions. The heterogeneous nucleation rate (∼4.8 × 10 11 cm -3 s -1 ) is about one order of magnitude faster than the homogeneous rate (∼6.6 × 10 10 cm -3 s -1 ). The computed free energy barriers and nucleation rates are in reasonable agreement with experimental and simulation values obtained for the homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation of other systems (ice, urea, Lennard-Jones spheres, and oxide

  15. Theory on the Mechanism of DNA Renaturation: Stochastic Nucleation and Zipping.

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    Gnanapragasam Niranjani

    Full Text Available Renaturation of the complementary single strands of DNA is one of the important processes that requires better understanding in the view of molecular biology and biological physics. Here we develop a stochastic dynamical model on the DNA renaturation. According to our model there are at least three steps in the renaturation process viz. nonspecific-contact formation, correct-contact formation and nucleation, and zipping. Most of the earlier two-state models combined nucleation with nonspecific-contact formation step. In our model we suggest that it is considerably meaningful when we combine the nucleation with the zipping since nucleation is the initial step of zipping and nucleated and zipping molecules are indistinguishable. Nonspecific contact formation step is a pure three-dimensional diffusion controlled collision process. Whereas nucleation involves several rounds of one-dimensional slithering and internal displacement dynamics of one single strand of DNA on the other complementary strand in the process of searching for the correct-contact and then initiate nucleation. Upon nucleation, the stochastic zipping follows to generate a fully renatured double stranded DNA. It seems that the square-root dependency of the overall renaturation rate constant on the length of reacting single strands originates mainly from the geometric constraints in the diffusion controlled nonspecific-contact formation step. Further the inverse scaling of the renaturation rate on the viscosity of reaction medium also originates from nonspecific contact formation step. On the other hand the inverse scaling of the renaturation rate with the sequence complexity originates from the stochastic zipping which involves several rounds of crossing over the free-energy barrier at microscopic levels. When the sequence of renaturing single strands of DNA is repetitive with less complexity then the cooperative effects will not be noticeable since the parallel zipping will be a

  16. Final scientific report for DOE award title: Improving the Representation of Ice Sedimentation Rates in Global Climate Models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mitchell, David L. [Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV (United States)

    2013-09-05

    than simply using the 2D-S measurements to directly calculate Vm. By calculating Vm directly from the measured PSD, ice particle projected area and estimated mass, more accurate estimates of Vm are obtained. These Vm values were then parameterized for climate models by relating them to (1) sampling temperature and ice water content (IWC) and (2) the effective diameter (De) of the ice PSD. Parameterization (1) is appropriate for climate models having single-moment microphysical schemes whereas (2) is appropriate for double-moment microphysical schemes and yields more accurate Vm estimates. These parameterizations were developed for tropical cirrus clouds, Arctic cirrus, mid-latitude synoptic cirrus and mid-latitude anvil cirrus clouds based on field campaigns in these regions. An important but unexpected result of this research was the discovery of microphysical evidence indicating the mechanisms by which ice crystals are produced in cirrus clouds. This evidence, derived from PSD measurements, indicates that homogeneous freezing ice nucleation dominates in mid-latitude synoptic cirrus clouds, whereas heterogeneous ice nucleation processes dominate in mid-latitude anvil cirrus. Based on these findings, De was parameterized in terms of temperature (T) for conditions dominated by (1) homo- and (2) heterogeneous ice nucleation. From this, an experiment was designed for global climate models (GCMs). The net radiative forcing from cirrus clouds may be affected by the means ice is produced (homo- or heterogeneously), and this net forcing contributes to climate sensitivity (i.e. the change in mean global surface temperature resulting from a doubling of CO2). The objective of this GCM experiment was to determine how a change in ice nucleation mode affects the predicted global radiation balance. In the first simulation (Run 1), the De-T relationship for homogeneous nucleation is

  17. A note on the nucleation with multiple steps: Parallel and series nucleation

    OpenAIRE

    Iwamatsu, Masao

    2012-01-01

    Parallel and series nucleation are the basic elements of the complex nucleation process when two saddle points exist on the free-energy landscape. It is pointed out that the nucleation rates follow formulas similar to those of parallel and series connection of resistors or conductors in an electric circuit. Necessary formulas to calculate individual nucleation rates at the saddle points and the total nucleation rate are summarized and the extension to the more complex nucleation process is su...

  18. Cavitation and water fluxes driven by ice water potential in Juglans regia during freeze-thaw cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charra-Vaskou, Katline; Badel, Eric; Charrier, Guillaume; Ponomarenko, Alexandre; Bonhomme, Marc; Foucat, Loïc; Mayr, Stefan; Améglio, Thierry

    2016-02-01

    Freeze-thaw cycles induce major hydraulic changes due to liquid-to-ice transition within tree stems. The very low water potential at the ice-liquid interface is crucial as it may cause lysis of living cells as well as water fluxes and embolism in sap conduits, which impacts whole tree-water relations. We investigated water fluxes induced by ice formation during freeze-thaw cycles in Juglans regia L. stems using four non-invasive and complementary approaches: a microdendrometer, magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray microtomography, and ultrasonic acoustic emissions analysis. When the temperature dropped, ice nucleation occurred, probably in the cambium or pith areas, inducing high water potential gradients within the stem. The water was therefore redistributed within the stem toward the ice front. We could thus observe dehydration of the bark's living cells leading to drastic shrinkage of this tissue, as well as high tension within wood conduits reaching the cavitation threshold in sap vessels. Ultrasonic emissions, which were strictly emitted only during freezing, indicated cavitation events (i.e. bubble formation) following ice formation in the xylem sap. However, embolism formation (i.e. bubble expansion) in stems was observed only on thawing via X-ray microtomography for the first time on the same sample. Ultrasonic emissions were detected during freezing and were not directly related to embolism formation. These results provide new insights into the complex process and dynamics of water movements and ice formation during freeze-thaw cycles in tree stems. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  19. A note on the nucleation with multiple steps: parallel and series nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwamatsu, Masao

    2012-01-28

    Parallel and series nucleation are the basic elements of the complex nucleation process when two saddle points exist on the free-energy landscape. It is pointed out that the nucleation rates follow formulas similar to those of parallel and series connection of resistors or conductors in an electric circuit. Necessary formulas to calculate individual nucleation rates at the saddle points and the total nucleation rate are summarized, and the extension to the more complex nucleation process is suggested. © 2012 American Institute of Physics

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Wiacek

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available 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. Dust-bearing trajectories were assumed to be those coinciding with known dust emission seasons, without explicitly modelling dust emission and deposition processes. We found that dust emissions from Asian deserts lead to a higher potential for interactions with high ice 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. Downstream of the investigated dust sources, practically none of the simulated air parcels reached conditions of homogeneous ice nucleation (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 atmospheric regions supersaturated with respect to ice but subsaturated with respect to water, where so-called "warm ice clouds" (T≳−40 °C theoretically may form prior to supercooled water or mixed-phase clouds. The importance of "warm ice

  1. Physical characterization of diesel exhaust nucleation mode particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lahde, T.

    2013-11-01

    An increasing concern of the adverse health effects of aerosol particles is forcing the combustion engine industry to develop engines with lower particle emissions. The industry has put most of their efforts into soot control and has achieved a significant reduction in diesel exhaust particle mass. Nevertheless, it is not clear that the large particles, dominating the mass, cause the harmfulness of the exhaust particles in the biological interaction. Nowadays, the harmful potential of diesel exhaust particles often connects with the particle surface area, and the view has turned to particle number below 100 nm size range. Unfortunately, the achieved low exhaust particle mass does not necessarily imply a low particle number. This text focuses on the physical characteristics of diesel exhaust nucleation model particles. The volatility characteristics and the electrical charge state of the particles are studied first. Second, the relation between the nonvolatile nucleation mode emissions and the soot, the nitrogen oxide (NO{sub x}) emissions and the engine parameters are covered. The nucleation mode particles had distinctively different physical characteristics with different after-treatment systems. The nucleation mode was volatile and electrically neutral with a diesel particle filter after-treatment system. Without an after-treatment system or with an after-treatment system with low particle removal efficiency, the nucleation mode was partly nonvolatile and included an electrical charge. The difference suggests different formation routes for the nucleation particles with different after-treatment systems. The existence of the nonvolatile nucleation mode particles also affected the soot mode charge state. The soot charge state was positively biased when the nonvolatile nucleation mode was detected but slightly negatively biased when the nonvolatile nucleation mode was absent. The nonvolatile nucleation mode was always negatively biased. This electrical charge

  2. Trends in Sea Ice Cover, Sea Surface Temperature, and Chlorophyll Biomass Across a Marine Distributed Biological Observatory in the Pacific Arctic Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frey, K. E.; Grebmeier, J. M.; Cooper, L. W.; Wood, C.; Panday, P. K.

    2011-12-01

    The northern Bering and Chukchi Seas in the Pacific Arctic Region (PAR) are among the most productive marine ecosystems in the world and act as important carbon sinks, particularly during May and June when seasonal sea ice-associated phytoplankton blooms occur throughout the region. Recent dramatic shifts in seasonal sea ice cover across the PAR should have profound consequences for this seasonal phytoplankton production as well as the intimately linked higher trophic levels. In order to investigate ecosystem responses to these observed recent shifts in sea ice cover, the development of a prototype Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) is now underway in the PAR. The DBO is being developed as an internationally-coordinated change detection array that allows for consistent sampling and monitoring at five spatially explicit biologically productive locations across a latitudinal gradient: (1) DBO-SLP (south of St. Lawrence Island (SLI)), (2) DBO-NBS (north of SLI), (3) DBO-SCS (southern Chukchi Sea), (4) DBO-CCS (central Chukchi Sea), and (5) DBO-BCA (Barrow Canyon Arc). Standardized measurements at many of the DBO sites were made by multiple research cruises during the 2010 and 2011 pilot years, and will be expanded with the development of the DBO in coming years. In order to provide longer-term context for the changes occurring across the PAR, we utilize multi-sensor satellite data to investigate recent trends in sea ice cover, chlorophyll biomass, and sea surface temperatures for each of the five DBO sites, as well as a sixth long-term observational site in the Bering Strait. Satellite observations show that over the past three decades, trends in sea ice cover in the PAR have been heterogeneous, with significant declines in the Chukchi Sea, slight declines in the Bering Strait region, but increases in the northern Bering Sea south of SLI. Declines in the persistence of seasonal sea ice cover in the Chukchi Sea and Bering Strait region are due to both earlier sea

  3. The Nucleation of Protein Aggregates - From Crystals to Amyloid Fibrils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buell, Alexander K

    2017-01-01

    The condensation and aggregation of individual protein molecules into dense insoluble phases is of relevance in such diverse fields as materials science, medicine, structural biology and pharmacology. A common feature of these condensation phenomena is that they usually are nucleated processes, i.e. the first piece of the condensed phase is energetically costly to create and hence forms slowly compared to its subsequent growth. Here we give a compact overview of the differences and similarities of various protein nucleation phenomena, their theoretical description in the framework of colloid and polymer science and their experimental study. Particular emphasis is put on the nucleation of a specific type of filamentous protein aggregates, amyloid fibrils. The current experimentally derived knowledge on amyloid fibril nucleation is critically assessed, and we argue that it is less advanced than is generally believed. This is due to (I) the lack of emphasis that has been put on the distinction between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation in experimental studies (II) the use of oversimplifying and/or inappropriate theoretical frameworks for the analysis of kinetic data of amyloid fibril nucleation. A strategy is outlined and advocated of how our understanding of this important class of processes can be improved in the future. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Cloud chamber experiments on the origin of ice crystal complexity in cirrus clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Schnaiter

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This study reports on the origin of small-scale ice crystal complexity and its influence on the angular light scattering properties of cirrus clouds. Cloud simulation experiments were conducted at the AIDA (Aerosol Interactions and Dynamics in the Atmosphere cloud chamber of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT. A new experimental procedure was applied to grow and sublimate ice particles at defined super- and subsaturated ice conditions and for temperatures in the −40 to −60 °C range. The experiments were performed for ice clouds generated via homogeneous and heterogeneous initial nucleation. Small-scale ice crystal complexity was deduced from measurements of spatially resolved single particle light scattering patterns by the latest version of the Small Ice Detector (SID-3. It was found that a high crystal complexity dominates the microphysics of the simulated clouds and the degree of this complexity is dependent on the available water vapor during the crystal growth. Indications were found that the small-scale crystal complexity is influenced by unfrozen H2SO4 / H2O residuals in the case of homogeneous initial ice nucleation. Angular light scattering functions of the simulated ice clouds were measured by the two currently available airborne polar nephelometers: the polar nephelometer (PN probe of Laboratoire de Métérologie et Physique (LaMP and the Particle Habit Imaging and Polar Scattering (PHIPS-HALO probe of KIT. The measured scattering functions are featureless and flat in the side and backward scattering directions. It was found that these functions have a rather low sensitivity to the small-scale crystal complexity for ice clouds that were grown under typical atmospheric conditions. These results have implications for the microphysical properties of cirrus clouds and for the radiative transfer through these clouds.

  5. Autocatalytic microtubule nucleation determines the size and mass of Xenopus laevis egg extract spindles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decker, Franziska; Oriola, David; Dalton, Benjamin; Brugués, Jan

    2018-01-11

    Regulation of size and growth is a fundamental problem in biology. A prominent example is the formation of the mitotic spindle, where protein concentration gradients around chromosomes are thought to regulate spindle growth by controlling microtubule nucleation. Previous evidence suggests that microtubules nucleate throughout the spindle structure. However, the mechanisms underlying microtubule nucleation and its spatial regulation are still unclear. Here, we developed an assay based on laser ablation to directly probe microtubule nucleation events in Xenopus laevis egg extracts. Combining this method with theory and quantitative microscopy, we show that the size of a spindle is controlled by autocatalytic growth of microtubules, driven by microtubule-stimulated microtubule nucleation. The autocatalytic activity of this nucleation system is spatially regulated by the limiting amounts of active microtubule nucleators, which decrease with distance from the chromosomes. This mechanism provides an upper limit to spindle size even when resources are not limiting. © 2018, Decker et al.

  6. Vapour–to–liquid nucleation: Nucleation theorems for nonisothermal–nonideal case

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malila, J.; McGraw, R.; Napari, I.; Laaksonen, A.

    2010-08-29

    Homogeneous vapour-to-liquid nucleation, a basic process of aerosol formation, is often considered as a type example of nucleation phenomena, while most treatment of the subject introduce several simplifying assumptions (ideal gas phase, incompressible nucleus, isothermal kinetics, size-independent surface free energy...). During last decades, nucleation theorems have provided new insights into properties of critical nuclei facilitating direct comparison between laboratory experiments and molecular simulations. These theorems are, despite of their generality, often applied in forms where the aforementioned assumptions are made. Here we present forms of nucleation theorems that explicitly take into account these effects and allow direct estimation of their importance. Only assumptions are Arrhenius-type kinetics of nucleation process and exclusion carrier gas molecules from the critical nucleus.

  7. High density amorphous ice and its phase transition to ice XII

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kohl, I.

    2001-07-01

    1998 Lobban et al. reported the neutron diffraction data of a new phase of ice, called ice XII, which formed at 260 K on compression of water within the domain of ice V at a pressure of 0.5 GPa. Surprisingly ice XII forms as an incidental product in the preparation of high-density amorphous ice (HDA) on compression of hexagonale ice (ice Ih) at 77 K up to pressures = 1.3 GPa. A decisive experimental detail is the use of an indium container: when compressing ice Ih in a pressure vessel with indium linings, then reproducibly HDA (high density amorphous ice) forms, but without indium randomly scattered relative amounts of ice XII and HDA form. Ice XII forms on compression of ice Ih at 77 K only via HDA, and not directly from ice Ih. Its formation requires a sudden pronounced apparent pressure drop of ca 0.18 GPa at pressures ca 1.1 GPa. These apparent pressure drops can be caused by buildup friction between the piston and the pressure vessel and its sudden release on further compression. I propose that shock-waves generated by apparent pressure drops cause transient local heating and that this induces nucleation and crystal growth. A specific reproducible method to prepare ice XII is heating HDA in a pressure vessel with indium linings at constant pressures (or constant volume). The ice XII (meta-)stability domain extends between ca 158 and 212 K from ca 0.7 to ca 1.5 GPa. DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) and x-ray powder diffraction revealed, that on heating at atmospheric pressure ice XII transforms directly into cubic ice (ice Ic) at 154 K (heating rate 10 K min - 1) and not into an amorphous form before transition to ice Ic. The enthalpy of the ice XII - ice Ic transition is -1.21 ± 0.07 kJ mol -1 . An estimation of the Gibbs free energy at atmospheric pressure and about 140 K results that ice XII is thermodynamically more stable than ice VI. In the heating curve of ice XII a reversible endothermic step can be found at the onset temperature (heating rate

  8. Persistent after-effects of heavy rain on concentrations of ice nuclei and rainfall suggest a biological cause

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigg, E. K.; Soubeyrand, S.; Morris, C. E.

    2015-03-01

    Rainfall is one of the most important aspects of climate, but the extent to which atmospheric ice nuclei (IN) influence its formation, quantity, frequency, and location is not clear. Microorganisms and other biological particles are released following rainfall and have been shown to serve as efficient IN, in turn impacting cloud and precipitation formation. Here we investigated potential long-term effects of IN on rainfall frequency and quantity. Differences in IN concentrations and rainfall after and before days of large rainfall accumulation (i.e., key days) were calculated for measurements made over the past century in southeastern and southwestern Australia. Cumulative differences in IN concentrations and daily rainfall quantity and frequency as a function of days from a key day demonstrated statistically significant increasing logarithmic trends (R2 > 0.97). Based on observations that cumulative effects of rainfall persisted for about 20 days, we calculated cumulative differences for the entire sequence of key days at each site to create a historical record of how the differences changed with time. Comparison of pre-1960 and post-1960 sequences most commonly showed smaller rainfall totals in the post-1960 sequences, particularly in regions downwind from coal-fired power stations. This led us to explore the hypothesis that the increased leaf surface populations of IN-active bacteria due to rain led to a sustained but slowly diminishing increase in atmospheric concentrations of IN that could potentially initiate or augment rainfall. This hypothesis is supported by previous research showing that leaf surface populations of the ice-nucleating bacterium Pseudomonas syringae increased by orders of magnitude after heavy rain and that microorganisms become airborne during and after rain in a forest ecosystem. At the sites studied in this work, aerosols that could have initiated rain from sources unrelated to previous rainfall events (such as power stations) would

  9. Dynamics of homogeneous nucleation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toxværd, Søren

    2015-01-01

    The classical nucleation theory for homogeneous nucleation is formulated as a theory for a density fluctuation in a supersaturated gas at a given temperature. But molecular dynamics simulations reveal that it is small cold clusters which initiates the nucleation. The temperature in the nucleating...

  10. On void nucleation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Subbotin, A.V.

    1978-01-01

    Nucleation of viable voids in irradiated materials is considered. The mechanism of evaporation and absorption of interstitials and vacancies disregarding the possibility of void merging is laid down into the basis of the discussion. The effect of irradiated material structure on void nucleation is separated from the effect of the properties of supersaturated solutions of vacancies and interstitials. An analytical expression for the nucleation rate is obtained and analyzed in different cases. The interstitials are concluded to effect severely the nucleation rate of viable voids

  11. Thermomechanical Mechanisms of Reducing Ice Adhesion on Superhydrophobic Surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, N; Dotan, A; Dodiuk, H; Kenig, S

    2016-09-20

    Superhydrophobic (SH) coatings have been shown to reduce freezing and ice nucleation rates, by means of low surface energy chemistry tailored with nano/micro roughness. Durability enhancement of SH surfaces is a crucial issue. Consequently, the present research on reducing ice adhesion is based on radiation-induced radical reaction for covalently bonding SiO2 nanoparticles to polymer coatings to obtain durable roughness. Results indicated that the proposed approach resulted in SH surfaces having high contact angles (>155°) and low sliding angles (reduction of shear adhesion to a variety of SH treated substrates having low thermal expansion coefficient (copper and aluminum) and high thermal expansion coefficient (polycarbonate and poly(methyl methacrylate)). It was concluded that the thermal mismatch between the adhering ice and the various substrates and its resultant interfacial thermal stresses affect the adhesion strength of the ice to the respective substrate.

  12. Characteristics of atmospheric ice nucleating particles associated with biomass burning in the US: Prescribed burns and wildfires

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCluskey, Christina S.

    Insufficient knowledge regarding the sources and number concentrations of atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INP) leads to large uncertainties in understanding the interaction of aerosols with cloud processes, such as cloud life time and precipitation rates. This study utilizes measurements of INP from a diverse set of biomass burning events to better understand INP associated with biomass burning in the U.S. Prescribed burns in Georgia and Colorado, two Colorado wildfires and two laboratory burns were monitored for INP number concentrations. The relationship between nINP and total particle number concentrations, evident within prescribed burning plumes, was degraded within aged smoke plumes from the wildfires, limiting the utility of this relationship for comparing laboratory and field data. Larger particles, represented by n500nm, are less vulnerable to plume processing and have previously been evaluated for their relation to nINP. Our measurements indicated that for a given n500nm, nINP associated with the wildfires were nearly an order of magnitude higher than nINP found in prescribed fire emissions. Reasons for the differences between INP characteristics in these emissions were explored, including variations in combustion efficiency, fuel type, transport time and environmental conditions. Combustion efficiency and fuel type were eliminated as controlling factors by comparing samples with contrasting combustion efficiencies and fuel types. Transport time was eliminated because the expected impact would be to reduce n500nm, thus resulting in the opposite effect from the observed change. Bulk aerosol chemical composition analyses support the potential role of elevated soil dust particle concentrations during the fires, contributing to the population of INP, but the bulk analyses do not target INP composition directly. It is hypothesized that both hardwood burning and soil lofting are responsible for the elevated production of INP in the Colorado wildfires in

  13. An overview of the Ice Nuclei Research Unit Jungfraujoch/Cloud and Aerosol Characterization Experiment 2013 (INUIT-JFJ/CLACE-2013)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Johannes

    2014-05-01

    Ice formation in mixed phase tropospheric clouds is an essential prerequisite for the formation of precipitation at mid-latitudes. Ice formation at temperatures warmer than -35°C is only possible via heterogeneous ice nucleation, but up to now the exact pathways of heterogeneous ice formation are not sufficiently well understood. The research unit INUIT (Ice NUcleation research unIT), funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG FOR 1525) has been established in 2012 with the objective to investigate heterogeneous ice nucleation by combination of laboratory studies, model calculation and field experiments. The main field campaign of the INUIT project (INUIT-JFJ) was conducted at the High Alpine Research Station Jungfraujoch (Swiss Alps, 3580 m asl) during January and February 2013, in collaboration with several international partners in the framework of CLACE2013. The instrumentation included a large set of aerosol chemical and physical analysis instruments (particle counters, particle sizers, particle mass spectrometers, cloud condensation nuclei counters, ice nucleus counters etc.), that were operated inside the Sphinx laboratory and sampled in mixed phase clouds through two ice selective inlets (Ice-CVI, ISI) as well as through a total aerosol inlet that was used for out-of-cloud aerosol measurements. Besides the on-line measurements, also samples for off-line analysis (ESEM, STXM) have been taken in and out of clouds. Furthermore, several cloud microphysics instruments were operated outside the Sphinx laboratory. First results indicate that a large fraction of ice residues sampled from mixed phase clouds contain organic material, but also mineral dust. Soot and lead were not found to be enriched in ice residues. The concentration of heterogeneous ice nuclei was found to be variable (ranging between 100 per liter) and to be strongly dependent on the operating conditions of the respective IN counter. The number size distribution of ice residues appears to

  14. Thermal expansion of the cryoprotectant cocktail DP6 combined with synthetic ice modulators in presence and absence of biological tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenberg, David P; Taylor, Michael J; Rabin, Yoed

    2012-10-01

    This study explores physical effects associated with the application of cryopreservation via vitrification using a class of compounds which are defined here as synthetic ice modulators (SIMs). The general classification of SIMs includes molecules that modulate ice nucleation and growth, or possess properties of stabilizing the amorphous state, by virtue of their chemical structure and at concentrations that are not explained on a purely colligative basis. A sub-category of SIMs, referred to in the literature as synthetic ice blockers (SIBs), are compounds that interact directly with ice nuclei or crystals to modify their structure and/or rate of growth. The current study is part of an ongoing effort to characterize thermo-mechanical effects during vitrification, with emphasis on measuring the physical property of thermal expansion-the driving mechanism to thermo-mechanical stress. Materials under investigation are the cryoprotective agent (CPA) cocktail DP6 in combination with one of the following SIMs: 12% polyethylene glycol 400, 6% 1,3 cyclohexanediol, and 6% 2,3 butanediol. Results are presented for the CPA-SIM cocktail in the absence and presence of bovine muscle and goat artery specimens. This study focuses on the upper part of the cryogenic temperature range, where the CPA behaves as a fluid for all practical applications. Results of this study indicate that the addition of SIMs to DP6 allows lower cooling rates to ensure vitrification and extends the range of measurements. It is demonstrated that the combination of SIM with DP6 increases the thermal expansion of the cocktail, with implications for the likelihood of fracture formation-the most dramatic outcome of thermo-mechanical stress. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Implications of basal micro-earthquakes and tremor for ice stream mechanics: Stick-slip basal sliding and till erosion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barcheck, C. Grace; Tulaczyk, Slawek; Schwartz, Susan Y.; Walter, Jacob I.; Winberry, J. Paul

    2018-03-01

    The Whillans Ice Plain (WIP) is unique among Antarctic ice streams because it moves by stick-slip. The conditions allowing stick-slip and its importance in controlling ice dynamics remain uncertain. Local basal seismicity previously observed during unstable slip is a clue to the mechanism of ice stream stick-slip and a window into current basal conditions, but the spatial extent and importance of this basal seismicity are unknown. We analyze data from a 2010-2011 ice-plain-wide seismic and GPS network to show that basal micro-seismicity correlates with large-scale patterns in ice stream slip behavior: Basal seismicity is common where the ice moves the least between unstable slip events, with small discrete basal micro-earthquakes happening within 10s of km of the central stick-slip nucleation area and emergent basal tremor occurring downstream of this area. Basal seismicity is largely absent in surrounding areas, where inter-slip creep rates are high. The large seismically active area suggests that a frictional sliding law that can accommodate stick-slip may be appropriate for ice stream beds on regional scales. Variability in seismic behavior over inter-station distances of 1-10 km indicates heterogeneity in local bed conditions and frictional complexity. WIP unstable slips may nucleate when stick-slip basal earthquake patches fail over a large area. We present a conceptual model in which basal seismicity results from slip-weakening frictional failure of over-consolidated till as it is eroded and mobilized into deforming till.

  16. What controls the low ice number concentration in the upper troposphere?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Zhou

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause play a key role in regulating the moisture entering the stratosphere through their dehydrating effect. Low ice number concentrations ( <  200 L−1 and high supersaturations (150–160 % have been observed in these clouds. Different mechanisms have been proposed to explain these low ice number concentrations, including the inhibition of homogeneous freezing by the deposition of water vapour onto pre-existing ice crystals, heterogeneous ice formation on glassy organic aerosol ice nuclei (IN, and limiting the formation of ice number from high-frequency gravity waves. In this study, we examined the effect from three different representations of updraft velocities, the effect from pre-existing ice crystals, the effect from different water vapour deposition coefficients (α  =  0.1 or 1, and the effect of 0.1 % of the total secondary organic aerosol (SOA particles acting as IN. Model-simulated ice crystal numbers are compared against an aircraft observational dataset.Including the effect from water vapour deposition on pre-existing ice particles can effectively reduce simulated in-cloud ice number concentrations for all model setups. A larger water vapour deposition coefficient (α  =  1 can also efficiently reduce ice number concentrations at temperatures below 205 K, but less so at higher temperatures. SOA acting as IN is most effective at reducing ice number concentrations when the effective updraft velocities are moderate ( ∼  0.05–0.2 m s−1. However, the effects of including SOA as IN and using (α  =  1 are diminished when the effect from pre-existing ice is included.When a grid-resolved large-scale updraft velocity ( <  0.1 m s−1 is used, the ice nucleation parameterization with homogeneous freezing only or with both homogeneous freezing and heterogeneous nucleation is able to generate low ice number concentrations in good agreement

  17. Ice formation and development in aged, wintertime cumulus over the UK : observations and modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawford, I.; Bower, K. N.; Choularton, T. W.; Dearden, C.; Crosier, J.; Westbrook, C.; Capes, G.; Coe, H.; Connolly, P.; Dorsey, J. R.; Gallagher, M. W.; Williams, P.; Trembath, J.; Cui, Z.; Blyth, A.

    2011-11-01

    In-situ high resolution aircraft measurements of cloud microphysical properties were made in coordination with ground based remote sensing observations of Radar and Lidar as part of the Aerosol Properties, PRocesses And InfluenceS on the Earth's climate (APPRAISE) project. A narrow but extensive line (~100 km long) of shallow convective clouds over the southern UK was studied. Cloud top temperatures were observed to be higher than ~-8 °C, but the clouds were seen to consist of supercooled droplets and varying concentrations of ice particles. No ice particles were observed to be falling into the cloud tops from above. Current parameterisations of ice nuclei (IN) numbers predict too few particles will be active as ice nuclei to account for ice particle concentrations at the observed near cloud top temperatures (~-7 °C). The role of biological particles, consistent with concentrations observed near the surface, acting as potential efficient high temperature IN is considered important in this case. It was found that very high concentrations of ice particles (up to 100 L-1) could be produced by powerful secondary ice particle production emphasising the importance of understanding primary ice formation in slightly supercooled clouds. Aircraft penetrations at -3.5 °C, showed peak ice crystal concentrations of up to 100 L-1 which together with the characteristic ice crystal habits observed (generally rimed ice particles and columns) suggested secondary ice production had occurred. To investigate whether the Hallett-Mossop (HM) secondary ice production process could account for these observations, ice splinter production rates were calculated. These calculated rates and observations could only be reconciled provided the constraint that only droplets >24 μm in diameter could lead to splinter production, was relaxed slightly by 2 μm. Model simulations of the case study were also performed with the WRF (Weather, Research and Forecasting) model and ACPIM (Aerosol Cloud and

  18. Ice cloud formation potential by free tropospheric particles from long-range transport over the Northern Atlantic Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    China, Swarup; Alpert, Peter A.; Zhang, Bo; Schum, Simeon; Dzepina, Katja; Wright, Kendra; Owen, R. Chris; Fialho, Paulo; Mazzoleni, Lynn R.; Mazzoleni, Claudio; Knopf, Daniel A.

    2017-03-01

    Long-range transported free tropospheric particles can play a significant role on heterogeneous ice nucleation. Using optical and electron microscopy we examine the physicochemical characteristics of ice nucleating particles (INPs). Particles were collected on substrates from the free troposphere at the remote Pico Mountain Observatory in the Azores Islands, after long-range transport and aging over the Atlantic Ocean. We investigate four specific events to study the ice formation potential by the collected particles with different ages and transport patterns. We use single-particle analysis, as well as bulk analysis to characterize particle populations. Both analyses show substantial differences in particle composition between samples from the four events; in addition, single-particle microscopy analysis indicates that most particles are coated by organic material. The identified INPs contained mixtures of dust, aged sea salt and soot, and organic material acquired either at the source or during transport. The temperature and relative humidity (RH) at which ice formed, varied only by 5% between samples, despite differences in particle composition, sources, and transport patterns. We hypothesize that this small variation in the onset RH may be due to the coating material on the particles. This study underscores and motivates the need to further investigate how long-range transported and atmospherically aged free tropospheric particles impact ice cloud formation.

  19. Possible significance of cubic water-ice, H2O-Ic, in the atmospheric water cycle of Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gooding, James L.

    1988-01-01

    The possible formation and potential significance of the cubic ice polymorph on Mars is discussed. When water-ice crystallizes on Earth, the ambient conditions of temperature and pressure result in the formation of the hexagonal ice polymorph; however, on Mars, the much lower termperature and pressures may permit the crystallization of the cubic polymorph. Cubic ice has two properties of possible importance on Mars: it is an excellant nucleator of other volatiles (such as CO2), and it undergoes an exothermic transition to hexagonal ice at temperatures above 170 K. These properties may have significant implications for both martian cloud formation and the development of the seasonal polar caps.

  20. Homogeneous crystal nucleation in polymers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schick, C; Androsch, R; Schmelzer, J W P

    2017-11-15

    The pathway of crystal nucleation significantly influences the structure and properties of semi-crystalline polymers. Crystal nucleation is normally heterogeneous at low supercooling, and homogeneous at high supercooling, of the polymer melt. Homogeneous nucleation in bulk polymers has been, so far, hardly accessible experimentally, and was even doubted to occur at all. This topical review summarizes experimental findings on homogeneous crystal nucleation in polymers. Recently developed fast scanning calorimetry, with cooling and heating rates up to 10 6 K s -1 , allows for detailed investigations of nucleation near and even below the glass transition temperature, including analysis of nuclei stability. As for other materials, the maximum homogeneous nucleation rate for polymers is located close to the glass transition temperature. In the experiments discussed here, it is shown that polymer nucleation is homogeneous at such temperatures. Homogeneous nucleation in polymers is discussed in the framework of the classical nucleation theory. The majority of our observations are consistent with the theory. The discrepancies may guide further research, particularly experiments to progress theoretical development. Progress in the understanding of homogeneous nucleation is much needed, since most of the modelling approaches dealing with polymer crystallization exclusively consider homogeneous nucleation. This is also the basis for advancing theoretical approaches to the much more complex phenomena governing heterogeneous nucleation.

  1. Separation and sampling of ice nucleation chamber generated ice particles by means of the counterflow virtual impactor technique for the characterization of ambient ice nuclei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schenk, Ludwig; Mertes, Stephan; Kästner, Udo; Schmidt, Susan; Schneider, Johannes; Frank, Fabian; Nillius, Björn; Worringen, Annette; Kandler, Konrad; Ebert, Martin; Stratmann, Frank

    2014-05-01

    In 2011, the German research foundation (DFG) research group called Ice Nuclei Research Unit (INUIT (FOR 1525, project STR 453/7-1) was established with the objective to achieve a better understanding concerning heterogeneous ice formation. The presented work is part of INUIT and aims for a better microphysical and chemical characterization of atmospheric aerosol particles that have the potential to act as ice nuclei (IN). For this purpose a counterflow virtual impactor (Kulkarni et al., 2011) system (IN-PCVI) was developed and characterized in order to separate and collect ice particles generated in the Fast Ice Nucleus Chamber (FINCH; Bundke et al., 2008) and to release their IN for further analysis. Here the IN-PCVI was used for the inertial separation of the IN counter produced ice particles from smaller drops and interstitial particles. This is realized by a counterflow that matches the FINCH output flow inside the IN-PCVI. The choice of these flows determines the aerodynamic cut-off diameter. The collected ice particles are transferred into the IN-PCVI sample flow where they are completely evaporated in a particle-free and dry carrier air. In this way, the aerosol particles detected as IN by the IN counter can be extracted and distributed to several particle sensors. This coupled setup FINCH, IN-PCVI and aerosol instrumentation was deployed during the INUIT-JFJ joint measurement field campaign at the research station Jungfraujoch (3580m asl). Downstream of the IN-PCVI, the Aircraft-based Laser Ablation Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ALABAMA; Brands et al., 2011) was attached for the chemical analysis of the atmospheric IN. Also, number concentration and size distribution of IN were measured online (TROPOS) and IN impactor samples for electron microscopy (TU Darmstadt) were taken. Therefore the IN-PCVI was operated with different flow settings than known from literature (Kulkarni et al., 2011), which required a further characterisation of its cut

  2. Hexagonal ice in pure water and biological NMR samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bauer, Thomas; Gath, Julia; Hunkeler, Andreas; Ernst, Matthias, E-mail: maer@ethz.ch [ETH Zurich, Physical Chemistry (Switzerland); Böckmann, Anja, E-mail: a.bockmann@ibcp.fr [UMR 5086 CNRS, Université de Lyon 1, Institut de Biologie et Chimie des Protéines (France); Meier, Beat H., E-mail: beme@ethz.ch [ETH Zurich, Physical Chemistry (Switzerland)

    2017-01-15

    Ice, in addition to “liquid” water and protein, is an important component of protein samples for NMR spectroscopy at subfreezing temperatures but it has rarely been observed spectroscopically in this context. We characterize its spectroscopic behavior in the temperature range from 100 to 273 K, and find that it behaves like pure water ice. The interference of magic-angle spinning (MAS) as well as rf multiple-pulse sequences with Bjerrum-defect motion greatly influences the ice spectra.

  3. Cytoplasmic Nucleation and Atypical Branching Nucleation Generate Endoplasmic Microtubules in Physcomitrella patens[OPEN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakaoka, Yuki; Kimura, Akatsuki; Tani, Tomomi; Goshima, Gohta

    2015-01-01

    The mechanism underlying microtubule (MT) generation in plants has been primarily studied using the cortical MT array, in which fixed-angled branching nucleation and katanin-dependent MT severing predominate. However, little is known about MT generation in the endoplasm. Here, we explored the mechanism of endoplasmic MT generation in protonemal cells of Physcomitrella patens. We developed an assay that utilizes flow cell and oblique illumination fluorescence microscopy, which allowed visualization and quantification of individual MT dynamics. MT severing was infrequently observed, and disruption of katanin did not severely affect MT generation. Branching nucleation was observed, but it showed markedly variable branch angles and was occasionally accompanied by the transport of nucleated MTs. Cytoplasmic nucleation at seemingly random locations was most frequently observed and predominated when depolymerized MTs were regrown. The MT nucleator γ-tubulin was detected at the majority of the nucleation sites, at which a single MT was generated in random directions. When γ-tubulin was knocked down, MT generation was significantly delayed in the regrowth assay. However, nucleation occurred at a normal frequency in steady state, suggesting the presence of a γ-tubulin-independent backup mechanism. Thus, endoplasmic MTs in this cell type are generated in a less ordered manner, showing a broader spectrum of nucleation mechanisms in plants. PMID:25616870

  4. Mesoscopic surface roughness of ice crystals pervasive across a wide range of ice crystal conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magee, N. B.; Miller, A.; Amaral, M.; Cumiskey, A.

    2014-11-01

    Here we show high-magnification images of hexagonal ice crystals acquired by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). Most ice crystals were grown and sublimated in the water vapor environment of an FEI-Quanta-200 ESEM, but crystals grown in a laboratory diffusion chamber were also transferred intact and imaged via ESEM. All of these images display prominent mesoscopic topography including linear striations, ridges, islands, steps, peaks, pits, and crevasses; the roughness is not observed to be confined to prism facets. The observations represent the most highly magnified images of ice surfaces yet reported and expand the range of conditions in which rough surface features are known to be conspicuous. Microscale surface topography is seen to be ubiquitously present at temperatures ranging from -10 °C to -40 °C, in supersaturated and subsaturated conditions, on all crystal facets, and irrespective of substrate. Despite the constant presence of surface roughness, the patterns of roughness are observed to be dramatically different between growing and sublimating crystals, and transferred crystals also display qualitatively different patterns of roughness. Crystals are also demonstrated to sometimes exhibit inhibited growth in moderately supersaturated conditions following exposure to near-equilibrium conditions, a phenomenon interpreted as evidence of 2-D nucleation. New knowledge about the characteristics of these features could affect the fundamental understanding of ice surfaces and their physical parameterization in the context of satellite retrievals and cloud modeling. Links to supplemental videos of ice growth and sublimation are provided.

  5. Severnaya Zemlya, arctic Russia: a nucleation area for Kara Sea ice sheets during the Middle to Late Quaternary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Möller, Per; Lubinski, David J.; Ingólfsson, Ólafur

    2006-01-01

    Quaternary glacial stratigraphy and relative sea-level changes reveal at least four expansions of the Kara Sea ice sheet over the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago at 79°N in the Russian Arctic, as indicated from tills interbedded with marine sediments, exposed in stratigraphic superposition, and from......-5e and MIS 5d-3. The MIS 6-5e event, associated with the high marine limit, implies ice-sheet thickness of >2000 m only 200 km from the deep Arctic Ocean, consistent with published evidence of ice grounding at ~1000 m water depth in the central Arctic Ocean. Till fabrics and glacial tectonics record...... repeated expansions of local ice caps exclusively, suggesting wet-based ice cap advance followed by cold-based regional ice-sheet expansion. Local ice caps over highland sites along the perimeter of the shallow Kara Sea, including the Byrranga Mountains, appear to have repeatedly fostered initiation...

  6. Structuring effects in binary nucleation : Molecular dynamics simulatons and coarse-grained nucleation theory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Braun, S.; Kraska, T.; Kalikmanov, V.I.

    2013-01-01

    Binary clusters formed by vapor-liquid nucleation are frequently nonhomogeneous objects in which components are not well mixed. The structure of a cluster plays an important role in nucleation and cluster growth. We demonstrate structuring effects by studying high-pressure nucleation and cluster

  7. Identification of Dust and Ice Cloud Formation from A-Train Datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, D. S.; Liou, K. N.

    2014-12-01

    Dust aerosols are effective ice nuclei for clouds and instances of nucleation have been well studied in laboratory experiments. We used CALIOP/CALIPSO, MODIS/Aqua, and CloudSat on the A-Train to find collocated instances of clouds characterized as water by MODIS, but contain ice water as indicated by CloudSat. The vertical profiles of CALIPSO detect the presence of dust and polluted dust near clouds. This study concentrates on high dust aerosol areas including the regions surrounding the Sahara Desert as well as South Asia including the Tibetan Plateau. These cases display the effects of dust acting as ice nuclei in the time frame between MODIS overpass and CloudSat overpass (~45 seconds). Utilizing available datasets, we then carried out radiative transfer calculations to understand spectral radiative forcing differences between water and ice clouds, particularly over snow surfaces at the Tibetan Plateau.

  8. Surface Immobilization of Human Arginase-1 with an Engineered Ice Nucleation Protein Display System in E. coli.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhen Zhang

    Full Text Available Ice nucleation protein (INP is frequently used as a surface anchor for protein display in gram-negative bacteria. Here, MalE and TorA signal peptides, and three charged polypeptides, 6×Lys, 6×Glu and 6×Asp, were anchored to the N-terminus of truncated INP (InaK-N to improve its surface display efficiency for human Arginase1 (ARG1. Our results indicated that the TorA signal peptide increased the surface translocation of non-protein fused InaK-N and human ARG1 fused InaK-N (InaK-N/ARG1 by 80.7% and 122.4%, respectively. Comparably, the MalE signal peptide decreased the display efficiencies of both the non-protein fused InaK-N and InaK-N/ARG1. Our results also suggested that the 6×Lys polypeptide significantly increased the surface display efficiency of K6-InaK-N/ARG1 by almost 2-fold, while also practically abolishing the surface translocation of non-protein fused InaK-N, indicating the interesting roles of charged polypeptides in bacteria surface display systems. Cell surface-immobilized K6-InaK-N/ARG1 presented an arginase activity of 10.7 U/OD600 under the optimized conditions of 40°C, pH 10.0 and 1 mM Mn2+, which could convert more than 95% of L-Arginine (L-Arg to L-Ornithine (L-Orn in 16 hours. The engineered InaK-Ns expanded the INP surface display system, which aided in the surface immobilization of human ARG1 in E. coli cells.

  9. Organics in environmental ices: sources, chemistry, and impacts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. F. McNeill

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The physical, chemical, and biological processes involving organics in ice in the environment impact a number of atmospheric and biogeochemical cycles. Organic material in snow or ice may be biological in origin, deposited from aerosols or atmospheric gases, or formed chemically in situ. In this manuscript, we review the current state of knowledge regarding the sources, properties, and chemistry of organic materials in environmental ices. Several outstanding questions remain to be resolved and fundamental data gathered before an accurate model of transformations and transport of organic species in the cryosphere will be possible. For example, more information is needed regarding the quantitative impacts of chemical and biological processes, ice morphology, and snow formation on the fate of organic material in cold regions. Interdisciplinary work at the interfaces of chemistry, physics and biology is needed in order to fully characterize the nature and evolution of organics in the cryosphere and predict the effects of climate change on the Earth's carbon cycle.

  10. High-definition infrared thermography of ice nucleation and propagation in wheat under natural frost conditions and controlled freezing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livingston, David P; Tuong, Tan D; Murphy, J Paul; Gusta, Lawrence V; Willick, Ian; Wisniewski, Micheal E

    2018-04-01

    An extremely high resolution infrared camera demonstrated various freezing events in wheat under natural conditions. Many of those events shed light on years of misunderstanding regarding freezing in small grains. Infrared thermography has enhanced our knowledge of ice nucleation and propagation in plants through visualization of the freezing process. The majority of infrared analyses have been conducted under controlled conditions and often on individual organs instead of whole plants. In the present study, high-definition (1280 × 720 pixel resolution) infrared thermography was used under natural conditions to visualize the freezing process of wheat plants during freezing events in 2016 and 2017. Plants within plots were found to freeze one at a time throughout the night and in an apparently random manner. Leaves on each plant also froze one at a time in an age-dependent pattern with oldest leaves freezing first. Contrary to a common assumption that freezing begins in the upper parts of leaves; freezing began at the base of the plant and spread upwards. The high resolution camera used was able to verify that a two stage sequence of freezing began within vascular bundles. Neither of the two stages was lethal to leaves, but a third stage was demonstrated at colder temperatures that was lethal and was likely a result of dehydration stress; this stage of freezing was not detectable by infrared. These results underscore the complexity of the freezing process in small grains and indicate that comprehensive observational studies are essential to identifying and selecting freezing tolerance traits in grain crops.

  11. In-situ aircraft observations of ice concentrations within clouds over the Antarctic Peninsula and Larsen Ice Shelf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. P. Grosvenor

    2012-12-01

    lack of seeding ice crystals to act as rimers to initiate secondary ice particle production. This highlights the chaotic and spatially inhomogeneous nature of this process and indicates that the accurate representation of it in global models is likely to represent a challenge. However, the contrast between Hallett Mossop zone ice concentrations and the fairly low concentrations of heterogeneously nucleated ice suggests that the Hallet Mossop process has the potential to be very important in remote, pristine regions such as around the Antarctic coast.

  12. Superheating in nucleate boiling calculated by the heterogeneous nucleation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerum, E.; Straub, J.; Grigull, U.

    1979-01-01

    With the heterogeneous nucleation theory the superheating of the liquid boundary layer in nucleate boiling is described not only for the onset of nuclear boiling but also for the boiling crisis. The rate of superheat depends on the thermodynamic stability of the metastable liquid, which is influenced by the statistical fluctuations in the liquid and the nucleation at the solid surface. Because of the fact that the cavities acting as nuclei are too small for microscopic observation, the size and distribution function of the nuclei on the surface necessary for the determination of the probability of bubble formation cannot be detected by measuring techniques. The work of bubble formation reduced by the nuclei can be represented by a simple empirical function whose coefficients are determined from boiling experiments. Using this the heterogeneous nucleation theory describes the superheating of the liquid. Several fluids including refrigerants, liquid gases, organic liquids and water were used to check the theory. (author)

  13. Lidar Ice nuclei estimates and how they relate with airborne in-situ measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marinou, Eleni; Amiridis, Vassilis; Ansmann, Albert; Nenes, Athanasios; Balis, Dimitris; Schrod, Jann; Binietoglou, Ioannis; Solomos, Stavros; Mamali, Dimitra; Engelmann, Ronny; Baars, Holger; Kottas, Michael; Tsekeri, Alexandra; Proestakis, Emmanouil; Kokkalis, Panagiotis; Goloub, Philippe; Cvetkovic, Bojan; Nichovic, Slobodan; Mamouri, Rodanthi; Pikridas, Michael; Stavroulas, Iasonas; Keleshis, Christos; Sciare, Jean

    2018-04-01

    By means of available ice nucleating particle (INP) parameterization schemes we compute profiles of dust INP number concentration utilizing Polly-XT and CALIPSO lidar observations during the INUIT-BACCHUS-ACTRIS 2016 campaign. The polarization-lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON) method is used to separate dust and non-dust aerosol backscatter, extinction, mass concentration, particle number concentration (for particles with radius > 250 nm) and surface area concentration. The INP final products are compared with aerosol samples collected from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and analyzed using the ice nucleus counter FRIDGE.

  14. Lidar Ice nuclei estimates and how they relate with airborne in-situ measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marinou Eleni

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available By means of available ice nucleating particle (INP parameterization schemes we compute profiles of dust INP number concentration utilizing Polly-XT and CALIPSO lidar observations during the INUIT-BACCHUS-ACTRIS 2016 campaign. The polarization-lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON method is used to separate dust and non-dust aerosol backscatter, extinction, mass concentration, particle number concentration (for particles with radius > 250 nm and surface area concentration. The INP final products are compared with aerosol samples collected from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS and analyzed using the ice nucleus counter FRIDGE.

  15. Microbiology and atmospheric processes: biological, physical and chemical characterization of aerosol particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. G. Georgakopoulos

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available The interest in bioaerosols has traditionally been linked to health hazards for humans, animals and plants. However, several components of bioaerosols exhibit physical properties of great significance for cloud processes, such as ice nucleation and cloud condensation. To gain a better understanding of their influence on climate, it is therefore important to determine the composition, concentration, seasonal fluctuation, regional diversity and evolution of bioaerosols. In this paper, we will review briefly the existing techniques for detection, quantification, physical and chemical analysis of biological particles, attempting to bridge physical, chemical and biological methods for analysis of biological particles and integrate them with aerosol sampling techniques. We will also explore some emerging spectroscopy techniques for bulk and single-particle analysis that have potential for in-situ physical and chemical analysis. Lastly, we will outline open questions and further desired capabilities (e.g., in-situ, sensitive, both broad and selective, on-line, time-resolved, rapid, versatile, cost-effective techniques required prior to comprehensive understanding of chemical and physical characterization of bioaerosols.

  16. Impact of aerosols on ice crystal size

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Zhao

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The interactions between aerosols and ice clouds represent one of the largest uncertainties in global radiative forcing from pre-industrial time to the present. In particular, the impact of aerosols on ice crystal effective radius (Rei, which is a key parameter determining ice clouds' net radiative effect, is highly uncertain due to limited and conflicting observational evidence. Here we investigate the effects of aerosols on Rei under different meteorological conditions using 9-year satellite observations. We find that the responses of Rei to aerosol loadings are modulated by water vapor amount in conjunction with several other meteorological parameters. While there is a significant negative correlation between Rei and aerosol loading in moist conditions, consistent with the "Twomey effect" for liquid clouds, a strong positive correlation between the two occurs in dry conditions. Simulations based on a cloud parcel model suggest that water vapor modulates the relative importance of different ice nucleation modes, leading to the opposite aerosol impacts between moist and dry conditions. When ice clouds are decomposed into those generated from deep convection and formed in situ, the water vapor modulation remains in effect for both ice cloud types, although the sensitivities of Rei to aerosols differ noticeably between them due to distinct formation mechanisms. The water vapor modulation can largely explain the difference in the responses of Rei to aerosol loadings in various seasons. A proper representation of the water vapor modulation is essential for an accurate estimate of aerosol–cloud radiative forcing produced by ice clouds.

  17. Impact of aerosols on ice crystal size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Bin; Liou, Kuo-Nan; Gu, Yu; Jiang, Jonathan H.; Li, Qinbin; Fu, Rong; Huang, Lei; Liu, Xiaohong; Shi, Xiangjun; Su, Hui; He, Cenlin

    2018-01-01

    The interactions between aerosols and ice clouds represent one of the largest uncertainties in global radiative forcing from pre-industrial time to the present. In particular, the impact of aerosols on ice crystal effective radius (Rei), which is a key parameter determining ice clouds' net radiative effect, is highly uncertain due to limited and conflicting observational evidence. Here we investigate the effects of aerosols on Rei under different meteorological conditions using 9-year satellite observations. We find that the responses of Rei to aerosol loadings are modulated by water vapor amount in conjunction with several other meteorological parameters. While there is a significant negative correlation between Rei and aerosol loading in moist conditions, consistent with the "Twomey effect" for liquid clouds, a strong positive correlation between the two occurs in dry conditions. Simulations based on a cloud parcel model suggest that water vapor modulates the relative importance of different ice nucleation modes, leading to the opposite aerosol impacts between moist and dry conditions. When ice clouds are decomposed into those generated from deep convection and formed in situ, the water vapor modulation remains in effect for both ice cloud types, although the sensitivities of Rei to aerosols differ noticeably between them due to distinct formation mechanisms. The water vapor modulation can largely explain the difference in the responses of Rei to aerosol loadings in various seasons. A proper representation of the water vapor modulation is essential for an accurate estimate of aerosol-cloud radiative forcing produced by ice clouds.

  18. Nucleation in ZBLAN glasses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Leede, G.L.A.; Waal, de H.

    1989-01-01

    Nucleation rates were detd. in a ZrF4-BaF2-NaF-LaF3-AlF3 glass (ZBLAN) using an optical method. The results were compared with a similar glass having a slightly different compn. The difference in the nucleation rate is explained by classical nucleation theory using calcd. free-energy differences

  19. Dynamics of protein aggregation and oligomer formation governed by secondary nucleation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Michaels, Thomas C. T., E-mail: tctm3@cam.ac.uk; Lazell, Hamish W.; Arosio, Paolo; Knowles, Tuomas P. J., E-mail: tpjk2@cam.ac.uk [Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW (United Kingdom)

    2015-08-07

    The formation of aggregates in many protein systems can be significantly accelerated by secondary nucleation, a process where existing assemblies catalyse the nucleation of new species. In particular, secondary nucleation has emerged as a central process controlling the proliferation of many filamentous protein structures, including molecular species related to diseases such as sickle cell anemia and a range of neurodegenerative conditions. Increasing evidence suggests that the physical size of protein filaments plays a key role in determining their potential for deleterious interactions with living cells, with smaller aggregates of misfolded proteins, oligomers, being particularly toxic. It is thus crucial to progress towards an understanding of the factors that control the sizes of protein aggregates. However, the influence of secondary nucleation on the time evolution of aggregate size distributions has been challenging to quantify. This difficulty originates in large part from the fact that secondary nucleation couples the dynamics of species distant in size space. Here, we approach this problem by presenting an analytical treatment of the master equation describing the growth kinetics of linear protein structures proliferating through secondary nucleation and provide closed-form expressions for the temporal evolution of the resulting aggregate size distribution. We show how the availability of analytical solutions for the full filament distribution allows us to identify the key physical parameters that control the sizes of growing protein filaments. Furthermore, we use these results to probe the dynamics of the populations of small oligomeric species as they are formed through secondary nucleation and discuss the implications of our work for understanding the factors that promote or curtail the production of these species with a potentially high deleterious biological activity.

  20. Influence of Sea Ice Crack Formation on the Spatial Distribution of Nutrients and Microalgae in Flooded Antarctic Multiyear Ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nomura, Daiki; Aoki, Shigeru; Simizu, Daisuke; Iida, Takahiro

    2018-02-01

    Cracks are common and natural features of sea ice formed in the polar oceans. In this study, a sea ice crack in flooded, multiyear, land-fast Antarctic sea ice was examined to assess its influence on biological productivity and the transport of nutrients and microalgae into the upper layers of neighboring sea ice. The water inside the crack and the surrounding host ice were characterized by a strong discoloration (brown color), an indicator of a massive algal bloom. Salinity and oxygen isotopic ratio measurements indicated that 64-84% of the crack water consisted of snow meltwater supplied during the melt season. Measurements of nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations within the slush layer pool (the flooded layer at the snow-ice interface) revealed the intrusion of water from the crack, likely forced by mixing with underlying seawater during the tidal cycle. Our results suggest that sea ice crack formation provides conditions favorable for algal blooms by directly exposing the crack water to sunlight and supplying nutrients from the under-ice water. Subsequently, constituents of the crack water modified by biological activity were transported into the upper layer of the flooded sea ice. They were then preserved in the multiyear ice column formed by upward growth of sea ice caused by snow ice formation in areas of significant snow accumulation.

  1. Nucleation phenomena at Suzuki phases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acosta-Najarro, D.; Jose Y, M.

    1982-01-01

    Crystal of NaCl doped with Mn present regions with an increase in nucleation densities when observed by surface gold decoration; this increase is related to the nucleation of the Suzuki phases which are induced by cooling of the crystal matrix. Calculations based on atomistic nucleation theory are developed to explain the increased nucleation density. Experiments were made to compare with the theoretical results. In particular the density of nuclei was measured as a function of the rate or arrival of atoms to the surface. Therefore, the changes in the nucleation densities are explained in terms of change in migration energies between the Suzuki phase and the NaCl matrix excluding the possibility of nucleation induced by point defects. (author)

  2. Protein crystal nucleation in pores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanev, Christo N; Saridakis, Emmanuel; Chayen, Naomi E

    2017-01-16

    The most powerful method for protein structure determination is X-ray crystallography which relies on the availability of high quality crystals. Obtaining protein crystals is a major bottleneck, and inducing their nucleation is of crucial importance in this field. An effective method to form crystals is to introduce nucleation-inducing heterologous materials into the crystallization solution. Porous materials are exceptionally effective at inducing nucleation. It is shown here that a combined diffusion-adsorption effect can increase protein concentration inside pores, which enables crystal nucleation even under conditions where heterogeneous nucleation on flat surfaces is absent. Provided the pore is sufficiently narrow, protein molecules approach its walls and adsorb more frequently than they can escape. The decrease in the nucleation energy barrier is calculated, exhibiting its quantitative dependence on the confinement space and the energy of interaction with the pore walls. These results provide a detailed explanation of the effectiveness of porous materials for nucleation of protein crystals, and will be useful for optimal design of such materials.

  3. Nonrandom γ-TuNA-dependent spatial pattern of microtubule nucleation at the Golgi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Anna A W M; Chang, Kevin; Zhu, Xiaodong; Thoppil, Roslin J; Holmes, William R; Kaverina, Irina

    2017-11-07

    Noncentrosomal microtubule (MT) nucleation at the Golgi generates MT network asymmetry in motile vertebrate cells. Investigating the Golgi-derived MT (GDMT) distribution, we find that MT asymmetry arises from nonrandom nucleation sites at the Golgi (hotspots). Using computational simulations, we propose two plausible mechanistic models of GDMT nucleation leading to this phenotype. In the "cooperativity" model, formation of a single GDMT promotes further nucleation at the same site. In the "heterogeneous Golgi" model, MT nucleation is dramatically up-regulated at discrete and sparse locations within the Golgi. While MT clustering in hotspots is equally well described by both models, simulating MT length distributions within the cooperativity model fits the data better. Investigating the molecular mechanism underlying hotspot formation, we have found that hotspots are significantly smaller than a Golgi subdomain positive for scaffolding protein AKAP450, which is thought to recruit GDMT nucleation factors. We have further probed potential roles of known GDMT-promoting molecules, including γ-TuRC-mediated nucleation activator (γ-TuNA) domain-containing proteins and MT stabilizer CLASPs. While both γ-TuNA inhibition and lack of CLASPs resulted in drastically decreased GDMT nucleation, computational modeling revealed that only γ-TuNA inhibition suppressed hotspot formation. We conclude that hotspots require γ-TuNA activity, which facilitates clustered GDMT nucleation at distinct Golgi sites. © 2017 Sanders et al. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). Two months after publication it is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  4. Validation Ice Crystal Icing Engine Test in the Propulsion Systems Laboratory at NASA Glenn Research Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliver, Michael J.

    2014-01-01

    The Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) is an existing altitude simulation jet engine test facility located at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OH. It was modified in 2012 with the integration of an ice crystal cloud generation system. This paper documents the inaugural ice crystal cloud test in PSL--the first ever full scale, high altitude ice crystal cloud turbofan engine test to be conducted in a ground based facility. The test article was a Lycoming ALF502-R5 high bypass turbofan engine, serial number LF01. The objectives of the test were to validate the PSL ice crystal cloud calibration and engine testing methodologies by demonstrating the capability to calibrate and duplicate known flight test events that occurred on the same LF01 engine and to generate engine data to support fundamental and computational research to investigate and better understand the physics of ice crystal icing in a turbofan engine environment while duplicating known revenue service events and conducting test points while varying facility and engine parameters. During PSL calibration testing it was discovered than heated probes installed through tunnel sidewalls experienced ice buildup aft of their location due to ice crystals impinging upon them, melting and running back. Filtered city water was used in the cloud generation nozzle system to provide ice crystal nucleation sites. This resulted in mineralization forming on flow path hardware that led to a chronic degradation of performance during the month long test. Lacking internal flow path cameras, the response of thermocouples along the flow path was interpreted as ice building up. Using this interpretation, a strong correlation between total water content (TWC) and a weaker correlation between median volumetric diameter (MVD) of the ice crystal cloud and the rate of ice buildup along the instrumented flow path was identified. For this test article the engine anti-ice system was required to be turned on before ice crystal

  5. Laboratory and Cloud Chamber Studies of Formation Processes and Properties of Atmospheric Ice Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leisner, T.; Abdelmonem, A.; Benz, S.; Brinkmann, M.; Möhler, O.; Rzesanke, D.; Saathoff, H.; Schnaiter, M.; Wagner, R.

    2009-04-01

    The formation of ice in tropospheric clouds controls the evolution of precipitation and thereby influences climate and weather via a complex network of dynamical and microphysical processes. At higher altitudes, ice particles in cirrus clouds or contrails modify the radiative energy budget by direct interaction with the shortwave and longwave radiation. In order to improve the parameterisation of the complex microphysical and dynamical processes leading to and controlling the evolution of tropospheric ice, laboratory experiments are performed at the IMK Karlsruhe both on a single particle level and in the aerosol and cloud chamber AIDA. Single particle experiments in electrodynamic levitation lend themselves to the study of the interaction between cloud droplets and aerosol particles under extremely well characterized and static conditions in order to obtain microphysical parameters as freezing nucleation rates for homogeneous and heterogeneous ice formation. They also allow the observation of the freezing dynamics and of secondary ice formation and multiplication processes under controlled conditions and with very high spatial and temporal resolution. The inherent droplet charge in these experiments can be varied over a wide range in order to assess the influence of the electrical state of the cloud on its microphysics. In the AIDA chamber on the other hand, these processes are observable under the realistic dynamic conditions of an expanding and cooling cloud- parcel with interacting particles and are probed simultaneously by a comprehensive set of analytical instruments. By this means, microphysical processes can be studied in their complex interplay with dynamical processes as for example coagulation or particle evaporation and growth via the Bergeron - Findeisen process. Shortwave scattering and longwave absorption properties of the nucleating and growing ice crystals are probed by in situ polarised laser light scattering measurements and infrared extinction

  6. Regions of open water and melting sea ice drive new particle formation in North East Greenland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dall Osto, M; Geels, C; Beddows, D C S; Boertmann, D; Lange, R; Nøjgaard, J K; Harrison, Roy M; Simo, R; Skov, H; Massling, A

    2018-04-17

    Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) and growth significantly influences the indirect aerosol-cloud effect within the polar climate system. In this work, the aerosol population is categorised via cluster analysis of aerosol number size distributions (9-915 nm, 65 bins) taken at Villum Research Station, Station Nord (VRS) in North Greenland during a 7 year record (2010-2016). Data are clustered at daily averaged resolution; in total, we classified six categories, five of which clearly describe the ultrafine aerosol population, one of which is linked to nucleation events (up to 39% during summer). Air mass trajectory analyses tie these frequent nucleation events to biogenic precursors released by open water and melting sea ice regions. NPF events in the studied regions seem not to be related to bird colonies from coastal zones. Our results show a negative correlation (r = -0.89) between NPF events and sea ice extent, suggesting the impact of ultrafine Arctic aerosols is likely to increase in the future, given the likely increased sea ice melting. Understanding the composition and the sources of Arctic aerosols requires further integrated studies with joint multi-component ocean-atmosphere observation and modelling.

  7. Severnaya Zemlya, arctic Russia: a nucleation area for Kara Sea ice sheets during the Middle to Late Quaternary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Möller, Per; Lubinski, David J.; Ingólfsson, Ólafur

    2006-01-01

    Quaternary glacial stratigraphy and relative sea-level changes reveal at least four expansions of the Kara Sea ice sheet over the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago at 79°N in the Russian Arctic, as indicated from tills interbedded with marine sediments, exposed in stratigraphic superposition, and from...... of a large Kara Sea ice sheet, with exception of the Last Glacial Maximum (MIS 2), when Kara Sea ice did not impact Severnaya Zemlya and barely graced northernmost Taymyr Peninsula.......Quaternary glacial stratigraphy and relative sea-level changes reveal at least four expansions of the Kara Sea ice sheet over the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago at 79°N in the Russian Arctic, as indicated from tills interbedded with marine sediments, exposed in stratigraphic superposition, and from......-5e and MIS 5d-3. The MIS 6-5e event, associated with the high marine limit, implies ice-sheet thickness of >2000 m only 200 km from the deep Arctic Ocean, consistent with published evidence of ice grounding at ~1000 m water depth in the central Arctic Ocean. Till fabrics and glacial tectonics record...

  8. Principles of nucleation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clement, C.F.; Wood, M.H.

    1980-01-01

    The nucleation of small stable species is described in the problem of void growth by discrete rate equations. When gas is being produced the problem reduces to one of calculating the incubation dose for the gas bubble to void transition. A general expression for the steady state nucleation rate is derived for the case when voids are formed by vacancy fluctuations which enable an effective nucleation barrier to be crossed. (author)

  9. On The Importance of Connecting Laboratory Measurements of Ice Crystal Growth with Model Parameterizations: Predicting Ice Particle Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, J. Y.

    2017-12-01

    Parameterizing the growth of ice particles in numerical models is at an interesting cross-roads. Most parameterizations developed in the past, including some that I have developed, parse model ice into numerous categories based primarily on the growth mode of the particle. Models routinely possess smaller ice, snow crystals, aggregates, graupel, and hail. The snow and ice categories in some models are further split into subcategories to account for the various shapes of ice. There has been a relatively recent shift towards a new class of microphysical models that predict the properties of ice particles instead of using multiple categories and subcategories. Particle property models predict the physical characteristics of ice, such as aspect ratio, maximum dimension, effective density, rime density, effective area, and so forth. These models are attractive in the sense that particle characteristics evolve naturally in time and space without the need for numerous (and somewhat artificial) transitions among pre-defined classes. However, particle property models often require fundamental parameters that are typically derived from laboratory measurements. For instance, the evolution of particle shape during vapor depositional growth requires knowledge of the growth efficiencies for the various axis of the crystals, which in turn depends on surface parameters that can only be determined in the laboratory. The evolution of particle shapes and density during riming, aggregation, and melting require data on the redistribution of mass across a crystals axis as that crystal collects water drops, ice crystals, or melts. Predicting the evolution of particle properties based on laboratory-determined parameters has a substantial influence on the evolution of some cloud systems. Radiatively-driven cirrus clouds show a broader range of competition between heterogeneous nucleation and homogeneous freezing when ice crystal properties are predicted. Even strongly convective squall

  10. UAV applications for thermodynamic profiling: Emphasis on ice fog research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gultepe, Ismail; Heymsfield, Andrew J.; Fernando, Harindra J. S.; Hoch, Sebastian W.; Ware, Randolph

    2016-04-01

    Ice fog occurs often over the Arctic, cold climatic, and mountainous regions for about 30% of time where temperature (T) can go down to -10°C or below. Ice Nucleation (IN) and cooling processes play an important role by the controlling the intensity of ice fog conditions that affect aviation application, transportation, and local climate. Ice fog can also occur at T above -10°C but close to 0°C it occurs due to freezing of supercooled droplets that include an IN. To better document ice fog conditions, observations from the ice fog events of the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol effects on Climate (ISDAC) project, Barrow, Alaska, Fog Remote Sensing And Modeling (FRAM) project Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and the Mountain Terrain Atmospheric Modeling and Observations (MATERHORN) project, Heber City, Utah, were analyzed.. Measurements difficulties of small ice fog particles at cold temperatures and low-level flying restrictions prevent observations from aircraft within the surface boundary layer. However, unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can be operated safely to measure IN number concentration, Relative Humidity with respect to ice (RHi), T, horizontal wind speed (Uh) and direction, and ice crystal spectra less than about 500 micron. Thermodynamic profiling by a Radiometrics Profiling Microwave Radiometer (PMWR) and Vaisala CL51 ceilometer was used to describe ice fog conditions in the vertical and its time development. In this presentation, ice fog characteristics and its thermodynamic environment will be presented using both ground-based and airborne platforms such as a UAV with new sensors. Some examples of measurements from the UAV for future research, and challenges related to both ice fog measurements and visibility parameterization will also be presented.

  11. New trends in the nucleation research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anisimov, M. P.; Hopke, P. K.

    2017-09-01

    During the last half of century the most of efforts have been directed towards small molecule system modeling using intermolecular potentials. Summarizing the nucleation theory, it can be concluded that the nowadays theory is far from complete. The vapor-gas nucleation theory can produce values that deviate from the experimental results by several orders of magnitude currently. Experiments on the vapor-gas nucleation rate measurements using different devices show significant inconsistencies in the measured rates as well. Theoretical results generally are quite reasonable for sufficiently low vapor nucleation rates where the capillary approximation is applicable. In the present research the advantages and current problems of the vapor-gas nucleation experiments are discussed briefly and a view of the future studies is presented. Using the brake points of the first derivative for the nucleation rate surface as markers of the critical embryos phase change is fresh idea to show the gas-pressure effect for the nucleating vapor-gas systems. To test the accuracy of experimental techniques, it is important to have a standard system that can be measured over a range of nucleation conditions. Several results illustrate that high-pressure techniques are needed to study multi-channel nucleation. In practical applications, parametric theories can be used for the systems of interest. However, experimental measurements are still the best source of information on nucleation rates. Experiments are labor intensive and costly, and thus, it is useful to extend the value of limited experimental measurements to a broader range of nucleation conditions. Only limited experimental data one needs for use in normalizing the slopes of the linearized nucleation rate surfaces. The nucleation rate surface is described in terms of steady-state nucleation rates. It is supposed that several new measuring systems, such as High Pressure Flow Diffusion Chamber for pressure limit up to 150 bar will be

  12. A nanoscale temperature-dependent heterogeneous nucleation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Y. Y.; Yang, G. W.

    2015-01-01

    Classical nucleation theory relies on the hypothetical equilibrium of the whole nucleation system, and neglects the thermal fluctuations of the surface; this is because the high entropic gains of the (thermodynamically extensive) surface would lead to multiple stable states. In fact, at the nanometer scale, the entropic gains of the surface are high enough to destroy the stability of the thermal equilibrium during nucleation, comparing with the whole system. We developed a temperature-dependent nucleation theory to elucidate the heterogeneous nucleation process, by considering the thermal fluctuations based on classical nucleation theory. It was found that the temperature not only affected the phase transformation, but also influenced the surface energy of the nuclei. With changes in the Gibbs free energy barrier, nucleation behaviors, such as the nucleation rate and the critical radius of the nuclei, showed temperature-dependent characteristics that were different from those predicted by classical nucleation theory. The temperature-dependent surface energy density of a nucleus was deduced based on our theoretical model. The agreement between the theoretical and experimental results suggested that the developed nucleation theory has the potential to contribute to the understanding and design of heterogeneous nucleation at the nanoscale

  13. Mechanisms of nucleation in flashing flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, F.; Giot, M.

    1989-01-01

    The mechanisms of nucleation have been analysed. Starting from the assumption that the activation of micro-cavities in the wall surfaces is the most probable nucleation mechanism in practical flashing system, the authors study in detail the nucleation in a micro-cavity. A three step nucleation criterion is proposed, namely: trapping cavity, activable cavity and active cavity. Then, a new nucleation model is presented. The output of the model is the prediction of the bubble departure frequency versus the thermodynamic state of the liquid and the geometry of the cavity. The model can also predict the nucleation site density if the nature of the wall and the surface roughness are know. The prediction have been successfully compared with some preliminary experimental results. By combining the present model with Jones'theory, the flashing inception is correctly predicted. The use of this nucleation model for the complete modelling of a flashing non-equilibrium flow is in progress

  14. Heat transfer enhancement on nucleate boiling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhuang, M.; Guibai, L.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports on enhancement of nucleate boiling heat transfer with additives that was investigated experimentally. More than fifteen kinds of additives were chosen and tested. Eight kinds of effective additives which can enhance nucleate boiling heat transfer were selected. Experimental results showed that boiling heat transfer coefficient of water was increased by 1 to 5 times and that of R-113 was increased by 1 to 4 times when trace amount additives were put in the two boiling liquids. There exist optimum concentrations for the additives, respectively, which can enhance nucleate boiling heat transfer rate best. In order to analyze the mechanism of the enhancement of boiling heat transfer with additives, the surface tension and the bubble departure diameter were measured. The nucleation sites were investigated by use of high-speed photograph. Experimental results showed that nucleation sites increase with additive amount increasing and get maximum. Increasing nucleation sites is one of the most important reason why nucleate boiling heat transfer can be enhanced with additives

  15. The role of sodium bicarbonate in the nucleation of noctilucent clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. C. Plane

    2000-07-01

    Full Text Available It is proposed that a component of meteoric smoke, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3, provides particularly effective condensation nuclei for noctilucent clouds. This assertion is based on three conditions being met. The first is that NaHCO3 is present at sufficient concentration (±104 cm-3 in the upper mesosphere between 80 and 90 km. It is demonstrated that there is strong evidence for this based on recent laboratory measurements coupled with atmospheric modelling. The second condition is that the thermodynamics of NaHCO3(H2On cluster formation allow spontaneous nucleation to occur under mesospheric conditions at temperatures below 140 K. The Gibbs free energy changes for forming clusters with n = 1 and 2 were computed from quantum calculations using hybrid density functional/Hartree-Fock (B3LYP theory and a large basis set with added polarization and diffuse functions. The results were then extrapolated to higher n using an established dependence of the free energy on cluster size and the free energy for the sublimation of H2O to bulk ice. A 1-dimensional model of sodium chemistry was then employed to show that spontaneous nucleation to form ice particles (n >100 should occur between 84 and 89 km in the high-latitude summer mesosphere. The third condition is that other metallic components of meteoric smoke are less effective condensation nuclei, so that the total number of potential nuclei is small relative to the amount of available H2O. Quantum calculations indicate that this is probably the case for major constituents such as Fe(OH2, FeO3 and MgCO3.Key words: Atmospheric composition and structure (aerosols and particles; cloud physics and chemistry; middle atmosphere · composition and chemistry

  16. Role of nucleation in nanodiamond film growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lifshitz, Y.; Lee, C.H.; Wu, Y.; Zhang, W.J.; Bello, I.; Lee, S.T.

    2006-01-01

    Nanodiamond films were deposited using different microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition schemes following several nucleation pretreatment methods. The nucleation efficiency and the films structure were investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. C 2 dimer growth (CH 4 and H 2 in 90% Ar) cannot nucleate diamond and works only on existing diamond surfaces. The methyl radical process (up to 20% CH 4 in H 2 ) allows some nucleation probability on appropriate substrates. Prolonged bias enhanced nucleation initiates both diamond nucleation and growth. C 2 dimer growth results in pure nanodiamond free of amorphous carbon, while prolonged bias enhanced nucleation forms an amorphous carbon/nanodiamond composite

  17. ICeE an interface for C. elegans experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montañana, Frédéric; Julien, Renaud A; Vaglio, Philippe; Matthews, Lisa R; Tichit, Laurent; Ewbank, Jonathan J

    2014-01-01

    An increasing number of laboratories are using the COPAS Biosort™ to implement high-throughput approaches to tackle diverse biological problems. While providing a powerful tool for generating quantitative data, the utility of the Biosort is currently limited by the absence of resources for data management. We describe a simple electronic database designed to allow easy storage and retrieval of Biosort data for C. elegans, but that has a wide potential application for organizing electronic files and data sets. ICeE is an Open Source application. The code and accompanying documentation are freely available via the web at http://www.ciml.univ-mrs.fr/EWBANK_jonathan/software.html.

  18. Diamond Nucleation Using Polyethene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morell, Gerardo (Inventor); Makarov, Vladimir (Inventor); Varshney, Deepak (Inventor); Weiner, Brad (Inventor)

    2013-01-01

    The invention presents a simple, non-destructive and non-abrasive method of diamond nucleation using polyethene. It particularly describes the nucleation of diamond on an electrically viable substrate surface using polyethene via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique in a gaseous environment.

  19. Probabilistic approach to lysozyme crystal nucleation kinetics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitrov, Ivaylo L; Hodzhaoglu, Feyzim V; Koleva, Dobryana P

    2015-09-01

    Nucleation of lysozyme crystals in quiescent solutions at a regime of progressive nucleation is investigated under an optical microscope at conditions of constant supersaturation. A method based on the stochastic nature of crystal nucleation and using discrete time sampling of small solution volumes for the presence or absence of detectable crystals is developed. It allows probabilities for crystal detection to be experimentally estimated. One hundred single samplings were used for each probability determination for 18 time intervals and six lysozyme concentrations. Fitting of a particular probability function to experimentally obtained data made possible the direct evaluation of stationary rates for lysozyme crystal nucleation, the time for growth of supernuclei to a detectable size and probability distribution of nucleation times. Obtained stationary nucleation rates were then used for the calculation of other nucleation parameters, such as the kinetic nucleation factor, nucleus size, work for nucleus formation and effective specific surface energy of the nucleus. The experimental method itself is simple and adaptable and can be used for crystal nucleation studies of arbitrary soluble substances with known solubility at particular solution conditions.

  20. Void nucleation at heterogeneities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seyyedi, S.A.; Hadji-Mirzai, M.; Russell, K.C.

    The energetics and kinetics of void nucleation at dislocations and interfaces are analyzed. These are potential void nucleation sites only when they are not point defect sinks. Both kinds of site are found to be excellent catalysts in the presence of inert gas

  1. A short overview of the microbial population in clouds: Potential roles in atmospheric chemistry and nucleation processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delort, Anne-Marie; Vaïtilingom, Mickael; Amato, Pierre; Sancelme, Martine; Parazols, Marius; Mailhot, Gilles; Laj, Paolo; Deguillaume, Laurent

    2010-11-01

    Recent studies showed that living microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and yeasts, are present in the atmospheric water phase (fog and clouds) and their role in chemical processes may have been underestimated. At the interface between atmospheric science and microbiology, information about this field of science suffers from the fact that not all recent findings are efficiently conveyed to both scientific communities. The purpose of this paper is therefore to provide a short overview of recent work linked to living organisms in the atmospheric water phase, from their activation to cloud droplets and ice crystal, to their potential impact on atmospheric chemical processes. This paper is focused on the microorganisms present in clouds and on the role they could play in atmospheric chemistry and nucleation processes. First, the life cycle of microorganisms via the atmosphere is examined, including their aerosolization from sources, their integration into clouds and their wet deposition on the ground. Second, special attention is paid to the possible impacts of microorganisms on liquid and ice nucleation processes. Third, a short description of the microorganisms that have been found in clouds and their variability in numbers and diversity is presented, emphasizing some specific characteristics that could favour their occurrence in cloud droplets. In the last section, the potential role of microbial activity as an alternative route to photochemical reaction pathways in cloud chemistry is discussed.

  2. Oxidation Products of Biogenic Emissions Contribute to Nucleation of Atmospheric Particles

    CERN Document Server

    Riccobono, Francesco; Baltensperger, Urs; Worsnop, Douglas R; Curtius, Joachim; Carslaw, Kenneth S; Wimmer, Daniela; Wex, Heike; Weingartner, Ernest; Wagner, Paul E; Vrtala, Aron; Viisanen, Yrjö; Vaattovaara, Petri; Tsagkogeorgas, Georgios; Tomé, Antonio; Stratmann, Frank; Stozhkov, Yuri; Spracklen, Dominick V; Sipilä, Mikko; Praplan, Arnaud P; Petäjä, Tuukka; Onnela, Antti; Nieminen, Tuomo; Mathot, Serge; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Laaksonen, Ari; Kvashin, Alexander N.; Kürten, Andreas; Kupc, Agnieszka; Keskinen, Helmi; Kajos, Maija; Junninen, Heikki; Hansel, Armin; Franchin, Alessandro; Flagan, Richard C; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Duplissy, Jonathan; Dunne, Eimear M; Downard, Andrew; David, André; Breitenlechner, Martin; Bianchi, Federico; Amorim, Antonio; Almeida, João; Rondo, Linda; Ortega, Ismael K; Dommen, Josef; Scott, Catherine E; Vrtala, Aron; Santos, Filipe D; Schallhart, Simon; Seinfeld, John H; Sipila, Mikko; Donahue, Neil M; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku

    2014-01-01

    Atmospheric new-particle formation affects climate and is one of the least understood atmospheric aerosol processes. The complexity and variability of the atmosphere has hindered elucidation of the fundamental mechanism of new-particle formation from gaseous precursors. We show, in experiments performed with the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber at CERN, that sulfuric acid and oxidized organic vapors at atmospheric concentrations reproduce particle nucleation rates observed in the lower atmosphere. The experiments reveal a nucleation mechanism involving the formation of clusters containing sulfuric acid and oxidized organic molecules from the very first step. Inclusion of this mechanism in a global aerosol model yields a photochemically and biologically driven seasonal cycle of particle concentrations in the continental boundary layer, in good agreement with observations.

  3. Using rheometry for determining nucleation density in colored system containing a nucleation agent

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ma, Z.; Steenbakkers, R.J.A.; Giboz, J.; Peters, G.W.M.

    2011-01-01

    A new suspension-based rheological method was applied to study experimentally the crystallization of a nucleating agent (NA) filled isotactic polypropylene. This method allows for determination of point-nucleation densities where other methods fail. For example, optical microscopy can fail because

  4. Dynamical Conditions of Ice Supersaturation and Ice Nucleation in Convective Systems: A Comparative Analysis Between in Situ Aircraft Observations and WRF Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    D’Alessandro, John J.; Diao, Minghui; Wu, Chenglai; Liu, Xiaohong; Chen, Ming; Morrison, Hugh; Eidhammer, Trude; Jensen, Jorgen B.; Bansemer, Aaron; Zondlo, Mark A.; hide

    2017-01-01

    Occurrence frequency and dynamical conditions of ice supersaturation (ISS, where relative humidity with respect to ice (RHi) greater than 100%) are examined in the upper troposphere around convective activity. Comparisons are conducted between in situ airborne observations and the Weather Research and Forecasting model simulations using four double-moment microphysical schemes at temperatures less than or or equal to -40degdegC. All four schemes capture both clear-sky and in-cloud ISS conditions. However, the clear-sky (in-cloud) ISS conditions are completely (significantly) limited to the RHi thresholds of the Cooper parameterization. In all of the simulations, ISS occurrence frequencies are higher by approximately 3-4 orders of magnitude at higher updraft speeds (greater than 1 m s(exp -1) than those at the lower updraft speeds when ice water content (IWC) greater than 0.01 gm(exp -3), while observations show smaller differences up to approximately 1-2 orders of magnitude. The simulated ISS also occurs less frequently at weaker updrafts and downdrafts than observed. These results indicate that the simulations have a greater dependence on stronger updrafts to maintain/generate ISS at higher IWC. At lower IWC (less than or equal or 0.01 gm(exp -3), simulations unexpectedly show lower ISS frequencies at stronger updrafts. Overall, the Thompson aerosol-aware scheme has the closest magnitudes and frequencies of ISS greater than 20% to the observations, and the modified Morrison has the closest correlations between ISS frequencies and vertical velocity at higher IWC and number density. The Cooper parameterization often generates excessive ice crystals and therefore suppresses the frequency and magnitude of ISS, indicating that it should be initiated at higher ISS (e.g.,lees than or equal to 25%).

  5. A dynamical theory of nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lutsko, James F.

    2013-05-01

    A dynamical theory of nucleation based on fluctuating hydrodynamics is described. It is developed in detail for the case of diffusion-limited nucleation appropriate to colloids and macro-molecules in solution. By incorporating fluctuations, realistic fluid-transport and realistic free energy models the theory is able to give a unified treatment of both the pre-critical development of fluctuations leading to a critical cluster as well as of post-critical growth. Standard results from classical nucleation theory are shown to follow in the weak noise limit while the generality of the theory allows for many extensions including the description of very high supersaturations (small clusters), multiple order parameters and strong-noise effects to name a few. The theory is applied to homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation of a model globular protein in a confined volume and it is found that nucleation depends critically on the existence of long-wavelength, small-amplitude density fluctuations.

  6. Do detailed simulations with size-resolved microphysics reproduce basic features of observed cirrus ice size distributions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fridlind, A. M.; Atlas, R.; van Diedenhoven, B.; Ackerman, A. S.; Rind, D. H.; Harrington, J. Y.; McFarquhar, G. M.; Um, J.; Jackson, R.; Lawson, P.

    2017-12-01

    It has recently been suggested that seeding synoptic cirrus could have desirable characteristics as a geoengineering approach, but surprisingly large uncertainties remain in the fundamental parameters that govern cirrus properties, such as mass accommodation coefficient, ice crystal physical properties, aggregation efficiency, and ice nucleation rate from typical upper tropospheric aerosol. Only one synoptic cirrus model intercomparison study has been published to date, and studies that compare the shapes of observed and simulated ice size distributions remain sparse. Here we amend a recent model intercomparison setup using observations during two 2010 SPARTICUS campaign flights. We take a quasi-Lagrangian column approach and introduce an ensemble of gravity wave scenarios derived from collocated Doppler cloud radar retrievals of vertical wind speed. We use ice crystal properties derived from in situ cloud particle images, for the first time allowing smoothly varying and internally consistent treatments of nonspherical ice capacitance, fall speed, gravitational collection, and optical properties over all particle sizes in our model. We test two new parameterizations for mass accommodation coefficient as a function of size, temperature and water vapor supersaturation, and several ice nucleation scenarios. Comparison of results with in situ ice particle size distribution data, corrected using state-of-the-art algorithms to remove shattering artifacts, indicate that poorly constrained uncertainties in the number concentration of crystals smaller than 100 µm in maximum dimension still prohibit distinguishing which parameter combinations are more realistic. When projected area is concentrated at such sizes, the only parameter combination that reproduces observed size distribution properties uses a fixed mass accommodation coefficient of 0.01, on the low end of recently reported values. No simulations reproduce the observed abundance of such small crystals when the

  7. An experimental and numerical study of the light scattering properties of ice crystals with black carbon inclusions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arienti, Marco; Geier, Manfred; Yang, Xiaoyuan; Orcutt, John; Zenker, Jake; Brooks, Sarah D.

    2018-05-01

    We investigate the optical properties of ice crystals nucleated on atmospheric black carbon (BC). The parameters examined in this study are the shape of the ice crystal, the volume fraction of the BC inclusion, and its location inside the crystal. We report on new spectrometer measurements of forward scattering and backward polarization from ice crystals nucleated on BC particles and grown under laboratory-controlled conditions. Data from the Cloud and Aerosol Spectrometer with Polarization (CASPOL) are used for direct comparison with single-particle calculations of the scattering phase matrix. Geometrical optics and discrete dipole approximation techniques are jointly used to provide the best compromise of flexibility and accuracy over a broad range of size parameters. Together with the interpretation of the trends revealed by the CASPOL measurements, the numerical results confirm previous reports on absorption cross-section magnification in the visible light range. Even taking into account effects of crystal shape and inclusion position, the ratio between absorption cross-section of the compound particle and the absorption cross-section of the BC inclusion alone (the absorption magnification) has a lower bound of 1.5; this value increases to 1.7 if the inclusion is centered with respect to the crystal. The simple model of BC-ice particle presented here also offers new insights on the effect of the relative position of the BC inclusion with respect to the crystal's outer surfaces, the shape of the crystal, and its size.

  8. Multiphase Reactive Transport and Platelet Ice Accretion in the Sea Ice of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buffo, J. J.; Schmidt, B. E.; Huber, C.

    2018-01-01

    Sea ice seasonally to interannually forms a thermal, chemical, and physical boundary between the atmosphere and hydrosphere over tens of millions of square kilometers of ocean. Its presence affects both local and global climate and ocean dynamics, ice shelf processes, and biological communities. Accurate incorporation of sea ice growth and decay, and its associated thermal and physiochemical processes, is underrepresented in large-scale models due to the complex physics that dictate oceanic ice formation and evolution. Two phenomena complicate sea ice simulation, particularly in the Antarctic: the multiphase physics of reactive transport brought about by the inhomogeneous solidification of seawater, and the buoyancy driven accretion of platelet ice formed by supercooled ice shelf water onto the basal surface of the overlying ice. Here a one-dimensional finite difference model capable of simulating both processes is developed and tested against ice core data. Temperature, salinity, liquid fraction, fluid velocity, total salt content, and ice structure are computed during model runs. The model results agree well with empirical observations and simulations highlight the effect platelet ice accretion has on overall ice thickness and characteristics. Results from sensitivity studies emphasize the need to further constrain sea ice microstructure and the associated physics, particularly permeability-porosity relationships, if a complete model of sea ice evolution is to be obtained. Additionally, implications for terrestrial ice shelves and icy moons in the solar system are discussed.

  9. Computer simulation of chemical nucleation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turner, J.S.

    1979-01-01

    The problem of nucleation at chemical instabilities is investigated by means of microscopic computer simulation. The first-order transition of interest involves a new kind of nucleation arising from chemical transformations rather than physical forces. Here it is the chemical state of matter, and not matter itself, which is spatially localized to form the nucleus for transition between different chemical states. First, the concepts of chemical instability, nonequilibrium phase transition, and dissipative structure are reviewed briefly. Then recently developed methods of reactive molecular dynamics are used to study chemical nucleation in a simple model chemical reactions. Finally, the connection of these studies to nucleation and condensation processes involving physical and chemical interactions is explored. (orig.)

  10. A rapid transition from ice covered CO2–rich waters to a biologically mediated CO2 sink in the eastern Weddell Gyre

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. Geibert

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW, locally called Warm Deep Water (WDW, enters the Weddell Gyre in the southeast, roughly at 25° E to 30° E. In December 2002 and January 2003 we studied the effect of entrainment of WDW on the fugacity of carbon dioxide (fCO2 and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC in Weddell Sea surface waters. Ultimately the fCO2 difference across the sea surface drives air-sea fluxes of CO2. Deep CTD sections and surface transects of fCO2 were made along the Prime Meridian, a northwest-southeast section, and along 17° E to 23° E during cruise ANT XX/2 on FS Polarstern. Upward movement and entrainment of WDW into the winter mixed layer had significantly increased DIC and fCO2 below the sea ice along 0° W and 17° E to 23° E, notably in the southern Weddell Gyre. Nonetheless, the ice cover largely prevented outgassing of CO2 to the atmosphere. During and upon melting of the ice, biological activity rapidly reduced surface water fCO2 by up to 100 μatm, thus creating a sink for atmospheric CO2. Despite the tendency of the surfacing WDW to cause CO2 supersaturation, the Weddell Gyre may well be a CO2 sink on an annual basis due to this effective mechanism involving ice cover and ensuing biological fCO2 reduction. Dissolution of calcium carbonate (CaCO3 in melting sea ice may play a minor role in this rapid reduction of surface water fCO2.

  11. Unexpectedly high ultrafine aerosol concentrations above East Antarctic sea-ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humphries, R. S.; Klekociuk, A. R.; Schofield, R.; Keywood, M.; Ward, J.; Wilson, S. R.

    2015-10-01

    The effect of aerosols on clouds and their radiative properties is one of the largest uncertainties in our understanding of radiative forcing. A recent study has concluded that better characterisation of pristine, natural aerosol processes leads to the largest reduction in these uncertainties. Antarctica, being far from anthropogenic activities, is an ideal location for the study of natural aerosol processes. Aerosol measurements in Antarctica are often limited to boundary layer air-masses at spatially sparse coastal and continental research stations, with only a handful of studies in the sea ice region. In this paper, the first observational study of sub-micron aerosols in the East Antarctic sea ice region is presented. Measurements were conducted aboard the ice-breaker Aurora Australis in spring 2012 and found that boundary layer condensation nuclei (CN3) concentrations exhibited a five-fold increase moving across the Polar Front, with mean Polar Cell concentrations of 1130 cm-3 - higher than any observed elsewhere in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. The absence of evidence for aerosol growth suggested that nucleation was unlikely to be local. Air parcel trajectories indicated significant influence from the free troposphere above the Antarctic continent, implicating this as the likely nucleation region for surface aerosol, a similar conclusion to previous Antarctic aerosol studies. The highest aerosol concentrations were found to correlate with low pressure systems, suggesting that the passage of cyclones provided an accelerated pathway, delivering air-masses quickly from the free-troposphere to the surface. After descent from the Antarctic free troposphere, trajectories suggest that sea ice boundary layer air-masses travelled equator-ward into the low albedo Southern Ocean region, transporting with them emissions and these aerosol nuclei where, after growth, may potentially impact on the region's radiative balance. The high aerosol concentrations and

  12. Final Technical Report for Award SC0008613

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knopf, Daniel A. [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)

    2017-04-05

    freezing, when a particle immersed in an aqueous droplet acts as an ice nucleus (IN), can be predicted by knowledge of the IN particle type present and the droplet’s water activity which is equal to ambient relative humidity. Our water activity based immersion freezing model is successful in predicting freezing data including INPs such as mineral dusts, marine biological material, organic species, and surfactant molecules. Its mathematical simplicity makes it an ideal candidate for implementation in cloud and climate models. Furthermore, we could show that this model can reproduce many past laboratory measurements which were generated using a variety of instruments to study immersion freezing. Lastly, we have demonstrated that this model can also be applied to field collected particles. Currently, this novel physical parameterization of immersion freezing is being implemented in a cloud model. We examined the physicochemical properties and the ice nucleation potential of particles collected during CARES applying a novel experimental method that allows identification of the individual INPs within a large population of particles sampled from an ambient environment. Taking advantage of a variety of micro-spectroscopic techniques, we characterized the composition and morphology of IN and non-IN particles present in the airborne population. We developed a new parameterization for quantifying the mixing state of the entire aerosol populations by introducing a mixing state index. We found that the identified INPs belong to the most common particle-type classes observed in the CARES field samples and as such are not special or rare particles. In other words, the INPs can be shown not to be unique in contrast to the common paradigm of being rare and exceptional. Either there are differences between particles acting as IN and particles not acting as IN which are beyond our current detection limit or nucleation occurs randomly on the surface of any one of these compositionally

  13. Nucleation barrier reconstruction via the seeding method in a lattice model with competing nucleation pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lifanov, Yuri; Vorselaars, Bart; Quigley, David

    2016-12-07

    We study a three-species analogue of the Potts lattice gas model of nucleation from solution in a regime where partially disordered solute is a viable thermodynamic phase. Using a multicanonical sampling protocol, we compute phase diagrams for the system, from which we determine a parameter regime where the partially disordered phase is metastable almost everywhere in the temperature-fugacity plane. The resulting model shows non-trivial nucleation and growth behaviour, which we examine via multidimensional free energy calculations. We consider the applicability of the model in capturing the multi-stage nucleation mechanisms of polymorphic biominerals (e.g., CaCO 3 ). We then quantitatively explore the kinetics of nucleation in our model using the increasingly popular "seeding" method. We compare the resulting free energy barrier heights to those obtained via explicit free energy calculations over a wide range of temperatures and fugacities, carefully considering the propagation of statistical error. We find that the ability of the "seeding" method to reproduce accurate free energy barriers is dependent on the degree of supersaturation, and severely limited by the use of a nucleation driving force Δμ computed for bulk phases. We discuss possible reasons for this in terms of underlying kinetic assumptions, and those of classical nucleation theory.

  14. Chemically assisted crack nucleation in zircaloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williford, R.E.

    1985-01-01

    Stress corrosion cracking models (proposed to explain fuel rod failures) generally address crack propagation and cladding rupture, but frequently neglect the necessary nucleation stage for microcracks small enough to violate fracture mechanics continuum requirements. Intergranular microcrack nucleation was modeled with diffusion-controlled grain-boundary cavitation concepts, including the effects of metal embrittlement by iodine species. Computed microcrack nucleation times and strains agree with experimental observation, but the predicted grain-boundary cavities are so small that detection may be difficult. Without a protective oxide film intergranular microcracks can nucleate within 30 s at even low stresses when the embrittler concentration exceeds a threshold value. Indications were found that intergranular microcrack nucleation may be caused by combined corrosive and embrittlement phenomena. (orig.)

  15. A classical density functional investigation of nucleation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghosh, Satinath; Ghosh, Swapan K.

    2009-01-01

    Study of nucleation and growth phenomena in condensation is of prime importance in various applications such as crystal growth, nanoparticle synthesis, pattern formation etc. The knowledge of nucleation barrier in condensation is necessary to control the nucleation kinetics, size of the nanoparticles etc. Classical nucleation theory (CNT) assumes the density of the drop as bulk density irrespective of the size of the drop and overestimates the nucleation barrier. Here we are interested in solving the problem analytically using density functional theory (DFT) with square gradient approximation along the lines of Cahn and Hilliard. Nucleation barrier and density profile obtained in this work are consistent with other works based on nonclassical theory. (author)

  16. Nucleation of voids - the impurity effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, I-W; Taiwo, A.

    1984-01-01

    Nucleation of voids under irradiation in multicomponent alloys remains an unsolved theoretical problem. Of particular interest are the effects of nonequilibrium solute segregation phenomena on the critical nucleus and the nucleation rate. The resolution of the multicomponent nucleation in a dissipative system also has broader implication to the field of irreversible thermodynamics. The present paper describes a recent study of solute segregation effects in void nucleation. We begin with a thermodynamic model for a nonequilibrium void with interfacial segregation. The thermodynamic model is coupled with kinetic considerations of solute/solvent diffusion under a bias, which is itself related to segregation by the coating effect, to assess the stability of void embryos. To determine nucleation rate, we develop a novel technique by extending the most probable path method in statistical mechanics for nonequilibrium steady state to simulate large fluctuation with nonlinear dissipation. The path of nucleation is determined by solving an analogous problem on particle trajectory in classical dynamics. The results of both the stability analysis and the fluctuation analysis establish the paramount significance of the impurity effect via the mechanism of nonequilibrium segregation. We conclude that over-segregation is probably the most general cause for the apparently low nucleation barriers that are responsible for nearly ubiquitous occurrence of void swelling in common metals

  17. Oxidation products of biogenic emissions contribute to nucleation of atmospheric particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riccobono, Francesco; Schobesberger, Siegfried; Scott, Catherine E; Dommen, Josef; Ortega, Ismael K; Rondo, Linda; Almeida, João; Amorim, Antonio; Bianchi, Federico; Breitenlechner, Martin; David, André; Downard, Andrew; Dunne, Eimear M; Duplissy, Jonathan; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Flagan, Richard C; Franchin, Alessandro; Hansel, Armin; Junninen, Heikki; Kajos, Maija; Keskinen, Helmi; Kupc, Agnieszka; Kürten, Andreas; Kvashin, Alexander N; Laaksonen, Ari; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Mathot, Serge; Nieminen, Tuomo; Onnela, Antti; Petäjä, Tuukka; Praplan, Arnaud P; Santos, Filipe D; Schallhart, Simon; Seinfeld, John H; Sipilä, Mikko; Spracklen, Dominick V; Stozhkov, Yuri; Stratmann, Frank; Tomé, Antonio; Tsagkogeorgas, Georgios; Vaattovaara, Petri; Viisanen, Yrjö; Vrtala, Aron; Wagner, Paul E; Weingartner, Ernest; Wex, Heike; Wimmer, Daniela; Carslaw, Kenneth S; Curtius, Joachim; Donahue, Neil M; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku; Worsnop, Douglas R; Baltensperger, Urs

    2014-05-16

    Atmospheric new-particle formation affects climate and is one of the least understood atmospheric aerosol processes. The complexity and variability of the atmosphere has hindered elucidation of the fundamental mechanism of new-particle formation from gaseous precursors. We show, in experiments performed with the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber at CERN, that sulfuric acid and oxidized organic vapors at atmospheric concentrations reproduce particle nucleation rates observed in the lower atmosphere. The experiments reveal a nucleation mechanism involving the formation of clusters containing sulfuric acid and oxidized organic molecules from the very first step. Inclusion of this mechanism in a global aerosol model yields a photochemically and biologically driven seasonal cycle of particle concentrations in the continental boundary layer, in good agreement with observations. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  18. An Overview on Magnetic Field and Electric Field Interactions with Ice Crystallisation; Application in the Case of Frozen Food

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piyush Kumar Jha

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Ice nucleation is a stochastic process and it is very difficult to be controlled. Freezing technologies and more specifically crystallisation assisted by magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields have the capability to interact with nucleation. Static magnetic field (SMF may affect matter crystallisation; however, this is still under debate in the literature. Static electric field (SEF has a significant effect on crystallisation; this has been evidenced experimentally and confirmed by the theory. Oscillating magnetic field induces an oscillating electric field and is also expected to interact with water crystallisation. Oscillating electromagnetic fields interact with water, perturb and even disrupt hydrogen bonds, which in turn are thought to increase the degree of supercooling and to generate numerous fine ice crystals. Based on the literature, it seems that the frequency has an influence on the above-mentioned phenomena. This review article summarizes the fundamentals of freezing under magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields, as well as their applicability and potentials within the food industry.

  19. A significant reduction of ice adhesion on nanostructured surfaces that consist of an array of single-walled carbon nanotubes: A molecular dynamics simulation study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Luyao; Huang, Zhaoyuan; Priezjev, Nikolai V.; Chen, Shaoqiang; Luo, Kai; Hu, Haibao

    2018-04-01

    It is well recognized that excessive ice accumulation at low-temperature conditions can cause significant damage to civil infrastructure. The passive anti-icing surfaces provide a promising solution to suppress ice nucleation and enhance ice removal. However, despite extensive efforts, it remains a challenge to design anti-icing surfaces with low ice adhesion. Using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we show that surfaces with single-walled carbon nanotube array (CNTA) significantly reduce ice adhesion due to the extremely low solid areal fraction. It was found that the CNTA surface exhibits up to a 45% decrease in the ice adhesion strength in comparison with the atomically smooth graphene surface. The details of the ice detachment from the CNTA surface were examined for different water-carbon interaction energies and temperatures of the ice cube. Remarkably, the results of MD simulations demonstrate that the ice detaching strength depends linearly on the ratio of the ice-surface interaction energy and the ice temperature. These results open the possibility for designing novel robust surfaces with low ice adhesion for passive anti-icing applications.

  20. Convergent evolution of germ granule nucleators: A hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulkarni, Arpita; Extavour, Cassandra G

    2017-10-01

    Germ cells have been considered "the ultimate stem cell" because they alone, during normal development of sexually reproducing organisms, are able to give rise to all organismal cell types. Morphological descriptions of a specialized cytoplasm termed 'germ plasm' and associated electron dense ribonucleoprotein (RNP) structures called 'germ granules' within germ cells date back as early as the 1800s. Both germ plasm and germ granules are implicated in germ line specification across metazoans. However, at a molecular level, little is currently understood about the molecular mechanisms that assemble these entities in germ cells. The discovery that in some animals, the gene products of a small number of lineage-specific genes initiate the assembly (also termed nucleation) of germ granules and/or germ plasm is the first step towards facilitating a better understanding of these complex biological processes. Here, we draw on research spanning over 100years that supports the hypothesis that these nucleator genes may have evolved convergently, allowing them to perform analogous roles across animal lineages. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Interaction of the nucleation phenomena at adjacent sites in nucleate boiling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sultan, M.; Judd, R.L.

    1983-01-01

    The present investigation is an original study in nucleate pool boiling heat transfer combining theory and experiment in which water boiling at atmospheric pressure on a single copper surface at two different levels of heat and different levels of subcooling was studied. Cross spectral analysis of the signals generated by the emission of bubbles at adjacent nucleation sites was used to determine the relationship of the time elapsed between the start of bubble growth at the two neighbouring active sites with the distance separating them. The experimental results obtained indicated that for the lower level of heat flux at three different levels of subcooling, the elapsed time and distance were directly related. Theoretical predictions of a temperature disturbance propagating through the heating surface in the radial direction gave good agreement with the experimental findings, suggesting that this is the mechanism responsible for the activation of the surrounding nucleation sites

  2. Unexpectedly high ultrafine aerosol concentrations above East Antarctic sea ice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. S. Humphries

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Better characterisation of aerosol processes in pristine, natural environments, such as Antarctica, have recently been shown to lead to the largest reduction in uncertainties in our understanding of radiative forcing. Our understanding of aerosols in the Antarctic region is currently based on measurements that are often limited to boundary layer air masses at spatially sparse coastal and continental research stations, with only a handful of studies in the vast sea-ice region. In this paper, the first observational study of sub-micron aerosols in the East Antarctic sea ice region is presented. Measurements were conducted aboard the icebreaker Aurora Australis in spring 2012 and found that boundary layer condensation nuclei (CN3 concentrations exhibited a five-fold increase moving across the polar front, with mean polar cell concentrations of 1130 cm−3 – higher than any observed elsewhere in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. The absence of evidence for aerosol growth suggested that nucleation was unlikely to be local. Air parcel trajectories indicated significant influence from the free troposphere above the Antarctic continent, implicating this as the likely nucleation region for surface aerosol, a similar conclusion to previous Antarctic aerosol studies. The highest aerosol concentrations were found to correlate with low-pressure systems, suggesting that the passage of cyclones provided an accelerated pathway, delivering air masses quickly from the free troposphere to the surface. After descent from the Antarctic free troposphere, trajectories suggest that sea-ice boundary layer air masses travelled equatorward into the low-albedo Southern Ocean region, transporting with them emissions and these aerosol nuclei which, after growth, may potentially impact on the region's radiative balance. The high aerosol concentrations and their transport pathways described here, could help reduce the discrepancy currently present between

  3. Unexpectedly high ultrafine aerosol concentrations above East Antarctic sea ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humphries, R. S.; Klekociuk, A. R.; Schofield, R.; Keywood, M.; Ward, J.; Wilson, S. R.

    2016-02-01

    Better characterisation of aerosol processes in pristine, natural environments, such as Antarctica, have recently been shown to lead to the largest reduction in uncertainties in our understanding of radiative forcing. Our understanding of aerosols in the Antarctic region is currently based on measurements that are often limited to boundary layer air masses at spatially sparse coastal and continental research stations, with only a handful of studies in the vast sea-ice region. In this paper, the first observational study of sub-micron aerosols in the East Antarctic sea ice region is presented. Measurements were conducted aboard the icebreaker Aurora Australis in spring 2012 and found that boundary layer condensation nuclei (CN3) concentrations exhibited a five-fold increase moving across the polar front, with mean polar cell concentrations of 1130 cm-3 - higher than any observed elsewhere in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. The absence of evidence for aerosol growth suggested that nucleation was unlikely to be local. Air parcel trajectories indicated significant influence from the free troposphere above the Antarctic continent, implicating this as the likely nucleation region for surface aerosol, a similar conclusion to previous Antarctic aerosol studies. The highest aerosol concentrations were found to correlate with low-pressure systems, suggesting that the passage of cyclones provided an accelerated pathway, delivering air masses quickly from the free troposphere to the surface. After descent from the Antarctic free troposphere, trajectories suggest that sea-ice boundary layer air masses travelled equatorward into the low-albedo Southern Ocean region, transporting with them emissions and these aerosol nuclei which, after growth, may potentially impact on the region's radiative balance. The high aerosol concentrations and their transport pathways described here, could help reduce the discrepancy currently present between simulations and observations of

  4. Modelling ice microphysics of mixed-phase clouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahola, J.; Raatikainen, T.; Tonttila, J.; Romakkaniemi, S.; Kokkola, H.; Korhonen, H.

    2017-12-01

    The low-level Arctic mixed-phase clouds have a significant role for the Arctic climate due to their ability to absorb and reflect radiation. Since the climate change is amplified in polar areas, it is vital to apprehend the mixed-phase cloud processes. From a modelling point of view, this requires a high spatiotemporal resolution to capture turbulence and the relevant microphysical processes, which has shown to be difficult.In order to solve this problem about modelling mixed-phase clouds, a new ice microphysics description has been developed. The recently published large-eddy simulation cloud model UCLALES-SALSA offers a good base for a feasible solution (Tonttila et al., Geosci. Mod. Dev., 10:169-188, 2017). The model includes aerosol-cloud interactions described with a sectional SALSA module (Kokkola et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 2469-2483, 2008), which represents a good compromise between detail and computational expense.Newly, the SALSA module has been upgraded to include also ice microphysics. The dynamical part of the model is based on well-known UCLA-LES model (Stevens et al., J. Atmos. Sci., 56, 3963-3984, 1999) which can be used to study cloud dynamics on a fine grid.The microphysical description of ice is sectional and the included processes consist of formation, growth and removal of ice and snow particles. Ice cloud particles are formed by parameterized homo- or heterogeneous nucleation. The growth mechanisms of ice particles and snow include coagulation and condensation of water vapor. Autoconversion from cloud ice particles to snow is parameterized. The removal of ice particles and snow happens by sedimentation and melting.The implementation of ice microphysics is tested by initializing the cloud simulation with atmospheric observations from the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC). The results are compared to the model results shown in the paper of Ovchinnikov et al. (J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., 6, 223-248, 2014) and they show a good

  5. Dimers in nucleating vapors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lushnikov, A. A.; Kulmala, M.

    1998-09-01

    The dimer stage of nucleation may affect considerably the rate of the nucleation process at high supersaturation of the nucleating vapor. Assuming that the dimer formation limits the nucleation rate, the kinetics of the particle formation-growth process is studied starting with the definition of dimers as bound states of two associating molecules. The partition function of dimer states is calculated by summing the Boltzmann factor over all classical bound states, and the equilibrium population of dimers is found for two types of intermolecular forces: the Lennard-Jones (LJ) and rectangular well+hard core (RW) potentials. The principle of detailed balance is used for calculating the evaporation rate of dimers. The kinetics of the particle formation-growth process is then investigated under the assumption that the trimers are stable with respect to evaporation and that the condensation rate is a power function of the particle mass. If the power exponent λ=n/(n+1) (n is a non-negative integer), the kinetics of the process is described by a finite set of moments of particle mass distribution. When the characteristic time of the particle formation by nucleation is much shorter than that of the condensational growth, n+2 universal functions of a nondimensional time define the kinetic process. These functions are calculated for λ=2/3 (gas-to-particle conversion in the free molecular regime) and λ=1/2 (formation of islands on surfaces).

  6. Single-fluorophore monitoring of DNA hybridization for investigating the effect of secondary structure on the nucleation step.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, Joon-Jung; Kim, Min-Ji; Son, Jung-Tae; Kim, Jandi; Shin, Jong-Shik

    2009-07-17

    Nucleic acid hybridization is one of the essential biological processes involved in storage and transmission of genetic information. Here we quantitatively determined the effect of secondary structure on the hybridization activation energy using structurally defined oligonucleotides. It turned out that activation energy is linearly proportional to the length of a single-stranded region flanking a nucleation site, generating a 0.18 kcal/mol energy barrier per nucleotide. Based on this result, we propose that the presence of single-stranded segments available for non-productive base pairing with a nucleation counterpart extends the searching process for nucleation sites to find a perfect match. This result may provide insights into rational selection of a target mRNA site for siRNA and antisense gene silencing.

  7. Investigation of the effect of power ultrasound on the nucleation of water during freezing of agar gel samples in tubing vials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiani, Hossein; Sun, Da-Wen; Delgado, Adriana; Zhang, Zhihang

    2012-05-01

    Nucleation, as an important stage of freezing process, can be induced by the irradiation of power ultrasound. In this study, the effect of irradiation temperature (-2 °C, -3 °C, -4 °C and -5 °C), irradiation duration (0s, 1s, 3s, 5s, 10s or 15s) and ultrasound intensity (0.07 W cm(-2), 0.14 W cm(-2), 0.25 W cm(-2), 0.35 W cm(-2) and 0.42 W cm(-2)) on the dynamic nucleation of ice in agar gel samples was studied. The samples were frozen in an ethylene glycol-water mixture (-20 °C) in an ultrasonic bath system after putting them into tubing vials. Results indicated that ultrasound irradiation is able to initiate nucleation at different supercooled temperatures (from -5 °C to -2 °C) in agar gel if optimum intensity and duration of ultrasound were chosen. Evaluation of the effect of 0.25 W cm(-2) ultrasound intensity and different durations of ultrasound application on agar gels showed that 1s was not long enough to induce nucleation, 3s induced the nucleation repeatedly but longer irradiation durations resulted in the generation of heat and therefore nucleation was postponed. Investigation of the effect of ultrasound intensity revealed that higher intensities of ultrasound were effective when a shorter period of irradiation was used, while lower intensities only resulted in nucleation when a longer irradiation time was applied. In addition to this, higher intensities were not effective at longer irradiation times due to the heat generated in the samples by the heating effect of ultrasound. In conclusion, the use of ultrasound as a means to control the crystallization process offers promising application in freezing of solid foods, however, optimum conditions should be selected. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Heterogeneous nucleation of calcium oxalate on native oxide surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, L.; Pattillo, M.J.; Graff, G.L.; Campbell, A.A.; Bunker, B.C.

    1994-04-01

    The aqueous deposition of calcium oxalate onto colloidal oxides has been studied as a model system for understanding heterogeneous nucleation processes of importance in biomimetic synthesis of ceramic thin films. Calcium oxalate nucleation has been monitored by measuring induction times for nucleation using Constant Composition techniques and by measuring nucleation densities on extended oxide surfaces using an atomic force microscope. Results show that the dependence of calcium oxalate nucleation on solution supersaturation fits the functional form predicted by classical nucleation theories. Anionic surfaces appear to promote nucleation better than cationic surfaces, lowering the effective energy barrier to heterogeneous nucleation

  9. The multiphase physics of sea ice: a review for model developers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. C. Hunke

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Rather than being solid throughout, sea ice contains liquid brine inclusions, solid salts, microalgae, trace elements, gases, and other impurities which all exist in the interstices of a porous, solid ice matrix. This multiphase structure of sea ice arises from the fact that the salt that exists in seawater cannot be incorporated into lattice sites in the pure ice component of sea ice, but remains in liquid solution. Depending on the ice permeability (determined by temperature, salinity and gas content, this brine can drain from the ice, taking other sea ice constituents with it. Thus, sea ice salinity and microstructure are tightly interconnected and play a significant role in polar ecosystems and climate. As large-scale climate modeling efforts move toward "earth system" simulations that include biological and chemical cycles, renewed interest in the multiphase physics of sea ice has strengthened research initiatives to observe, understand and model this complex system. This review article provides an overview of these efforts, highlighting known difficulties and requisite observations for further progress in the field. We focus on mushy layer theory, which describes general multiphase materials, and on numerical approaches now being explored to model the multiphase evolution of sea ice and its interaction with chemical, biological and climate systems.

  10. Nucleation behavior of glutathione polymorphs in water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Zhi; Dang, Leping; Li, Shuai; Wei, Hongyuan

    2013-01-01

    Nucleation behavior of glutathione (GSH) polymorphs in water was investigated by experimental method combined with classical nucleation theory. The solubility of α and β forms GSH in water at different temperatures, and the nucleation induction period at various supersaturations and temperatures were determined experimentally. The results show that, in a certain range of supersaturation, the nucleation of β form predominates at relatively higher temperature, while α form will be obtained at lower temperature. The nucleation kinetics parameters of α and β form were then calculated. To understand the crucial role of temperature on crystal forms, “hypothetic” nucleation parameters of β form at 283.15 K were deduced based on extrapolation method. The results show that the interfacial tension, critical free energy, critical nucleus radius and nucleus number of α form are smaller than that of β form in the same condition at 283.15 K, which implies that α form nucleates easier than β form at low temperature. This work may be useful for the control and optimization of GSH crystallization process in industry

  11. Nucleation in an ultra low ionization environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Jens Olaf Pepke; Enghoff, Martin Andreas Bødker; Paling, Sean

    Atmospheric ions can enhance the nucleation of aerosols, as has been established by experiments, observation, and theory. In the clean marine atmosphere ionization is mainly caused by cosmic rays which in turn are controlled by the activity of the Sun, thus providing a potential link between solar...... activity and climate. In order to understand the effect ions may have on the production of cloud condensation nuclei the overall contribution of ion induced nucleation to the global production of secondary aerosols must be determined. One issue with determining this contribution is that several mechanisms...... for nucleation exist and it can be difficult to determine the relative importance of the various mechanisms in a given nucleation event when both ion induced and electrically neutral nucleation mechanisms are at work at the same time. We have carried out nucleation experiments in the Boulby Underground...

  12. Ice barriers promote supercooling and prevent frost injury in reproductive buds, flowers and fruits of alpine dwarf shrubs throughout the summer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuprian, Edith; Briceño, Verónica F; Wagner, Johanna; Neuner, Gilbert

    2014-10-01

    Over-wintering reproductive buds of many woody plants survive frost by supercooling. The bud tissues are isolated from acropetally advancing ice by the presence of ice barriers that restrict ice growth. Plants living in alpine environments also face the risk of ice formation in summer months. Little knowledge exists, how reproductive structures of woody alpine plants are protected from frost injury during episodic summer frosts. In order to address this question, frost resistance of three common dwarf shrubs, Calluna vulgaris , Empetrum hermaphroditum and Loiseleuria procumbens was measured and ice formation and propagation were monitored in twigs bearing reproductive shoots during various stages of reproductive development (bud, anthesis, and fruit) throughout the alpine summer. Results indicated that, in the investigated species, ice barriers were present at all reproductive stages, isolating the reproductive shoots from ice advancing from the subtending vegetative shoot. Additionally, in the reproductive stems ice nucleating agents that are active at warm, sub-zero temperatures, were absent. The ice barriers were 100% effective, with the exception of L. procumbens , where in 13% of the total observations, the ice barrier failed. The ice barriers were localized at the base of the pedicel, at the anatomical junction of the vegetative and reproductive shoot. There, structural aspects of the tissue impede or prevent ice from advancing from the frozen stem into the pedicel of the reproductive shoot. Under the experimental conditions used in this study, ice nucleation initially occurred in the stem of the vegetative shoot at species-specific mean temperatures in the range of -4.7 to -5.8 °C. Reproductive shoots, however, remained supercooled and ice free down to a range of -7.2 to -18.2 °C or even below -22 °C, the lowest temperature applied in the study. This level of supercooling is sufficient to prevent freezing of reproductive structures at the lowest air

  13. Theory and Simulation of Nucleation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuipers, J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304832049

    2009-01-01

    Nucleation is the process where a stable nucleus spontaneously emerges in a metastable environment. Examples of nucleation abound, for instance the formation of droplets in undercooled gasses and of crystals in undercooled liquids. The process is thermally activated and is key to understanding

  14. Nonclassical nucleation pathways in protein crystallization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fajun

    2017-11-08

    Classical nucleation theory (CNT), which was established about 90 years ago, has been very successful in many research fields, and continues to be the most commonly used theory in describing the nucleation process. For a fluid-to-solid phase transition, CNT states that the solute molecules in a supersaturated solution reversibly form small clusters. Once the cluster size reaches a critical value, it becomes thermodynamically stable and favored for further growth. One of the most important assumptions of CNT is that the nucleation process is described by one reaction coordinate and all order parameters proceed simultaneously. Recent studies in experiments, computer simulations and theory have revealed nonclassical features in the early stage of nucleation. In particular, the decoupling of order parameters involved during a fluid-to-solid transition leads to the so-called two-step nucleation mechanism, in which a metastable intermediate phase (MIP) exists between the initial supersaturated solution and the final crystals. Depending on the exact free energy landscapes, the MIPs can be a high density liquid phase, mesoscopic clusters, or a pre-ordered state. In this review, we focus on the studies of nonclassical pathways in protein crystallization and discuss the applications of the various scenarios of two-step nucleation theory. In particular, we focus on protein solutions in the presence of multivalent salts, which serve as a model protein system to study the nucleation pathways. We wish to point out the unique features of proteins as model systems for further studies.

  15. Nonclassical nucleation pathways in protein crystallization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fajun

    2017-11-01

    Classical nucleation theory (CNT), which was established about 90 years ago, has been very successful in many research fields, and continues to be the most commonly used theory in describing the nucleation process. For a fluid-to-solid phase transition, CNT states that the solute molecules in a supersaturated solution reversibly form small clusters. Once the cluster size reaches a critical value, it becomes thermodynamically stable and favored for further growth. One of the most important assumptions of CNT is that the nucleation process is described by one reaction coordinate and all order parameters proceed simultaneously. Recent studies in experiments, computer simulations and theory have revealed nonclassical features in the early stage of nucleation. In particular, the decoupling of order parameters involved during a fluid-to-solid transition leads to the so-called two-step nucleation mechanism, in which a metastable intermediate phase (MIP) exists between the initial supersaturated solution and the final crystals. Depending on the exact free energy landscapes, the MIPs can be a high density liquid phase, mesoscopic clusters, or a pre-ordered state. In this review, we focus on the studies of nonclassical pathways in protein crystallization and discuss the applications of the various scenarios of two-step nucleation theory. In particular, we focus on protein solutions in the presence of multivalent salts, which serve as a model protein system to study the nucleation pathways. We wish to point out the unique features of proteins as model systems for further studies.

  16. Astronomical Ice: The Effects of Treating Ice as a Porous Media on the Dynamics and Evolution of Extraterrestrial Ice-Ocean Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buffo, J.; Schmidt, B. E.

    2015-12-01

    accretion rates. A porous medium is an ideal place for the coalescence of nutrients and the formation of energy gradients, key controllers of biological activity. Understanding the physics that influence ice-ocean exchange is thus essential in assessing the habitability of Europa and its contemporaries.

  17. The role of sodium bicarbonate in the nucleation of noctilucent clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. C. Plane

    Full Text Available It is proposed that a component of meteoric smoke, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3, provides particularly effective condensation nuclei for noctilucent clouds. This assertion is based on three conditions being met. The first is that NaHCO3 is present at sufficient concentration (±104 cm-3 in the upper mesosphere between 80 and 90 km. It is demonstrated that there is strong evidence for this based on recent laboratory measurements coupled with atmospheric modelling. The second condition is that the thermodynamics of NaHCO3(H2On cluster formation allow spontaneous nucleation to occur under mesospheric conditions at temperatures below 140 K. The Gibbs free energy changes for forming clusters with n = 1 and 2 were computed from quantum calculations using hybrid density functional/Hartree-Fock (B3LYP theory and a large basis set with added polarization and diffuse functions. The results were then extrapolated to higher n using an established dependence of the free energy on cluster size and the free energy for the sublimation of H2O to bulk ice. A 1-dimensional model of sodium chemistry was then employed to show that spontaneous nucleation to form ice particles (n >100 should occur between 84 and 89 km in the high-latitude summer mesosphere. The third condition is that other metallic components of meteoric smoke are less effective condensation nuclei, so that the total number of potential nuclei is small relative to the amount of available H2O. Quantum calculations indicate that this is probably the case for major constituents such as Fe(OH2, FeO3 and MgCO3.

    Key words: Atmospheric composition and structure (aerosols and particles; cloud physics and chemistry; middle atmosphere · composition and chemistry

  18. Characterizing of a Mid-Latitude Ice-Rich Landing Site on Mars to Enable in Situ Habitability Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heldmann, J.; Schurmeier, L. R.; Wilhelm, M.; Stoker, C.; McKay, C.; Davila, A.; Marinova, M.; Karcz, J.; Smith, H.

    2012-01-01

    We suggest an ice-rich landing site at 188.5E 46.16N within Amazonis Planitia as a candidate location to support a Mars lander mission equipped to study past habitability and regions capable of preserving the physical and chemical signs of life and organic matter. Studies of the ice-rich subsurface on Mars are critical for several reasons. The subsurface environment provides protection from radiation to shield organic and biologic compounds from destruction. The ice-rich substrate is also ideal for preserving organic and biologic molecules and provides a source of H2O for biologic activity. Examination of martian ground ice can test several hypotheses such as: 1) whether ground ice supports habitable conditions, 2) that ground ice can preserve and accumulate organic compounds, and 3) that ice contains biomolecules evident of past or present biological activity on Mars. This Amazonis site, located near the successful Viking Lander 2, shows indirect evidence of subsurface ice (ubiquitous defined polygonal ground, gamma ray spectrometer hydrogen signature, and numerical modeling of ice stability) and direct evidence of exposed subsurface ice. This site also provides surface conditions favorable to a safe landing including no boulders, low rock density, minimal rough topography, and few craters.

  19. Homogeneous nucleation of water in synthetic air

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fransen, M.A.L.J.; Sachteleben, E.; Hruby, J.; Smeulders, D.M.J.; DeMott, P.J.; O'Dowd, C.D.

    2013-01-01

    Homogeneous nucleation rates for water vapor in synthetic air are measured by means of a Pulse-Expansion Wave Tube (PEWT). A comparison of the experimental nucleation rates with the Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT) shows that a more elaborated model is necessary to describe supercooled water

  20. Simple improvements to classical bubble nucleation models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Kyoko K; Tanaka, Hidekazu; Angélil, Raymond; Diemand, Jürg

    2015-08-01

    We revisit classical nucleation theory (CNT) for the homogeneous bubble nucleation rate and improve the classical formula using a correct prefactor in the nucleation rate. Most of the previous theoretical studies have used the constant prefactor determined by the bubble growth due to the evaporation process from the bubble surface. However, the growth of bubbles is also regulated by the thermal conduction, the viscosity, and the inertia of liquid motion. These effects can decrease the prefactor significantly, especially when the liquid pressure is much smaller than the equilibrium one. The deviation in the nucleation rate between the improved formula and the CNT can be as large as several orders of magnitude. Our improved, accurate prefactor and recent advances in molecular dynamics simulations and laboratory experiments for argon bubble nucleation enable us to precisely constrain the free energy barrier for bubble nucleation. Assuming the correction to the CNT free energy is of the functional form suggested by Tolman, the precise evaluations of the free energy barriers suggest the Tolman length is ≃0.3σ independently of the temperature for argon bubble nucleation, where σ is the unit length of the Lennard-Jones potential. With this Tolman correction and our prefactor one gets accurate bubble nucleation rate predictions in the parameter range probed by current experiments and molecular dynamics simulations.

  1. Truncated Dual-Cap Nucleation Site Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matson, Douglas M.; Sander, Paul J.

    2012-01-01

    During heterogeneous nucleation within a metastable mushy-zone, several geometries for nucleation site development must be considered. Traditional spherical dual cap and crevice models are compared to a truncated dual cap to determine the activation energy and critical cluster growth kinetics in ternary Fe-Cr-Ni steel alloys. Results of activation energy results indicate that nucleation is more probable at grain boundaries within the solid than at the solid-liquid interface.

  2. Homogeneous versus heterogeneous zeolite nucleation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dokter, W.H.; Garderen, van H.F.; Beelen, T.P.M.; Santen, van R.A.; Bras, W.

    1995-01-01

    Aggregates of fractal dimension were found in the intermediate gel phases that organize prior to nucleation and crystallization (shown right) of silicalite from a homogeneous reaction mixture. Small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering studies prove that for zeolites nucleation may be homogeneous or

  3. Nucleation reactions during deformation and crystallization of metallic glass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perepezko, J.H.; Imhoff, S.D.; Chen, M.W.; Gonzalez, S.; Inoue, A.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► New approach to the examination and analysis of shear band nucleation. ► Discovery of multiple shear band nucleation sites. ► Identification of a method of using transient kinetic behavior to provide a more realistic evaluation of the diffusivity that is relevant to nucleation. - Abstract: Nucleation reactions play a central role in the synthesis of both bulk metallic glasses and nanostructured materials. For nanostructured materials it is necessary to promote a high nucleation density without significant growth or coarsening. Beyond crystallization reactions nucleation of shear bands is critical for promoting a homogeneous flow and useful ductility for structural applications of bulk metallic glass. The study and analysis of nucleation reactions for these different situations requires a consideration of the stochastic nature of nucleation, the influence of heterogeneous sites, and the controlling transport properties. For shear band nucleation, the stochastic nature can be effectively probed by instrumented nanoindentation tests. The analysis of a statistically significant number of measurements of the first pop-in shear band nucleation events reveals at least two main nucleation sites. In nanostructured composites, the initial nucleation stage is influenced by transient effects as reflected in the delay time prior to steady state nucleation and by heterogeneous nucleation sites that are related to medium range order regions in Al-base amorphous alloys. Moreover, the early growth characteristics are linked to the maximum achievable particle density. The new developments and insight on the fundamental understanding of nanostructure reaction mechanisms offer valuable guidance for control of nanoscale microstructures and for promoting ductile deformation behavior.

  4. Global Distribution of Solid Ammonium Sulfate Aerosols and their Climate Impact Acting as Ice Nuclei

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, C.; Penner, J.

    2017-12-01

    Laboratory experiments show that liquid ammonium sulfate particles effloresce when RHw is below 34% to become solid and dissolve when RHw is above 79%. Solid ammonium sulfate aerosols can act as heterogeneous ice nuclei particles (INPs) to form ice particles in deposition mode when the relative humidity over ice is above 120%. In this study we used the coupled IMPACT/CAM5 model to track the efflorescence and deliquescence processes of ammonium sulfate. Results show that about 20% of the total simulated pure sulfate aerosol mass is in the solid state and is mainly distributed in the northern hemisphere (NH) from 50 hPa to 200 hPa. When these solid ammonium sulfate aerosols are allowed to act as ice nuclei particles, they act to increase the ice water path in the NH and reduce ice water path in the tropics. The addition of these particles leads to a positive net radiative effect at the TOA ranging from 0.5-0.9 W/m2 depending on the amounts of other ice nuclei particles (e.g., dust, soot) used in the ice nucleation process. The short-term climate feedback shows that the ITCZ shifts northwards and precipitation increases in the NH. There is also an average warming of 0.05-0.1 K near the surface (at 2 meter) in the NH which is most obvious in the Arctic region.

  5. Determination of critical nucleation number for a single nucleation amyloid-β aggregation model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Preetam; Vaidya, Ashwin; Kumar, Amit; Rangachari, Vijayaraghavan

    2016-03-01

    Aggregates of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide are known to be the key pathological agents in Alzheimer disease (AD). Aβ aggregates to form large, insoluble fibrils that deposit as senile plaques in AD brains. The process of aggregation is nucleation-dependent in which the formation of a nucleus is the rate-limiting step, and controls the physiochemical fate of the aggregates formed. Therefore, understanding the properties of nucleus and pre-nucleation events will be significant in reducing the existing knowledge-gap in AD pathogenesis. In this report, we have determined the plausible range of critical nucleation number (n(*)), the number of monomers associated within the nucleus for a homogenous aggregation model with single unique nucleation event, by two independent methods: A reduced-order stability analysis and ordinary differential equation based numerical analysis, supported by experimental biophysics. The results establish that the most likely range of n(*) is between 7 and 14 and within, this range, n(*) = 12 closely supports the experimental data. These numbers are in agreement with those previously reported, and importantly, the report establishes a new modeling framework using two independent approaches towards a convergent solution in modeling complex aggregation reactions. Our model also suggests that the formation of large protofibrils is dependent on the nature of n(*), further supporting the idea that pre-nucleation events are significant in controlling the fate of larger aggregates formed. This report has re-opened an old problem with a new perspective and holds promise towards revealing the molecular events in amyloid pathologies in the future. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Monomer-dependent secondary nucleation in amyloid formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linse, Sara

    2017-08-01

    Secondary nucleation of monomers on the surface of an already existing aggregate that is formed from the same kind of monomers may lead to autocatalytic amplification of a self-assembly process. Such monomer-dependent secondary nucleation occurs during the crystallization of small molecules or proteins and self-assembled materials, as well as in protein self-assembly into fibrous structures. Indications of secondary nucleation may come from analyses of kinetic experiments starting from pure monomers or monomers supplemented with a low concentration of pre-formed aggregates (seeds). More firm evidence requires additional experiments, for example those employing isotope labels to distinguish new aggregates arising from the monomer from those resulting from fragmentation of the seed. In cases of amyloid formation, secondary nucleation leads to the formation of toxic oligomers, and inhibitors of secondary nucleation may serve as starting points for therapeutic developments. Secondary nucleation displays a high degree of structural specificity and may be enhanced by mutations or screening of electrostatic repulsion.

  7. Bubble nucleation in an explosive micro-bubble actuator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van den Broek, D M; Elwenspoek, M

    2008-01-01

    Explosive evaporation occurs when a thin layer of liquid reaches a temperature close to the critical temperature in a very short time. At these temperatures spontaneous nucleation takes place. The nucleated bubbles instantly coalesce forming a vapour film followed by rapid growth due to the pressure impulse. In this paper we take a closer look at the bubble nucleation. The moment of bubble nucleation was determined by both stroboscopic imaging and resistance thermometry. Two nucleation regimes could be distinguished. Several different heater designs were investigated under heat fluxes of hundreds of W mm −2 . A close correspondence between current density in the heater and point of nucleation was found. This results in design rules for effective heaters

  8. Effects of shear flow on phase nucleation and crystallization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mura, Federica; Zaccone, Alessio

    2016-04-01

    Classical nucleation theory offers a good framework for understanding the common features of new phase formation processes in metastable homogeneous media at rest. However, nucleation processes in liquids are ubiquitously affected by hydrodynamic flow, and there is no satisfactory understanding of whether shear promotes or slows down the nucleation process. We developed a classical nucleation theory for sheared systems starting from the molecular level of the Becker-Doering master kinetic equation and we analytically derived a closed-form expression for the nucleation rate. The theory accounts for the effect of flow-mediated transport of molecules to the nucleus of the new phase, as well as for the mechanical deformation imparted to the nucleus by the flow field. The competition between flow-induced molecular transport, which accelerates nucleation, and flow-induced nucleus straining, which lowers the nucleation rate by increasing the nucleation energy barrier, gives rise to a marked nonmonotonic dependence of the nucleation rate on the shear rate. The theory predicts an optimal shear rate at which the nucleation rate is one order of magnitude larger than in the absence of flow.

  9. Metadynamics studies of crystal nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giberti, Federico; Salvalaglio, Matteo; Parrinello, Michele

    2015-01-01

    Crystallization processes are characterized by activated events and long timescales. These characteristics prevent standard molecular dynamics techniques from being efficiently used for the direct investigation of processes such as nucleation. This short review provides an overview on the use of metadynamics, a state-of-the-art enhanced sampling technique, for the simulation of phase transitions involving the production of a crystalline solid. In particular the principles of metadynamics are outlined, several order parameters are described that have been or could be used in conjunction with metadynamics to sample nucleation events and then an overview is given of recent metadynamics results in the field of crystal nucleation. PMID:25866662

  10. Metadynamics studies of crystal nucleation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federico Giberti

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Crystallization processes are characterized by activated events and long timescales. These characteristics prevent standard molecular dynamics techniques from being efficiently used for the direct investigation of processes such as nucleation. This short review provides an overview on the use of metadynamics, a state-of-the-art enhanced sampling technique, for the simulation of phase transitions involving the production of a crystalline solid. In particular the principles of metadynamics are outlined, several order parameters are described that have been or could be used in conjunction with metadynamics to sample nucleation events and then an overview is given of recent metadynamics results in the field of crystal nucleation.

  11. Review: The nucleation of disorder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cahn, R.W.; Johnson, W.L.

    1986-01-01

    Four types of phase transformation that involve the conversion of crystalline phases into more disordered forms are reviewed: melting, disordering of superlattices, amorphization by diffusion between crystalline phases, and irradation amorphization. In the review emphasis is placed on evidence for the heterogeneous nucleation of the product phases; in this connection, the role of surfaces, antiphase domain boundaries, dislocations, vacancies, and grain boundaries is specifically discussed. All of these features have been either observed, or hypothesized, to play a role as heterogeneous nucleation sites in one or more of the four transformations. An attempt is made to draw parallels between nucleation mechanisms in the various processes

  12. Oxygen exchange and ice melt measured at the ice-water interface by eddy correlation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Long, M.H.; Koopmans, D.; Berg, P.

    2012-01-01

    heterotrophic with a daily gross primary production of 0.69 mmol O2 mĝ̂'2 dĝ̂'1 and a respiration rate of ĝ̂'2.13 mmol O2 mĝ̂'2 dĝ̂'1 leading to a net ecosystem metabolism of ĝ̂'1.45 mmol O2 mĝ̂'2 dĝ̂'1. This application of the eddy correlation technique produced high temporal resolution O2 fluxes and ice melt......This study examined fluxes across the ice-water interface utilizing the eddy correlation technique. Temperature eddy correlation systems were used to determine rates of ice melting and freezing, and O2 eddy correlation systems were used to examine O2 exchange rates driven by biological and physical...

  13. Observations of banding in first-year Arctic sea ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, David M.; Eicken, Hajo; Frey, Karoline; Shapiro, Lewis H.

    2004-08-01

    Horizontal banding features, alternating dark and bright horizontal bands apparent in ice cores and stratigraphic cross sections have long been observed in first-year sea ice and are frequently associated with bands of high and low brine or gas porosity. Observations on the land-fast ice near Barrow, Alaska, in recent years have revealed particularly striking banding patterns and prompted a study of their macroscopic and microscopic characteristics. The banding patterns are quantified from photographs of full-depth sections of the ice, and examples are presented from the Chukchi Sea and Elson Lagoon. Statistics on band spacing are presented, and the growth records for three seasons are employed to estimate their time of formation. These data provide insight into the periodicity of the underlying phenomena. Micrographs are used to examine the microstructural variations associated with various banding features and to quantify the geometry of the constituent brine inclusions associated with high- and low-porosity bands. The micrography revealed that the area fraction of brine inclusions varied by a factor of nearly 3 through the more pronounced high- and low-porosity bands. Vertical micrographs obtained shortly after the materials' removal from the ice sheet showed that significantly larger inclusions form abruptly at the start of the high-porosity bands and frequently terminate abruptly at the end of the band. Crystallographic observations indicated that the high-porosity bands supported the nucleation and growth of crystals having substantially different orientations from the very well aligned columnar structure that characterized the bulk of the sheet.

  14. Recent progress on understanding the mechanisms of amyloid nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatani, Eri; Yamamoto, Naoki

    2018-04-01

    Amyloid fibrils are supramolecular protein assemblies with a fibrous morphology and cross-β structure. The formation of amyloid fibrils typically follows a nucleation-dependent polymerization mechanism, in which a one-step nucleation scheme has widely been accepted. However, a variety of oligomers have been identified in early stages of fibrillation, and a nucleated conformational conversion (NCC) mechanism, in which oligomers serve as a precursor of amyloid nucleation and convert to amyloid nuclei, has been proposed. This development has raised the need to consider more complicated multi-step nucleation processes in addition to the simplest one-step process, and evidence for the direct involvement of oligomers as nucleation precursors has been obtained both experimentally and theoretically. Interestingly, the NCC mechanism has some analogy with the two-step nucleation mechanism proposed for inorganic and organic crystals and protein crystals, although a more dramatic conformational conversion of proteins should be considered in amyloid nucleation. Clarifying the properties of the nucleation precursors of amyloid fibrils in detail, in comparison with those of crystals, will allow a better understanding of the nucleation of amyloid fibrils and pave the way to develop techniques to regulate it.

  15. Effects of clustered nucleation on recrystallization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Storm, Søren; Juul Jensen, Dorte

    2009-01-01

    Computer simulations are used to study effects of an experimentally determined 3D distribution of nucleation sites on the recrystallization kinetics and on the evolution of the recrystallized microstructure as compared to simulations with random nucleation. It is found that although...... the experimentally observed clustering is not very strong, it changes the kinetics and the recrystallized microstructural morphology plus leads to a recrystallized grain size distribution, which is significantly broadened compared to that of random nucleation simulations. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd...

  16. On Capillary Rise and Nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prasad, R.

    2008-01-01

    A comparison of capillary rise and nucleation is presented. It is shown that both phenomena result from a balance between two competing energy factors: a volume energy and a surface energy. Such a comparison may help to introduce nucleation with a topic familiar to the students, capillary rise. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

  17. Cumulative and Synergistic Effects of Physical, Biological, and Acoustic Signals on Marine Mammal Habitat Use Physical Oceanography Component: Soundscapes Under Sea Ice: Can We Listen for Open Water?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-30

    Physical, Biological, and Acoustic Signals on Marine Mammal Habitat Use Physical Oceanography Component: Soundscapes Under Sea Ice: Can we listen for... Soundscapes Under Sea Ice: Can we listen for open water? 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d...the source. These different sounds can be described as “ soundscapes ”, and graphically represented by comparing two or more features of the sound

  18. Regulatory inhibition of biological tissue mineralization by calcium phosphate through post-nucleation shielding by fetuin-A

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Joshua C., E-mail: joshchang@ucla.edu [Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA and Mathematical Biosciences Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (United States); Miura, Robert M., E-mail: miura@njit.edu [Department of Mathematical Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey 07102 (United States)

    2016-04-21

    In vertebrates, insufficient availability of calcium and inorganic phosphate ions in extracellular fluids leads to loss of bone density and neuronal hyper-excitability. To counteract this problem, calcium ions are usually present at high concentrations throughout bodily fluids—at concentrations exceeding the saturation point. This condition leads to the opposite situation where unwanted mineral sedimentation may occur. Remarkably, ectopic or out-of-place sedimentation into soft tissues is rare, in spite of the thermodynamic driving factors. This fortunate fact is due to the presence of auto-regulatory proteins that are found in abundance in bodily fluids. Yet, many important inflammatory disorders such as atherosclerosis and osteoarthritis are associated with this undesired calcification. Hence, it is important to gain an understanding of the regulatory process and the conditions under which it can go awry. In this manuscript, we extend mean-field continuum classical nucleation theory of the growth of clusters to encompass surface shielding. We use this formulation to study the regulation of sedimentation of calcium phosphate salts in biological tissues through the mechanism of post-nuclear shielding of nascent mineral particles by binding proteins. We develop a mathematical description of this phenomenon using a countable system of hyperbolic partial differential equations. A critical concentration of regulatory protein is identified as a function of the physical parameters that describe the system.

  19. Bacterial ice nuclei impact cloud lifetime and radiative properties and reduce atmospheric heat loss in the BRAMS simulation model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, Tassio S; Gonçalves, Fábio L T; Yamasoe, Marcia A; Martins, Jorge A; Morris, Cindy E

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the effect of the bacterial species Pseudomonas syringae acting as ice nuclei (IN) on cloud properties to understand its impact on local radiative budget and heating rates. These bacteria may become active IN at temperatures as warm as −2 °C. Numerical simulations were developed using the Brazilian Regional Atmospheric Model System (BRAMS). To investigate the isolated effect of bacterial IN, four scenarios were created considering only homogeneous and bacterial ice nucleation, with 1, 10 and 100 IN per cubic meter of cloud volume and one with no bacteria. Moreover, two other scenarios were generated: the BRAMS default parameterization and its combination with bacterial IN. The model reproduced a strong convective cell over São Paulo on 3 March 2003. Results showed that bacterial IN may change cloud evolution as well as its microphysical properties, which in turn influence cloud radiative properties. For example, the reflected shortwave irradiance over an averaged domain in a scenario considering bacterial IN added to the BRAMS default parameterization was 14% lower than if bacteria were not considered. Heating rates can also be impacted, especially due to differences in cloud lifetime. Results suggest that the omission of bacterial IN in numerical models, including global cloud models, could neglect relevant ice nucleation processes that potentially influence cloud radiative properties. (letter)

  20. Transport of contaminants by Arctic sea ice and surface ocean currents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfirman, S.

    1995-01-01

    Sea ice and ocean currents transport contaminants in the Arctic from source areas on the shelves, to biologically active regions often more than a thousand kilometers away. Coastal regions along the Siberian margin are polluted by discharges of agricultural, industrial and military wastes in river runoff, from atmospheric deposition and ocean dumping. The Kara Sea is of particular concern because of deliberate dumping of radioactive waste, as well as the large input of polluted river water. Contaminants are incorporated in ice during suspension freezing on the shelves, and by atmospheric deposition during drift. Ice releases its contaminant load through brine drainage, surface runoff of snow and meltwater, and when the floe disintegrates. The marginal ice zone, a region of intense biological activity, may also be the site of major contaminant release. Potentially contaminated ice from the Kara Sea is likely to influence the marginal ice zones of the Barents and Greenland seas. From studies conducted to date it appears that sea ice from the Kara Sea does not typically enter the Beaufort Gyre, and thus is unlikely to affect the northern Canadian and Alaskan margins

  1. Focus: Nucleation kinetics of shear bands in metallic glass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, J Q; Perepezko, J H

    2016-12-07

    The development of shear bands is recognized as the primary mechanism in controlling the plastic deformability of metallic glasses. However, the kinetics of the nucleation of shear bands has received limited attention. The nucleation of shear bands in metallic glasses (MG) can be investigated using a nanoindentation method to monitor the development of the first pop-in event that is a signature of shear band nucleation. The analysis of a statistically significant number of first pop-in events demonstrates the stochastic behavior that is characteristic of nucleation and reveals a multimodal behavior associated with local spatial heterogeneities. The shear band nucleation rate of the two nucleation modes and the associated activation energy, activation volume, and site density were determined by loading rate experiments. The nucleation activation energy is very close to the value that is characteristic of the β relaxation in metallic glass. The identification of the rate controlling kinetics for shear band nucleation offers guidance for promoting plastic flow in metallic glass.

  2. Microtubule nucleation and organization in dendrites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delandre, Caroline; Amikura, Reiko; Moore, Adrian W.

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Dendrite branching is an essential process for building complex nervous systems. It determines the number, distribution and integration of inputs into a neuron, and is regulated to create the diverse dendrite arbor branching patterns characteristic of different neuron types. The microtubule cytoskeleton is critical to provide structure and exert force during dendrite branching. It also supports the functional requirements of dendrites, reflected by differential microtubule architectural organization between neuron types, illustrated here for sensory neurons. Both anterograde and retrograde microtubule polymerization occur within growing dendrites, and recent studies indicate that branching is enhanced by anterograde microtubule polymerization events in nascent branches. The polarities of microtubule polymerization events are regulated by the position and orientation of microtubule nucleation events in the dendrite arbor. Golgi outposts are a primary microtubule nucleation center in dendrites and share common nucleation machinery with the centrosome. In addition, pre-existing dendrite microtubules may act as nucleation sites. We discuss how balancing the activities of distinct nucleation machineries within the growing dendrite can alter microtubule polymerization polarity and dendrite branching, and how regulating this balance can generate neuron type-specific morphologies. PMID:27097122

  3. Nucleation versus instability race in strained films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Kailang; Berbezier, Isabelle; David, Thomas; Favre, Luc; Ronda, Antoine; Abbarchi, Marco; Voorhees, Peter; Aqua, Jean-Noël

    2017-10-01

    Under the generic term "Stranski-Krastanov" are grouped two different growth mechanisms of SiGe quantum dots. They result from the self-organized Asaro-Tiller-Grinfel'd (ATG) instability at low strain, while at high strain, from a stochastic nucleation. While these regimes are well known, we elucidate here the origin of the transition between these two pathways thanks to a joint theoretical and experimental work. Nucleation is described within the master equation framework. By comparing the time scales for ATG instability development and three-dimensional (3D) nucleation onset, we demonstrate that the transition between these two regimes is simply explained by the crossover between their divergent evolutions. Nucleation exhibits a strong exponential deviation at low strain while ATG behaves only algebraically. The associated time scale varies with exp(1 /x4) for nucleation, while it only behaves as 1 /x8 for the ATG instability. Consequently, at high (low) strain, nucleation (instability) occurs faster and inhibits the alternate evolution. It is then this different kinetic evolution which explains the transition from one regime to the other. Such a kinetic view of the transition between these two 3D growth regimes was not provided before. The crossover between nucleation and ATG instability is found to occur both experimentally and theoretically at a Ge composition around 50% in the experimental conditions used here. Varying the experimental conditions and/or the system parameters does not allow us to suppress the transition. This means that the SiGe quantum dots always grow via ATG instability at low strain and nucleation at high strain. This result is important for the self-organization of quantum dots.

  4. Pan-Arctic sea ice-algal chl a biomass and suitable habitat are largely underestimated for multiyear ice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, Benjamin A; Flores, Hauke; Michel, Christine; Beckers, Justin F; Bublitz, Anne; Casey, John Alec; Castellani, Giulia; Hatam, Ido; Reppchen, Anke; Rudolph, Svenja A; Haas, Christian

    2017-11-01

    There is mounting evidence that multiyear ice (MYI) is a unique component of the Arctic Ocean and may play a more important ecological role than previously assumed. This study improves our understanding of the potential of MYI as a suitable habitat for sea ice algae on a pan-Arctic scale. We sampled sea ice cores from MYI and first-year sea ice (FYI) within the Lincoln Sea during four consecutive spring seasons. This included four MYI hummocks with a mean chl a biomass of 2.0 mg/m 2 , a value significantly higher than FYI and MYI refrozen ponds. Our results support the hypothesis that MYI hummocks can host substantial ice-algal biomass and represent a reliable ice-algal habitat due to the (quasi-) permanent low-snow surface of these features. We identified an ice-algal habitat threshold value for calculated light transmittance of 0.014%. Ice classes and coverage of suitable ice-algal habitat were determined from snow and ice surveys. These ice classes and associated coverage of suitable habitat were applied to pan-Arctic CryoSat-2 snow and ice thickness data products. This habitat classification accounted for the variability of the snow and ice properties and showed an areal coverage of suitable ice-algal habitat within the MYI-covered region of 0.54 million km 2 (8.5% of total ice area). This is 27 times greater than the areal coverage of 0.02 million km 2 (0.3% of total ice area) determined using the conventional block-model classification, which assigns single-parameter values to each grid cell and does not account for subgrid cell variability. This emphasizes the importance of accounting for variable snow and ice conditions in all sea ice studies. Furthermore, our results indicate the loss of MYI will also mean the loss of reliable ice-algal habitat during spring when food is sparse and many organisms depend on ice-algae. © 2017 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Do protein crystals nucleate within dense liquid clusters?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maes, Dominique; Vorontsova, Maria A.; Potenza, Marco A. C.; Sanvito, Tiziano; Sleutel, Mike; Giglio, Marzio; Vekilov, Peter G.

    2015-01-01

    The evolution of protein-rich clusters and nucleating crystals were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), confocal depolarized dynamic light scattering (cDDLS) and depolarized oblique illumination dark-field microscopy. Newly nucleated crystals within protein-rich clusters were detected directly. These observations indicate that the protein-rich clusters are locations for crystal nucleation. Protein-dense liquid clusters are regions of high protein concentration that have been observed in solutions of several proteins. The typical cluster size varies from several tens to several hundreds of nanometres and their volume fraction remains below 10 −3 of the solution. According to the two-step mechanism of nucleation, the protein-rich clusters serve as locations for and precursors to the nucleation of protein crystals. While the two-step mechanism explained several unusual features of protein crystal nucleation kinetics, a direct observation of its validity for protein crystals has been lacking. Here, two independent observations of crystal nucleation with the proteins lysozyme and glucose isomerase are discussed. Firstly, the evolutions of the protein-rich clusters and nucleating crystals were characterized simultaneously by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and confocal depolarized dynamic light scattering (cDDLS), respectively. It is demonstrated that protein crystals appear following a significant delay after cluster formation. The cDDLS correlation functions follow a Gaussian decay, indicative of nondiffusive motion. A possible explanation is that the crystals are contained inside large clusters and are driven by the elasticity of the cluster surface. Secondly, depolarized oblique illumination dark-field microscopy reveals the evolution from liquid clusters without crystals to newly nucleated crystals contained in the clusters to grown crystals freely diffusing in the solution. Collectively, the observations indicate that the protein-rich clusters in

  6. Ice particle production in mid-level stratiform mixed-phase clouds observed with collocated A-Train measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Zhang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Collocated A-Train CloudSat radar and CALIPSO lidar measurements between 2006 and 2010 are analyzed to study primary ice particle production characteristics in mid-level stratiform mixed-phase clouds on a global scale. For similar clouds in terms of cloud top temperature and liquid water path, Northern Hemisphere latitude bands have layer-maximum radar reflectivity (ZL that is  ∼  1 to 8 dBZ larger than their counterparts in the Southern Hemisphere. The systematically larger ZL under similar cloud conditions suggests larger ice number concentrations in mid-level stratiform mixed-phase clouds over the Northern Hemisphere, which is possibly related to higher background aerosol loadings. Furthermore, we show that springtime northern mid- and high latitudes have ZL that is larger by up to 6 dBZ (a factor of 4 higher ice number concentration than other seasons, which might be related to more dust events that provide effective ice nucleating particles. Our study suggests that aerosol-dependent ice number concentration parameterizations are required in climate models to improve mixed-phase cloud simulations, especially over the Northern Hemisphere.

  7. Nucleation of colloidal crystals on configurable seed structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hermes, M; Vermolen, E.C.M.; Leunissen, M.E.; Vossen, D.L.J.; van Oostrum, P.D.J.; Dijkstra, M.; van Blaaderen, A.

    2011-01-01

    Nucleation is an important stage in the growth of crystals. During this stage, the structure and orientation of a crystal are determined. However, short time- and length-scales make nucleation poorly understood. Micrometer-sized colloidal particles form an ideal model system to study nucleation due

  8. Indigenous Knowledge and Sea Ice Science: What Can We Learn from Indigenous Ice Users?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eicken, H.

    2010-12-01

    Drawing on examples mostly from Iñupiaq and Yup’ik sea-ice expertise in coastal Alaska, this contribution examines how local, indigenous knowledge (LIK) can inform and guide geophysical and biological sea-ice research. Part of the relevance of LIK derives from its linkage to sea-ice use and the services coastal communities derive from the ice cover. As a result, indigenous experts keep track of a broad range of sea-ice variables at a particular location. These observations are embedded into a broader worldview that speaks to both long-term variability or change and to the system of values associated with ice use. The contribution examines eight different contexts in which LIK in study site selection and assessment of a sampling campaign in the context of inter annual variability, the identification of rare or inconspicuous phenomena or events, the contribution by indigenous experts to hazard assessment and emergency response, the record of past and present climate embedded in LIK, and the value of holistic sea-ice knowledge in detecting subtle, intertwined patterns of environmental change. The relevance of local, indigenous sea-ice expertise in helping advance adaptation and responses to climate change as well as its potential role in guiding research questions and hypotheses are also examined. The challenges that may have to be overcome in creating an interface for exchange between indigenous experts and seaice researchers are considered. Promising approaches to overcome these challenges include cross-cultural, interdisciplinary education, and the fostering of Communities of Practice.

  9. On the observation of unusual high concentration of small chain-like aggregate ice crystals and large ice water contents near the top of a deep convective cloud during the CIRCLE-2 experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.-F. Gayet

    2012-01-01

    IWC up to 1 g m−3 may be observed near the cloud top. Extrapolating the relationship for stronger convective clouds with similar ice particles, IWC up to 5 g m−3 could be experienced with reflectivity factors no larger than about 20 dBZ. This means that for similar situations, indication of rather weak radar echo does not necessarily warn the occurrence of high ice water content carried by small ice crystals. All along the cloud penetration the shape of the ice crystals is dominated by chain-like aggregates of frozen droplets. Our results confirm previous observations that the chains of ice crystals are found in a continental deep convective systems which are known generally to generate intense electric fields causing efficient ice particle aggregation processes. Vigorous updrafts could lift supercooled droplets which are frozen extremely rapidly by homogeneous nucleation near the −37 °C level, producing therefore high concentrations of very small ice particles at upper altitudes. They are sufficient to deplete the water vapour and suppress further nucleation as confirmed by humidity measurements. These observations address scientific issues related to the microphysical properties and structure of deep convective clouds and confirm that particles smaller than 50 μm may control the radiative properties in convective-related clouds. These unusual observations may also provide some possible insights regarding engineering issues related to the failure of jet engines commonly used on commercial aircraft during flights through areas of high ice water content. However, large uncertainties of the measured and derived parameters limit our observations.

  10. On the observation of unusual high concentration of small chain-like aggregate ice crystals and large ice water contents near the top of a deep convective cloud during the CIRCLE-2 experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gayet, J.-F.; Mioche, G.; Bugliaro, L.; Protat, A.; Minikin, A.; Wirth, M.; Dörnbrack, A.; Shcherbakov, V.; Mayer, B.; Garnier, A.; Gourbeyre, C.

    2012-01-01

    . Extrapolating the relationship for stronger convective clouds with similar ice particles, IWC up to 5 g m-3 could be experienced with reflectivity factors no larger than about 20 dBZ. This means that for similar situations, indication of rather weak radar echo does not necessarily warn the occurrence of high ice water content carried by small ice crystals. All along the cloud penetration the shape of the ice crystals is dominated by chain-like aggregates of frozen droplets. Our results confirm previous observations that the chains of ice crystals are found in a continental deep convective systems which are known generally to generate intense electric fields causing efficient ice particle aggregation processes. Vigorous updrafts could lift supercooled droplets which are frozen extremely rapidly by homogeneous nucleation near the -37 °C level, producing therefore high concentrations of very small ice particles at upper altitudes. They are sufficient to deplete the water vapour and suppress further nucleation as confirmed by humidity measurements. These observations address scientific issues related to the microphysical properties and structure of deep convective clouds and confirm that particles smaller than 50 μm may control the radiative properties in convective-related clouds. These unusual observations may also provide some possible insights regarding engineering issues related to the failure of jet engines commonly used on commercial aircraft during flights through areas of high ice water content. However, large uncertainties of the measured and derived parameters limit our observations.

  11. Modelling the role of compositional fluctuations in nucleation kinetics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ženíšek, J.; Kozeschnik, E.; Svoboda, J.; Fischer, F.D.

    2015-01-01

    The classical nucleation theory of precipitate nucleation in interstitial/substitutional alloys is applied to account for the influence of spatial A–B composition fluctuations in an A–B–C matrix on the kinetics of nucleation of (A,B) 3 C precipitates. A and B are substitutional elements in the matrix and C is an interstitial component, assumed to preferentially bind to B atoms. All lattice sites are considered as potential nucleation sites. The fluctuations of chemical composition result in a local variation of the nucleation probability. The nucleation sites are eliminated from the system if they are located in a C-depleted diffusion zone belonging to an already nucleated and growing precipitate. The chemistry is that of an Fe–Cr–C system, and the specific interface energy is treated as a free parameter. Random, regular and homogeneous A–B distributions in the matrix are simulated and compared for various values of the interface energy. An increasing enhancement of the role of compositional fluctuations on nucleation kinetics with increasing interface energy and decreasing chemical driving force is observed

  12. Analysis of dynamic recrystallization of ice from EBSD orientation mapping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurine eMontagnat

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We present high resolution observations of microstructure and texture evolution during dynamicrecrystallization (DRX of ice polycrystals deformed in the laboratory at high temperature(≈0.98Tm. Ice possesses a significant viscoplastic anisotropy that induces strong strainheterogeneities, which result in an early occurrence of DRX mechanisms. It is thereforea model material to explore these mechanisms. High resolution c-axis measurements atsample scale by optical techniques and full crystallographic orientation measurements by cryo-Electron Back Scattering Diffraction (EBSD provide a solid database for analyzing the relativeimpact of the macroscopic imposed stress versus the local and internal stress field on DRXmechanisms. Analysis of misorientation gradients in the EBSD data highlights a heterogeneousdislocation distribution, which is quantified by the Nye tensor estimation. Joint analyses of thedislocation density maps and microstructural observations highlight spatial correlation betweenhigh dislocation density sites and the onset of nucleation taking place by grain-boundary bulging,subgrain rotation or by the formation of kink-bands.

  13. Energetics of dislocation nucleation under a nanoindenter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Chuanli; Xu Guanshui

    2005-01-01

    We present an analysis of dislocation nucleation under an idealized nanoindenter based on the variational boundary integral formulation of the Peierls-Nabarro dislocation model. By solving the embryonic dislocation profiles, corresponding to the relative displacements between the two adjacent atomic layers along the slip plane, we have determined the critical conditions for athermal dislocation nucleation as well as the activation energies required to thermally activate embryonic dislocations from their stable to unstable saddle point configurations. The effect of the size of the indenter on the energetics of dislocation nucleation is quantitatively characterized. The result is compared with a simplified analysis based on the application of the Rice model for dislocation nucleation at a crack tip

  14. Energetics of dislocation nucleation under a nanoindenter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang Chuanli [College of Mechanical Engineering, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434023 (China); Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521 (United States); Xu Guanshui [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521 (United States)]. E-mail: guanshui.xu@ucr.edu

    2005-07-25

    We present an analysis of dislocation nucleation under an idealized nanoindenter based on the variational boundary integral formulation of the Peierls-Nabarro dislocation model. By solving the embryonic dislocation profiles, corresponding to the relative displacements between the two adjacent atomic layers along the slip plane, we have determined the critical conditions for athermal dislocation nucleation as well as the activation energies required to thermally activate embryonic dislocations from their stable to unstable saddle point configurations. The effect of the size of the indenter on the energetics of dislocation nucleation is quantitatively characterized. The result is compared with a simplified analysis based on the application of the Rice model for dislocation nucleation at a crack tip.

  15. Molecular-dynamics simulations of urea nucleation from aqueous solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvalaglio, Matteo; Perego, Claudio; Giberti, Federico; Mazzotti, Marco; Parrinello, Michele

    2015-01-01

    Despite its ubiquitous character and relevance in many branches of science and engineering, nucleation from solution remains elusive. In this framework, molecular simulations represent a powerful tool to provide insight into nucleation at the molecular scale. In this work, we combine theory and molecular simulations to describe urea nucleation from aqueous solution. Taking advantage of well-tempered metadynamics, we compute the free-energy change associated to the phase transition. We find that such a free-energy profile is characterized by significant finite-size effects that can, however, be accounted for. The description of the nucleation process emerging from our analysis differs from classical nucleation theory. Nucleation of crystal-like clusters is in fact preceded by large concentration fluctuations, indicating a predominant two-step process, whereby embryonic crystal nuclei emerge from dense, disordered urea clusters. Furthermore, in the early stages of nucleation, two different polymorphs are seen to compete. PMID:25492932

  16. Molecular-dynamics simulations of urea nucleation from aqueous solution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvalaglio, Matteo; Perego, Claudio; Giberti, Federico; Mazzotti, Marco; Parrinello, Michele

    2015-01-06

    Despite its ubiquitous character and relevance in many branches of science and engineering, nucleation from solution remains elusive. In this framework, molecular simulations represent a powerful tool to provide insight into nucleation at the molecular scale. In this work, we combine theory and molecular simulations to describe urea nucleation from aqueous solution. Taking advantage of well-tempered metadynamics, we compute the free-energy change associated to the phase transition. We find that such a free-energy profile is characterized by significant finite-size effects that can, however, be accounted for. The description of the nucleation process emerging from our analysis differs from classical nucleation theory. Nucleation of crystal-like clusters is in fact preceded by large concentration fluctuations, indicating a predominant two-step process, whereby embryonic crystal nuclei emerge from dense, disordered urea clusters. Furthermore, in the early stages of nucleation, two different polymorphs are seen to compete.

  17. Non stationary nucleation: the model with minimal environment

    OpenAIRE

    Kurasov, Victor

    2013-01-01

    A new model to calculate the rate of nucleation is formulated. This model is based on the classical nucleation theory but considers also vapor depletion around the formed embryo. As the result the free energy has to be recalculated which brings a new expression for the nucleation rate.

  18. Return to nucleate boiling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shumway, R.W.

    1985-01-01

    This paper presents a collection of TMIN (temperature of return to nucleate boiling) correlations, evaluates them under several conditions, and compares them with a wide range of data. Purpose is to obtain the best one for use in a water reactor safety computer simulator known as TRAC-B. Return to nucleate boiling can occur in a reactor accident at either high or low pressure and flow rates. Most of the correlations yield unrealistic results under some conditions. A new correlation is proposed which overcomes many of the deficiencies

  19. A nucleator arms race: cellular control of actin assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campellone, Kenneth G; Welch, Matthew D

    2010-04-01

    For over a decade, the actin-related protein 2/3 (ARP2/3) complex, a handful of nucleation-promoting factors and formins were the only molecules known to directly nucleate actin filament formation de novo. However, the past several years have seen a surge in the discovery of mammalian proteins with roles in actin nucleation and dynamics. Newly recognized nucleation-promoting factors, such as WASP and SCAR homologue (WASH), WASP homologue associated with actin, membranes and microtubules (WHAMM), and junction-mediating regulatory protein (JMY), stimulate ARP2/3 activity at distinct cellular locations. Formin nucleators with additional biochemical and cellular activities have also been uncovered. Finally, the Spire, cordon-bleu and leiomodin nucleators have revealed new ways of overcoming the kinetic barriers to actin polymerization.

  20. Simulations of a non-Markovian description of nucleation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuipers, J.; Barkema, G.T.

    2010-01-01

    In most nucleation theories, the state of a nucleating system is described by a distribution of droplet masses and this distribution evolves as a memoryless stochastic process. This is incorrect for a large class of nucleating systems. In a recent paper [ J. Kuipers and G. T. Barkema, Phys. Rev. E

  1. Heterogeneous nucleation of protein crystals on fluorinated layered silicate.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keita Ino

    Full Text Available Here, we describe an improved system for protein crystallization based on heterogeneous nucleation using fluorinated layered silicate. In addition, we also investigated the mechanism of nucleation on the silicate surface. Crystallization of lysozyme using silicates with different chemical compositions indicated that fluorosilicates promoted nucleation whereas the silicates without fluorine did not. The use of synthesized saponites for lysozyme crystallization confirmed that the substitution of hydroxyl groups contained in the lamellae structure for fluorine atoms is responsible for the nucleation-inducing property of the nucleant. Crystallization of twelve proteins with a wide range of pI values revealed that the nucleation promoting effect of the saponites tended to increase with increased substitution rate. Furthermore, the saponite with the highest fluorine content promoted nucleation in all the test proteins regardless of their overall net charge. Adsorption experiments of proteins on the saponites confirmed that the density of adsorbed molecules increased according to the substitution rate, thereby explaining the heterogeneous nucleation on the silicate surface.

  2. Rapid changes in surface water carbonate chemistry during Antarctic sea ice melt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Elizabeth M.; Bakker, Dorothee C. E.; Venables, Hugh J.; Whitehouse, Michael J.; Korb, Rebecca E.; Watson, Andrew J.

    2010-11-01

    ABSTRACT The effect of sea ice melt on the carbonate chemistry of surface waters in the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean, was investigated during January 2008. Contrasting concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA) and the fugacity of carbon dioxide (fCO2) were observed in and around the receding sea ice edge. The precipitation of carbonate minerals such as ikaite (CaCO3.6H2O) in sea ice brine has the net effect of decreasing DIC and TA and increasing the fCO2 in the brine. Deficits in DIC up to 12 +/- 3 μmol kg-1 in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) were consistent with the release of DIC-poor brines to surface waters during sea ice melt. Biological utilization of carbon was the dominant processes and accounted for 41 +/- 1 μmol kg-1 of the summer DIC deficit. The data suggest that the combined effects of biological carbon uptake and the precipitation of carbonates created substantial undersaturation in fCO2 of 95 μatm in the MIZ during summer sea ice melt. Further work is required to improve the understanding of ikaite chemistry in Antarctic sea ice and its importance for the sea ice carbon pump.

  3. Thermal interaction effect on nucleation site distribution in subcooled boiling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zou, Ling; Jones, Barclay

    2012-01-01

    An experimental work on subcooled boiling of refrigerant, R134a, to examine nucleation site distributions on both copper and stainless steel heating surfaces was performed. In order to obtain high fidelity active nucleation site density and distribution data, a high-speed digital camera was utilized to record bubble emission images from a view normal to heating surfaces. Statistical analyses on nucleation site data were done and their statistical distributions were obtained. Those experimentally observed nucleation site distributions were compared to the random spatial Poisson distribution. The comparisons showed that, rather than purely random, active nucleation site distributions on boiling surfaces are relatively more uniform. Experimental results also showed that on the copper heating surface, nucleation site distributions are slightly more uniform than on the stainless steel surface. This was concluded as the results of thermal interactions between nucleation sites with different solid thermal conductivities. A two dimensional thermal interaction model was then developed to quantitatively examine the thermal interactions between nucleation sites. The results give a reasonable explanation to the experimental observation on nucleation site distributions.

  4. Monitoring ice nucleation in pure and salty water via high-speed imaging and computer simulations

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bauerecker, S.; Ulbig, P.; Buch, V.; Vrbka, Luboš; Jungwirth, Pavel

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 112, č. 20 (2008), s. 7631-7636 ISSN 1932-7447 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC512; GA ČR(CZ) GD203/05/H001 Grant - others:DFG(DE) 529278 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506 Keywords : ice freezing * high speed imaging * molecular dynamics Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 3.396, year: 2008

  5. AEROSOL NUCLEATION AND GROWTH DURING LAMINAR TUBE FLOW: MAXIMUM SATURATIONS AND NUCLEATION RATES. (R827354C008)

    Science.gov (United States)

    An approximate method of estimating the maximum saturation, the nucleation rate, and the total number nucleated per second during the laminar flow of a hot vapour–gas mixture along a tube with cold walls is described. The basis of the approach is that the temperature an...

  6. A FIRE-ACE/SHEBA Case Study of Mixed-Phase Arctic Boundary Layer Clouds: Entrainment Rate Limitations on Rapid Primary Ice Nucleation Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fridlin, Ann; vanDiedenhoven, Bastiaan; Ackerman, Andrew S.; Avramov, Alexander; Mrowiec, Agnieszka; Morrison, Hugh; Zuidema, Paquita; Shupe, Matthew D.

    2012-01-01

    Observations of long-lived mixed-phase Arctic boundary layer clouds on 7 May 1998 during the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE)Arctic Cloud Experiment (ACE)Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) campaign provide a unique opportunity to test understanding of cloud ice formation. Under the microphysically simple conditions observed (apparently negligible ice aggregation, sublimation, and multiplication), the only expected source of new ice crystals is activation of heterogeneous ice nuclei (IN) and the only sink is sedimentation. Large-eddy simulations with size-resolved microphysics are initialized with IN number concentration N(sub IN) measured above cloud top, but details of IN activation behavior are unknown. If activated rapidly (in deposition, condensation, or immersion modes), as commonly assumed, IN are depleted from the well-mixed boundary layer within minutes. Quasi-equilibrium ice number concentration N(sub i) is then limited to a small fraction of overlying N(sub IN) that is determined by the cloud-top entrainment rate w(sub e) divided by the number-weighted ice fall speed at the surface v(sub f). Because w(sub c) 10 cm/s, N(sub i)/N(sub IN)<< 1. Such conditions may be common for this cloud type, which has implications for modeling IN diagnostically, interpreting measurements, and quantifying sensitivity to increasing N(sub IN) (when w(sub e)/v(sub f)< 1, entrainment rate limitations serve to buffer cloud system response). To reproduce observed ice crystal size distributions and cloud radar reflectivities with rapidly consumed IN in this case, the measured above-cloud N(sub IN) must be multiplied by approximately 30. However, results are sensitive to assumed ice crystal properties not constrained by measurements. In addition, simulations do not reproduce the pronounced mesoscale heterogeneity in radar reflectivity that is observed.

  7. Polar bears and sea ice habitat change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durner, George M.; Atwood, Todd C.; Butterworth, Andy

    2017-01-01

    The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is an obligate apex predator of Arctic sea ice and as such can be affected by climate warming-induced changes in the extent and composition of pack ice and its impacts on their seal prey. Sea ice declines have negatively impacted some polar bear subpopulations through reduced energy input because of loss of hunting habitats, higher energy costs due to greater ice drift, ice fracturing and open water, and ultimately greater challenges to recruit young. Projections made from the output of global climate models suggest that polar bears in peripheral Arctic and sub-Arctic seas will be reduced in numbers or become extirpated by the end of the twenty-first century if the rate of climate warming continues on its present trajectory. The same projections also suggest that polar bears may persist in the high-latitude Arctic where heavy multiyear sea ice that has been typical in that region is being replaced by thinner annual ice. Underlying physical and biological oceanography provides clues as to why polar bear in some regions are negatively impacted, while bears in other regions have shown no apparent changes. However, continued declines in sea ice will eventually challenge the survival of polar bears and efforts to conserve them in all regions of the Arctic.

  8. Design and properties of a novel nucleating agent for isotactic polypropylene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lv, Zhiping; Yang, Yunfei; Wu, Ran; Tong, Yuchao

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Three new nucleating agents which is structurally similar to Al-PTBBA were prepared. ► These three nucleating agents were very effective in increasing T c and X c of iPP. ► Great improvement of mechanical properties of nucleated iPP was also obtained. ► Nucleating agent TSD was the most effective nucleating agent for iPP. -- Abstract: Three new nucleating agents TB, TD and TSD (titanate of benzoate or 4-tert-Butylbenzoate) were prepared. Isotactic polypropylene (iPP) nucleated were studied by using thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized light microscopy (PLM). The mechanical properties and Vicat softening temperature (VST) of iPP were also tested. The results indicated that these three nucleating agents were very effective in increasing the crystallization temperature (T c ) and crystallinity (X c ) of iPP. Mechanical properties of nucleated iPP were improved remarkably, especially nucleating agent TSD.

  9. Nucleation, growth and transport modelling of helium bubbles under nuclear irradiation in lead–lithium with the self-consistent nucleation theory and surface tension corrections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fradera, J.; Cuesta-López, S.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • The work presented in this manuscript provides a reliable computational tool to quantify the He complex phenomena in a HCLL. • A model based on the self-consistent nucleation theory (SCT) is exposed. It includes radiation induced nucleation modelling and surface tension corrections. • Results informed reinforce the necessity of conducting experiments to determine nucleation conditions and bubble transport parameters in LM breeders. • Our findings and model provide a good qualitative insight into the helium nucleation phenomenon in LM systems for fusion technology and can be used to identify key system parameters. -- Abstract: Helium (He) nucleation in liquid metal breeding blankets of a DT fusion reactor may have a significant impact regarding system design, safety and operation. Large He production rates are expected due to tritium (T) fuel self-sufficiency requirement, as both, He and T, are produced at the same rate. Low He solubility, local high concentrations, radiation damage and fluid discontinuities, among other phenomena, may yield the necessary conditions for He nucleation. Hence, He nucleation may have a significant impact on T inventory and may lower the T breeding ratio. A model based on the self-consistent nucleation theory (SCT) with a surface tension curvature correction model has been implemented in OpenFOAM ® CFD code. A modification through a single parameter of the necessary nucleation condition is proposed in order to take into account all the nucleation triggering phenomena, specially radiation induced nucleation. Moreover, the kinetic growth model has been adapted so as to allow for the transition from a critical cluster to a macroscopic bubble with a diffusion growth process. Limitations and capabilities of the models are shown by means of zero-dimensional simulations and sensitivity analyses to key parameters under HCLL breeding unit conditions. Results provide a good qualitative insight into the helium nucleation

  10. Nucleation, growth and transport modelling of helium bubbles under nuclear irradiation in lead–lithium with the self-consistent nucleation theory and surface tension corrections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fradera, J., E-mail: jfradera@ubu.es; Cuesta-López, S., E-mail: scuesta@ubu.es

    2013-12-15

    Highlights: • The work presented in this manuscript provides a reliable computational tool to quantify the He complex phenomena in a HCLL. • A model based on the self-consistent nucleation theory (SCT) is exposed. It includes radiation induced nucleation modelling and surface tension corrections. • Results informed reinforce the necessity of conducting experiments to determine nucleation conditions and bubble transport parameters in LM breeders. • Our findings and model provide a good qualitative insight into the helium nucleation phenomenon in LM systems for fusion technology and can be used to identify key system parameters. -- Abstract: Helium (He) nucleation in liquid metal breeding blankets of a DT fusion reactor may have a significant impact regarding system design, safety and operation. Large He production rates are expected due to tritium (T) fuel self-sufficiency requirement, as both, He and T, are produced at the same rate. Low He solubility, local high concentrations, radiation damage and fluid discontinuities, among other phenomena, may yield the necessary conditions for He nucleation. Hence, He nucleation may have a significant impact on T inventory and may lower the T breeding ratio. A model based on the self-consistent nucleation theory (SCT) with a surface tension curvature correction model has been implemented in OpenFOAM{sup ®} CFD code. A modification through a single parameter of the necessary nucleation condition is proposed in order to take into account all the nucleation triggering phenomena, specially radiation induced nucleation. Moreover, the kinetic growth model has been adapted so as to allow for the transition from a critical cluster to a macroscopic bubble with a diffusion growth process. Limitations and capabilities of the models are shown by means of zero-dimensional simulations and sensitivity analyses to key parameters under HCLL breeding unit conditions. Results provide a good qualitative insight into the helium

  11. Estimation of Antarctic Land-Fast Sea Ice Algal Biomass and Snow Thickness From Under-Ice Radiance Spectra in Two Contrasting Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wongpan, P.; Meiners, K. M.; Langhorne, P. J.; Heil, P.; Smith, I. J.; Leonard, G. H.; Massom, R. A.; Clementson, L. A.; Haskell, T. G.

    2018-03-01

    Fast ice is an important component of Antarctic coastal marine ecosystems, providing a prolific habitat for ice algal communities. This work examines the relationships between normalized difference indices (NDI) calculated from under-ice radiance measurements and sea ice algal biomass and snow thickness for Antarctic fast ice. While this technique has been calibrated to assess biomass in Arctic fast ice and pack ice, as well as Antarctic pack ice, relationships are currently lacking for Antarctic fast ice characterized by bottom ice algae communities with high algal biomass. We analyze measurements along transects at two contrasting Antarctic fast ice sites in terms of platelet ice presence: near and distant from an ice shelf, i.e., in McMurdo Sound and off Davis Station, respectively. Snow and ice thickness, and ice salinity and temperature measurements support our paired in situ optical and biological measurements. Analyses show that NDI wavelength pairs near the first chlorophyll a (chl a) absorption peak (≈440 nm) explain up to 70% of the total variability in algal biomass. Eighty-eight percent of snow thickness variability is explained using an NDI with a wavelength pair of 648 and 567 nm. Accounting for pigment packaging effects by including the ratio of chl a-specific absorption coefficients improved the NDI-based algal biomass estimation only slightly. Our new observation-based algorithms can be used to estimate Antarctic fast ice algal biomass and snow thickness noninvasively, for example, by using moored sensors (time series) or mapping their spatial distributions using underwater vehicles.

  12. Classical nucleation theory in the phase-field crystal model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jreidini, Paul; Kocher, Gabriel; Provatas, Nikolas

    2018-04-01

    A full understanding of polycrystalline materials requires studying the process of nucleation, a thermally activated phase transition that typically occurs at atomistic scales. The numerical modeling of this process is problematic for traditional numerical techniques: commonly used phase-field methods' resolution does not extend to the atomic scales at which nucleation takes places, while atomistic methods such as molecular dynamics are incapable of scaling to the mesoscale regime where late-stage growth and structure formation takes place following earlier nucleation. Consequently, it is of interest to examine nucleation in the more recently proposed phase-field crystal (PFC) model, which attempts to bridge the atomic and mesoscale regimes in microstructure simulations. In this work, we numerically calculate homogeneous liquid-to-solid nucleation rates and incubation times in the simplest version of the PFC model, for various parameter choices. We show that the model naturally exhibits qualitative agreement with the predictions of classical nucleation theory (CNT) despite a lack of some explicit atomistic features presumed in CNT. We also examine the early appearance of lattice structure in nucleating grains, finding disagreement with some basic assumptions of CNT. We then argue that a quantitatively correct nucleation theory for the PFC model would require extending CNT to a multivariable theory.

  13. Thermokinetics of heterogeneous droplet nucleation on conically textured substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singha, Sanat K; Das, Prasanta K; Maiti, Biswajit

    2015-11-28

    Within the framework of the classical theory of heterogeneous nucleation, a thermokinetic model is developed for line-tension-associated droplet nucleation on conical textures considering growth or shrinkage of the formed cluster due to both interfacial and peripheral monomer exchange and by considering different geometric configurations. Along with the principle of free energy extremization, Katz kinetic approach has been employed to study the effect of substrate conicity and wettability on the thermokinetics of heterogeneous water droplet nucleation. Not only the peripheral tension is found to have a considerable effect on the free energy barrier but also the substrate hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity are observed to switch over their roles between conical crest and trough for different growth rates of the droplet. Besides, the rate of nucleation increases and further promotes nucleation for negative peripheral tension as it diminishes the free energy barrier appreciably. Moreover, nucleation inhibition can be achievable for positive peripheral tension due to the enhancement of the free energy barrier. Analyzing all possible geometric configurations, the hydrophilic narrower conical cavity is found to be the most preferred nucleation site. These findings suggest a physical insight into the context of surface engineering for the promotion or the suppression of nucleation on real or engineered substrates.

  14. Nucleation path of helium bubbles in metals during irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morishita, Kazunori

    2008-01-01

    Thermodynamical formalization is made for description of the nucleation and growth of helium bubbles in metals during irradiation. The proposed formalization is available or evaluating both microstructural changes in fusion first wall materials where helium is produced by (n, α) nuclear transmutation reactions, and those in fusion divertor materials where helium particles with low energy are directly implanted. Calculated nucleation barrier is significantly reduced by the presence of helium, showing that a helium bubble with an appropriate number of helium atoms depending on bubble size can nucleate without any large nucleation barriers, even at a condition where an empty void has very large nucleation barrier without helium. With the proposed thermodynamical formalization, the nucleation and growth process of helium bubbles in iron during irradiation is simulated by the kinetic Monte-Carlo (KMC) technique. It shows the nucleation path of a helium bubble on the (N He , N V ) space as functions of temperatures and the concentration of helium in the matrix, where N He and N V are the number of helium atoms and vacancies in the helium bubble, respectively. Bubble growth rates depend on the nucleation path and suggest that two different mechanisms operate for bubble growth: one is controlled by vacancy diffusion and the other is controlled by interstitial helium diffusion. (author)

  15. Classical nucleation theory in the phase-field crystal model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jreidini, Paul; Kocher, Gabriel; Provatas, Nikolas

    2018-04-01

    A full understanding of polycrystalline materials requires studying the process of nucleation, a thermally activated phase transition that typically occurs at atomistic scales. The numerical modeling of this process is problematic for traditional numerical techniques: commonly used phase-field methods' resolution does not extend to the atomic scales at which nucleation takes places, while atomistic methods such as molecular dynamics are incapable of scaling to the mesoscale regime where late-stage growth and structure formation takes place following earlier nucleation. Consequently, it is of interest to examine nucleation in the more recently proposed phase-field crystal (PFC) model, which attempts to bridge the atomic and mesoscale regimes in microstructure simulations. In this work, we numerically calculate homogeneous liquid-to-solid nucleation rates and incubation times in the simplest version of the PFC model, for various parameter choices. We show that the model naturally exhibits qualitative agreement with the predictions of classical nucleation theory (CNT) despite a lack of some explicit atomistic features presumed in CNT. We also examine the early appearance of lattice structure in nucleating grains, finding disagreement with some basic assumptions of CNT. We then argue that a quantitatively correct nucleation theory for the PFC model would require extending CNT to a multivariable theory.

  16. Nucleation Characteristics in Physical Experiments/explosions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henry, R.E.; Fauske, Hans K.

    1976-01-01

    Large-scale vapor explosion experiments have shown that intimate contact between hot and cold liquids, and a temperature upon contact that is greater than the spontaneous nucleation temperature of the system, are two necessary conditions for the onset of large scale vapor explosions. A model, based on spontaneous nucleation of the homogeneous type, has been proposed to describe the relevant processes and the resulting energetics for explosive boiling systems. The model considers that spontaneous nucleation cannot occur either during the relief time for constant volume heating or until the thermal boundary layer is sufficiently thick to support a vapor cavity of the critical size. After nucleation, bubble growth does not occur until an acoustic wave establishes a pressure gradient in the cold liquid. These considerations lead to the prediction that, for a given temperature, drops greater than a critical size will remain in film boiling due to coalescence of vapor nuclei and drops smaller than this value will wet and be captured by the hot liquid surface. These results are compared to small drop data for well-wetted systems and excellent agreement is obtained between the observed behavior and the model predictions. In conclusion: A model, based on spontaneous nucleation, has been proposed to describe vaporization potential and behavior upon contact in a liquid/liquid system. This behavior is determined by the size of the liquid mass, single-phase pressurization and acoustic relief, nucleation frequency due to random density fluctuations, the initiation of unstable growth and acoustic relief, and the development of the thermal boundary layer in the cold liquid. The proposed model predicts that the stability of a given size drop upon intimate contact with another liquid is extremely dependent upon the interface temperature. For low interface temperatures, large masses will be captured by the hot liquid and the resulting vaporization rates will be extremely low because

  17. A Theory of Immersion Freezing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barahona, Donifan

    2017-01-01

    Immersion freezing is likely involved in the initiation of precipitation and determines to large extent the phase partitioning in convective clouds. Theoretical models commonly used to describe immersion freezing in atmospheric models are based on the classical nucleation theory which however neglects important interactions near the immersed particle that may affect nucleation rates. This work introduces a new theory of immersion freezing based on two premises. First, immersion ice nucleation is mediated by the modification of the properties of water near the particle-liquid interface, rather than by the geometry of the ice germ. Second, the same mechanism that leads to the decrease in the work of germ formation also decreases the mobility of water molecules near the immersed particle. These two premises allow establishing general thermodynamic constraints to the ice nucleation rate. Analysis of the new theory shows that active sites likely trigger ice nucleation, but they do not control the overall nucleation rate nor the probability of freezing. It also suggests that materials with different ice nucleation efficiency may exhibit similar freezing temperatures under similar conditions but differ in their sensitivity to particle surface area and cooling rate. Predicted nucleation rates show good agreement with observations for a diverse set of materials including dust, black carbon and bacterial ice nucleating particles. The application of the new theory within the NASA Global Earth System Model (GEOS-5) is also discussed.

  18. Damage nucleation in Si during ion irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holland, O.W.; Fathy, D.; Narayan, J.

    1984-01-01

    Damage nucleation in single crystals of silicon during ion irradiation is investigated. Experimental results and mechanisms for damage nucleation during both room and liquid nitrogen temperature irradiation with different mass ions are discussed. It is shown that the accumulation of damage during room temperature irradiation depends on the rate of implantation. These dose rate effects are found to decrease in magnitude as the mass of the ions is increased. The significance of dose rate effects and their mass dependence on nucleation mechanisms is discussed

  19. Nanowires and nanoneedles nucleation on vicinal substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Xu, E-mail: zhangxubetter@gmail.com [Henan Key Laboratory of Laser and Opto-electric Information Technology, School of Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052 (China); Xie, Dan; Huang, Genling [Zhengzhou Railway Vocational and Technical College, Zhengzhou 450052 (China); Sun, Xiao-Hong [Henan Key Laboratory of Laser and Opto-electric Information Technology, School of Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052 (China)

    2015-01-01

    An analytic stress-driven nucleation model of nanowires (NWs) and nanoneedles (NNs) growing on a mismatched vicinal substrate is proposed. It is demonstrated that the formation enthalpy of NWs and NNs is a function of three independent variables, the base radius, aspect ratio and miscut angle of the vicinal surface. Theoretical analysis shows that the minimum nucleation barrier of an island decreases with increment of substrate misorientation, which means the nucleation of islands on a vicinal substrate is more favorable than that on a flat substrate.

  20. Trapping crystal nucleation of cholesterol monohydrate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Solomonov, I.; Weygand, M.J.; Kjær, K.

    2005-01-01

    Crystalline nucleation of cholesterol at the air-water interface has been studied via grazing incidence x-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. The various stages of cholesterol molecular assembly from monolayer to three bilayers incorporating interleaving hydrogen-bonded water layers......, at least initially, an intralayer cholesterol rearrangement in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transition. The preferred nucleation of the monoclinic phase of cholesterol . H2O followed by transformation to the stable monohydrate phase may be associated with an energetically more stable cholesterol...... bilayer arrangement of the former and a more favorable hydrogen-bonding arrangement of the latter. The relevance of this nucleation process of cholesterol monohydrate to pathological crystallization of cholesterol from cell biomembranes is discussed....

  1. A parameterization of cloud droplet nucleation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghan, S.J.; Chuang, C.; Penner, J.E.

    1993-01-01

    Droplet nucleation is a fundamental cloud process. The number of aerosols activated to form cloud droplets influences not only the number of aerosols scavenged by clouds but also the size of the cloud droplets. Cloud droplet size influences the cloud albedo and the conversion of cloud water to precipitation. Global aerosol models are presently being developed with the intention of coupling with global atmospheric circulation models to evaluate the influence of aerosols and aerosol-cloud interactions on climate. If these and other coupled models are to address issues of aerosol-cloud interactions, the droplet nucleation process must be adequately represented. Here we introduce a droplet nucleation parametrization that offers certain advantages over the popular Twomey (1959) parameterization

  2. Aerosol nucleation induced by a high energy particle beam

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enghoff, Martin Andreas Bødker; Pedersen, Jens Olaf Pepke; Uggerhøj, Ulrik I.

    The effect of ions in aerosol nucleation is a subject where much remains to be discovered. That ions can enhance nucleation has been shown by theory, observations, and experiments. However, the exact mechanism still remains to be determined. One question is if the nature of the ionization affects...... the nucleation. This is an essential question since many experiments have been performed using radioactive sources that ionize differently than the cosmic rays which are responsible for the majority of atmospheric ionization. Here we report on an experimental study of sulphuric acid aerosol nucleation under near...... atmospheric conditions using a 580 MeV electron beam to ionize the volume of the reaction chamber. We find a clear and significant contribution from ion induced nucleation and consider this to be an unambiguous observation of the ion-effect on aerosol nucleation using a particle beam under conditions not far...

  3. Results from the FIN-2 formal comparison

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connolly, Paul; Hoose, Corinna; Liu, Xiaohong; Moehler, Ottmar; Cziczo, Daniel; DeMott, Paul

    2017-04-01

    During the Fifth International Ice Nucleation Workshop (FIN-2) at the AIDA Ice Nucleation facility in Karlsruhe, Germany in March 2015, a formal comparison of ice nucleation measurement methods was conducted. During the experiments the samples of ice nucleating particles were not revealed to the instrument scientists, hence this was referred to as a "blind comparison". The two samples used were later revealed to be Arizona Test Dust and an Argentina soil sample. For these two samples seven mobile ice nucleating particle counters sampled directly from the AIDA chamber or from the aerosol preparation chamber at specified temperatures, whereas filter samples were taken for two offline deposition nucleation instruments. Wet suspension methods for determining IN concentrations were also used with 10 different methods employed. For the wet suspension methods experiments were conducted using INPs collected from the air inside the chambers (impinger sampling) and INPs taken from the bulk samples (vial sampling). Direct comparisons of the ice nucleating particle concentrations are reported as well as derived ice nucleation active site densities. The study highlights the difficulties in performing such analyses, but generally indicates that there is reasonable agreement between the wet suspension techniques. It is noted that ice nucleation efficiency derived from the AIDA chamber (quantified using the ice active surface site density approach) is higher than that for the cold stage techniques. This is both true for the Argentina soil sample and, to a lesser extent, for the Arizona Test Dust sample too. Other interesting effects were noted: for the ATD the impinger sampling demonstrated higher INP efficiency at higher temperatures (>255 K) than the vial sampling, but agreed at the lower temperatures (<255K), whereas the opposite was true for the Argentina soil sample. The results are analysed to better understand the performance of the various techniques and to address any

  4. Preliminary biogeochemical assessment of EPICA LGM and Holocene ice samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulat, S.; Alekhina, I.; Marie, D.; Wagenbach, D.; Raynaud, D.; Petit, J. R.

    2009-04-01

    We are investigating the biological content (biomass and microbial diversity of Aeolian origin) of EPICA ice core within the frame of EPICA Microbiology consortium*. Two ice core sections were selected from EPICA Dome C and Droning Maud Land, both from LGM and Holocene. Preliminary measurements of DOC (dissolved organic content) and microbial cell concentrations have been performed. Both analyses showed the very low biomass and ultra low DOC content. Trace DNA analyses are in a progress. The ice sections were decontaminated in LGGE cold and clean room facilities benefiting the protocol developed for Vostok ice core studies. The melt water was then shared between two party laboratories for a complementary approach in studying microbial content. Prior to biology the melt water was tested for chemical contaminant ions and organic acids, DOC and dust contents. The biological methods included all the spectra of appropriate molecular techniques (gDNA extraction, PCR, clone libraries and sequencing). As preliminary results, both LGM (well identified by dust fallout) and Holocene ice samples (EDC99 and EDML) proved to be extremely clear (i.e. pristine) in terms of biomass (less then 4 cells per ml) and DOC contents (less then 5 ppbC). There was no obvious difference between LGM and Holocene in cell counts, while LGM showed a bit high organic carbon content. The latter in terms of biology means ultra-oligotrophic conditions (i.e., no possibility for heterotrophic life style). In fact no metabolizing microbial cells or propagating populations are expected at these depths at temperature -38oC and lower (limiting life temperature threshold is -20°C). Nevertheless some life seeds brought in Antarctica with precipitation could be well preserved because the age is rather young (21 kyr and less). Trying to identify these aliens and document their distribution during last climate cycle the meltwater was concentrated about 1000 times down. The genomic DNA was extracted and very

  5. Modelling the stochastic behaviour of primary nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maggioni, Giovanni Maria; Mazzotti, Marco

    2015-01-01

    We study the stochastic nature of primary nucleation and how it manifests itself in a crystallisation process at different scales and under different operating conditions. Such characteristics of nucleation are evident in many experiments where detection times of crystals are not identical, despite identical experimental conditions, but instead are distributed around an average value. While abundant experimental evidence has been reported in the literature, a clear theoretical understanding and an appropriate modelling of this feature is still missing. In this contribution, we present two models describing a batch cooling crystallisation, where the interplay between stochastic nucleation and deterministic crystal growth is described differently in each. The nucleation and growth rates of the two models are estimated by a comprehensive set of measurements of paracetamol crystallisation from aqueous solution in a 1 mL vessel [Kadam et al., Chemical Engineering Science, 2012, 72, 10-19]. Both models are applied to the cooling crystallisation process above under different operating conditions, i.e. different volumes, initial concentrations, cooling rates. The advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches are illustrated and discussed, with particular reference to their use across scales of nucleation rate measured in very small crystallisers.

  6. Study of ice formation in the porosity of hydraulic binder based materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bejaoui, Syriac

    2001-01-01

    This work concerns the nuclear waste management problematic, and aims at contributing to a better prediction of concrete freeze / thaw behaviour. Ice formation in the porosity of cement pastes and concrete was studied using differential scanning calorimetry and a thermodynamic model. It is shown that ice formation low temperatures in the pores can't be explained considering only interstitial solution under-cooling induced by crystal size restrictions, dissolved chemical elements, and containment pressures. On the other hand, taking into account the nucleation theory and the porosity division degree, three ice formation mechanisms can be defined, near -10, -25 et -40 deg. C. These results allow to explain freeze / thaw behaviour differences between blended and portland cement based materials, as well as, probably, between some high performance concrete, and allow to consider using differential scanning calorimetry as a tool for testing concrete freeze / thaw behaviour. In addition, this study highlights an irreversible shrinkage for cement pastes and concrete induced by freeze / thaw cycles without provision of water, and, on the basis of small angle neutrons scattering measures, the presence of a fractal surface type porosity in high performance cement pastes. (author) [fr

  7. Aerosol nucleation induced by a high energy particle beam

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enghoff, Martin Andreas Bødker; Pedersen, Jens Olaf Pepke; Uggerhøj, Ulrik I.

    2011-01-01

    We have studied sulfuric acid aerosol nucleation in an atmospheric pressure reaction chamber using a 580 MeV electron beam to ionize the volume of the reaction chamber. We find a clear contribution from ion-induced nucleation and consider this to be the first unambiguous observation of the ion......-effect on aerosol nucleation using a particle beam under conditions that resemble the Earth's atmosphere. By comparison with ionization using a gamma source we further show that the nature of the ionizing particles is not important for the ion-induced component of the nucleation. This implies that inexpensive...... ionization sources - as opposed to expensive accelerator beams - can be used for investigations of ion-induced nucleation....

  8. Plant Systems Biology (editorial)

    Science.gov (United States)

    In June 2003, Plant Physiology published an Arabidopsis special issue devoted to plant systems biology. The intention of Natasha Raikhel and Gloria Coruzzi, the two editors of this first-of-its-kind issue, was ‘‘to help nucleate this new effort within the plant community’’ as they considered that ‘‘...

  9. Atmospheric nucleation: highlights of the EUCAARI project and future directions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V.-M. Kerminen

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Within the project EUCAARI (European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions, atmospheric nucleation was studied by (i developing and testing new air ion and cluster spectrometers, (ii conducting homogeneous nucleation experiments for sulphate and organic systems in the laboratory, (iii investigating atmospheric nucleation mechanism under field conditions, and (iv applying new theoretical and modelling tools for data interpretation and development of parameterisations. The current paper provides a synthesis of the obtained results and identifies the remaining major knowledge gaps related to atmospheric nucleation. The most important technical achievement of the project was the development of new instruments for measuring sub-3 nm particle populations, along with the extensive application of these instruments in both the laboratory and the field. All the results obtained during EUCAARI indicate that sulphuric acid plays a central role in atmospheric nucleation. However, also vapours other than sulphuric acid are needed to explain the nucleation and the subsequent growth processes, at least in continental boundary layers. Candidate vapours in this respect are some organic compounds, ammonia, and especially amines. Both our field and laboratory data demonstrate that the nucleation rate scales to the first or second power of the nucleating vapour concentration(s. This agrees with the few earlier field observations, but is in stark contrast with classical thermodynamic nucleation theories. The average formation rates of 2-nm particles were found to vary by almost two orders of magnitude between the different EUCAARI sites, whereas the formation rates of charged 2-nm particles varied very little between the sites. Overall, our observations are indicative of frequent, yet moderate, ion-induced nucleation usually outweighed by much stronger neutral nucleation events in the continental lower troposphere. The most concrete

  10. The sea ice in Young Sound: Implications for carbon cycling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glud, Ronnie Nøhr; Rysgaard, Søren; Kühl, Michael

    2007-01-01

    on the available nutrients. The sea-ice algal community adapts effi ciently to the local light environment, and in areas with natural (or man-made) holes and cracks sea-ice algae bloom. However, despite ample nutrients, the overall phototrophic biomass in Young Sound remains very low, with maximum values of c. 15......–30 μg Chl a l-1 sea ice at the underside of the ice and with maximum area integrated values of c. 3 mg Chl a m-2. We speculate that the extreme dynamics in sea-ice appearance, structure and brine percolation, which is driven primarily by large but variable freshwater inputs during snow melt...... the sea-ice matrix were extremely dynamic and strongly regulated by physical processes related to freezing and thawing of sea water rather than biological activity. Enclosure experiments on sea-ice samples performed in June 2002 revealed a high heterotrophic potential causing the sea-ice environment...

  11. Nucleation and Growth Kinetics from LaMer Burst Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Daniel B K; Owen, Jonathan S; Peters, Baron

    2017-10-12

    In LaMer burst nucleation, the individual nucleation events happen en masse, quasi-simultaneously, and at nearly identical homogeneous conditions. These properties make LaMer burst nucleation important for applications that require monodispersed particles and also for theoretical analyses. Sugimoto and co-workers predicted that the number of nuclei generated during a LaMer burst depends only on the solute supply rate and the growth rate, independent of the nucleation kinetics. Some experiments confirm that solute supply kinetics control the number of nuclei, but flaws in the original theoretical analysis raise questions about the predicted roles of growth and nucleation kinetics. We provide a rigorous analysis of the coupled equations that govern concentrations of nuclei and solutes. Our analysis confirms that the number of nuclei is largely determined by the solute supply and growth rates, but our predicted relationship differs from that of Sugimoto et al. Moreover, we find that additional nucleus size dependent corrections should emerge in systems with slow growth kinetics. Finally, we show how the nucleation kinetics determine the particle size distribution. We suggest that measured particle size distributions might therefore provide ways to test theoretical models of homogeneous nucleation kinetics.

  12. Nucleation in As2Se3 glass studied by DSC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Svoboda, Roman; Málek, Jiří

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Nucleation behavior of As 2 Se 3 glass was studied by DSC in dependence on particle size. • Correlation between the enthalpies of fusion and crystallization were confirmed. • Apart from classical heterogeneous nucleation a second nucleation mechanism was found. • Rapid formation of crystallization centers from a damaged glassy structure occurs. • Mechanical defects seem to partially suppress the CNT nucleation process. - Abstract: Differential scanning calorimetry was used to study nucleation behavior in As 2 Se 3 glass, dependent on particle size. The nucleation process was examined for a series of different coarse powders; the nucleation rate was estimated from the proportion of the crystalline material fraction. The enthalpy of fusion was utilized in this respect, and a correlation between ΔH m and ΔH c was confirmed. Two mechanisms of nucleus formation were found: classical heterogeneous nucleation (following CNT) and so-called “activation” of mechanically-induced defects. The latter appears to represent rapid formation of crystallization centers from a damaged glassy structure, where complete saturation occurs for fine powders in the range of 195–235 °C. A high amount of mechanical defects, on the other hand, was found to partially suppress the CNT nucleation process

  13. Nucleation, Melting Behaviour and Mechanical Properties of Poly(L ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Anew category of nucleating agent for poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) was developed. An organic nucleating agent; N,N'-bis(benzoyl) suberic acid dihydrazide (NA) was synthesized from benzoyl hydrazine and suberoyl chloride which was deprived from suberic acid via acylation. The nucleation, melting behaviour and ...

  14. The laminar flow tube reactor as a quantitative tool for nucleation studies: Experimental results and theoretical analysis of homogeneous nucleation of dibutylphthalate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mikheev, Vladimir B.; Laulainen, Nels S.; Barlow, Stephan E.; Knott, Michael; Ford, Ian J.

    2000-01-01

    A laminar flow tube reactor was designed and constructed to provide an accurate, quantitative measurement of a nucleation rate as a function of supersaturation and temperature. Measurements of nucleation of a supersaturated vapor of dibutylphthalate have been made for the temperature range from -30.3 to +19.1 degree sign C. A thorough analysis of the possible sources of experimental uncertainties (such as defining the correct value of the initial vapor concentration, temperature boundary conditions on the reactor walls, accuracy of the calculations of the thermodynamic parameters of the nucleation zone, and particle concentration measurement) is given. Both isothermal and the isobaric nucleation rates were measured. The experimental data obtained were compared with the measurements of other experimental groups and with theoretical predictions made on the basis of the self-consistency correction nucleation theory. Theoretical analysis, based on the first and the second nucleation theorems, is also presented. The critical cluster size and the excess of internal energy of the critical cluster are obtained. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

  15. Delays due to gas diffusion in flash boiling nucleation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanbury, W.T.; McCartney, W.S.

    1976-01-01

    A theoretical model to account for the time delay between decompression and nucleation in flash boiling is presented and analyzed. It shows that gas diffusion can be responsible for delayed nucleation when the critical radius for nucleation and the suspended particle size are of the same order of magnitude

  16. Homogeneous nucleation in 4He: A corresponding-states analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinha, D.N.; Semura, J.S.; Brodie, L.C.

    1982-01-01

    We report homogeneous-nucleation-temperature measurements in liquid 4 He over a bath-temperature range 2.31 4 He, in a region far from the critical point. A simple empirical form is presented for estimating the homogeneous nucleation temperatures for any liquid with a spherically symmetric interatomic potential. The 4 He data are compared with nucleation data for Ar, Kr, Xe, and H; theoretical predictions for 3 He are given in terms of reduced quantities. It is shown that the nucleation data for both quantum and classical liquids obey a quantum law of corresponding states (QCS). On the basis of this QCS analysis, predictions of homogeneous nucleation temperatures are made for hydrogen isotopes such as HD, DT, HT, and T 2

  17. In Situ Atomic Force Microscopy Studies on Nucleation and Self-Assembly of Biogenic and Bio-Inspired Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng Zeng

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Through billions of years of evolution, nature has been able to create highly sophisticated and ordered structures in living systems, including cells, cellular components and viruses. The formation of these structures involves nucleation and self-assembly, which are fundamental physical processes associated with the formation of any ordered structure. It is important to understand how biogenic materials self-assemble into functional and highly ordered structures in order to determine the mechanisms of biological systems, as well as design and produce new classes of materials which are inspired by nature but equipped with better physiochemical properties for our purposes. An ideal tool for the study of nucleation and self-assembly is in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM, which has been widely used in this field and further developed for different applications in recent years. The main aim of this work is to review the latest contributions that have been reported on studies of nucleation and self-assembly of biogenic and bio-inspired materials using in situ AFM. We will address this topic by introducing the background of AFM, and discussing recent in situ AFM studies on nucleation and self-assembly of soft biogenic, soft bioinspired and hard materials.

  18. A variational approach to nucleation simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piaggi, Pablo M; Valsson, Omar; Parrinello, Michele

    2016-12-22

    We study by computer simulation the nucleation of a supersaturated Lennard-Jones vapor into the liquid phase. The large free energy barriers to transition make the time scale of this process impossible to study by ordinary molecular dynamics simulations. Therefore we use a recently developed enhanced sampling method [Valsson and Parrinello, Phys. Rev. Lett.113, 090601 (2014)] based on the variational determination of a bias potential. We differ from previous applications of this method in that the bias is constructed on the basis of the physical model provided by the classical theory of nucleation. We examine the technical problems associated with this approach. Our results are very satisfactory and will pave the way for calculating the nucleation rates in many systems.

  19. Suppression of Frost Nucleation Achieved Using the Nanoengineered Integral Humidity Sink Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xiaoda; Rykaczewski, Konrad

    2017-01-24

    Inhibition of frost formation is important for increasing efficiency of refrigeration systems and heat exchangers, as well as for preventing the rapid icing over of water-repellant coatings that are designed to prevent accumulation of rime and glaze. From a thermodynamic point of view, this task can be achieved by either increasing hydrophobicity of the surface or decreasing the concentration of water vapor above it. The first approach has been studied in depth, but so far has not yielded a robust solution to the problem of frost formation. In this work, we systematically explore how frost growth can be inhibited by controlling water vapor concentration using bilayer coatings with a porous exterior covering a hygroscopic liquid-infused layer. We lay the theoretical foundation and provide experimental validation of the mass transport mechanism that governs the integral humidity sink effect based on this coating platform as well as reveal intriguing sizing effects about this system. We show that the concentration profile above periodically spaced pores is governed by the sink and source concentrations and two geometrical parameters: the nondimensional pore size and the ratio of the pore spacing to the boundary layer thickness. We demonstrate that when the ratio of the pore spacing to the boundary layer thickness vanishes, as for the nanoporous bilayer coatings, the entire surface concentration becomes uniform and equal to the concentration set by the hygroscopic liquid. In other words, the surface concentration becomes completely independent of the nanopore size. We identified the threshold geometrical parameters for this condition and show that it can lead to a 65 K decrease in the nucleation onset surface temperature below the dew point. With this fundamental insight, we use bilayer coatings to nanoengineer the integral humidity sink effect to provide extreme antifrosting performance with up to a 2 h delay in nucleation onset at 263 K. The nanoporous bilayer

  20. Variability of IN measured with the Fast Ice Nucleus Chamber (FINCH) at the high altitude research station Jungfraujoch during wintertime 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, Fabian; Nillius, Björn; Bundke, Ulrich; Curtius, Joachim

    2014-05-01

    Ice nuclei (IN) are an important component of the atmospheric aerosol. Despite their low concentrations in the atmosphere, they have an influence on the formation of ice crystals in mixed-phase clouds and therefore on precipitation. The Fast Ice Nucleus CHamber (FINCH)1, a counter for ice nucleating particles developed at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main allows long-term measurements of the IN number concentration. In FINCH the ice activation of the aerosol particles is achieved by mixing air flows with different temperature and humidity. The IN number concentration measurements at different meteorological conditions during the INUIT-JFJ campaign at the high altitude research station Jungfraujoch in Switzerland are presented and its variability are discussed. The good operational performance of the instrument allowed up to 10 hours of continuous measurements. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the German Research Foundation, DFG Grant: BU 1432/3-2 BU 1432/4-1 in the framework of INUIT (FOR 1525) and SPP 1294 HALO. 1- Bundke, U., Nillius, B., Jaenicke, R., Wetter, T., Klein, H., and Bingemer, H. (2008). The fast ice nucleus chamber finch. Atmospheric Research, 90:180-186.

  1. Structural Basis of Actin Filament Nucleation by Tandem W Domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xiaorui; Ni, Fengyun; Tian, Xia; Kondrashkina, Elena; Wang, Qinghua; Ma, Jianpeng

    2013-01-01

    SUMMARY Spontaneous nucleation of actin is very inefficient in cells. To overcome this barrier, cells have evolved a set of actin filament nucleators to promote rapid nucleation and polymerization in response to specific stimuli. However, the molecular mechanism of actin nucleation remains poorly understood. This is hindered largely by the fact that actin nucleus, once formed, rapidly polymerizes into filament, thus making it impossible to capture stable multisubunit actin nucleus. Here, we report an effective double-mutant strategy to stabilize actin nucleus by preventing further polymerization. Employing this strategy, we solved the crystal structure of AMPPNP-actin in complex with the first two tandem W domains of Cordon-bleu (Cobl), a potent actin filament nucleator. Further sequence comparison and functional studies suggest that the nucleation mechanism of Cobl is probably shared by the p53 cofactor JMY, but not Spire. Moreover, the double-mutant strategy opens the way for atomic mechanistic study of actin nucleation and polymerization. PMID:23727244

  2. Nucleation of voids and other irradiation-produced defect aggregates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiedersich, H.; Katz, J.L.

    1976-01-01

    The nucleation of defect clusters in crystalline solids from radiation-produced defects is different from the usual nucleation processes in one important aspect: the condensing defects, interstitial atoms and vacancies, can mutually annihilate and are thus similar to matter and antimatter. The nucleation process is described as the simultaneous reaction of vacancies and interstitials (and gas atoms if present) with embryos of all sizes. The reaction rates for acquisition of point defects (and gas atoms) are calculated from their respective jump frequencies and concentrations in the supersaturated system. The reaction rates for emission of point defects are derived from the free energies of the defect clusters in the thermodynamic equilibrium system, i.e., the system without excess point defects. This procedure differs from that used in conventional nucleation theory and permits the inclusion of the ''antimatter'' defect into the set of reaction-rate equations in a straightforward manner. The method is applied to steady-state nucleation, during irradiation, of both dislocation loops and voids in the absence and in the presence of immobile and mobile gas. The predictions of the nucleation theory are shown to be in qualitative agreement with experimental observations, e.g., void densities increase with increasing displacement rates; gases such as helium enhance void nucleation; at low displacement rates and at high temperatures the presence of gas is essential to void formation. For quantitative predictions, the theory must be extended to include the termination of nucleation

  3. Recent developments in the kinetic theory of nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruckenstein, E; Djikaev, Y S

    2005-12-30

    A review of recent progress in the kinetics of nucleation is presented. In the conventional approach to the kinetic theory of nucleation, it is necessary to know the free energy of formation of a new-phase particle as a function of its independent variables at least for near-critical particles. Thus the conventional kinetic theory of nucleation is based on the thermodynamics of the process. The thermodynamics of nucleation can be examined by using various approaches, such as the capillarity approximation, density functional theory, and molecular simulation, each of which has its own advantages and drawbacks. Relatively recently a new approach to the kinetics of nucleation was proposed [Ruckenstein E, Nowakowski B. J Colloid Interface Sci 1990;137:583; Nowakowski B, Ruckenstein E. J Chem Phys 1991;94:8487], which is based on molecular interactions and does not employ the traditional thermodynamics, thus avoiding such a controversial notion as the surface tension of tiny clusters involved in nucleation. In the new kinetic theory the rate of emission of molecules by a new-phase particle is determined with the help of a mean first passage time analysis. This time is calculated by solving the single-molecule master equation for the probability distribution function of a surface layer molecule moving in a potential field created by the rest of the cluster. The new theory was developed for both liquid-to-solid and vapor-to-liquid phase transitions. In the former case the single-molecule master equation is the Fokker-Planck equation in the phase space which can be reduced to the Smoluchowski equation owing to the hierarchy of characteristic time scales. In the latter case, the starting master equation is a Fokker-Planck equation for the probability distribution function of a surface layer molecule with respect to both its energy and phase coordinates. Unlike the case of liquid-to-solid nucleation, this Fokker-Planck equation cannot be reduced to the Smoluchowski equation

  4. Modelling snow ice and superimposed ice on landfast sea ice in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caixin Wang

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Snow ice and superimposed ice formation on landfast sea ice in a Svalbard fjord, Kongsfjorden, was investigated with a high-resolution thermodynamic snow and sea-ice model, applying meteorological weather station data as external forcing. The model shows that sea-ice formation occurs both at the ice bottom and at the snow/ice interface. Modelling results indicated that the total snow ice and superimposed ice, which formed at the snow/ice interface, was about 14 cm during the simulation period, accounting for about 15% of the total ice mass and 35% of the total ice growth. Introducing a time-dependent snow density improved the modelled results, and a time-dependent oceanic heat flux parameterization yielded reasonable ice growth at the ice bottom. Model results suggest that weather conditions, in particular air temperature and precipitation, as well as snow thermal properties and surface albedo are the most critical factors for the development of snow ice and superimposed ice in Kongsfjorden. While both warming air and higher precipitation led to increased snow ice and superimposed ice forming in Kongsfjorden in the model runs, the processes were more sensitive to precipitation than to air temperature.

  5. Sea-ice indicators of polar bear habitat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stern, Harry L.; Laidre, Kristin L.

    2016-09-01

    Nineteen subpopulations of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are found throughout the circumpolar Arctic, and in all regions they depend on sea ice as a platform for traveling, hunting, and breeding. Therefore polar bear phenology - the cycle of biological events - is linked to the timing of sea-ice retreat in spring and advance in fall. We analyzed the dates of sea-ice retreat and advance in all 19 polar bear subpopulation regions from 1979 to 2014, using daily sea-ice concentration data from satellite passive microwave instruments. We define the dates of sea-ice retreat and advance in a region as the dates when the area of sea ice drops below a certain threshold (retreat) on its way to the summer minimum or rises above the threshold (advance) on its way to the winter maximum. The threshold is chosen to be halfway between the historical (1979-2014) mean September and mean March sea-ice areas. In all 19 regions there is a trend toward earlier sea-ice retreat and later sea-ice advance. Trends generally range from -3 to -9 days decade-1 in spring and from +3 to +9 days decade-1 in fall, with larger trends in the Barents Sea and central Arctic Basin. The trends are not sensitive to the threshold. We also calculated the number of days per year that the sea-ice area exceeded the threshold (termed ice-covered days) and the average sea-ice concentration from 1 June through 31 October. The number of ice-covered days is declining in all regions at the rate of -7 to -19 days decade-1, with larger trends in the Barents Sea and central Arctic Basin. The June-October sea-ice concentration is declining in all regions at rates ranging from -1 to -9 percent decade-1. These sea-ice metrics (or indicators of habitat change) were designed to be useful for management agencies and for comparative purposes among subpopulations. We recommend that the National Climate Assessment include the timing of sea-ice retreat and advance in future reports.

  6. Sea-ice induced growth decline in Arctic shrubs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forchhammer, Mads

    2017-08-01

    Measures of increased tundra plant productivity have been associated with the accelerating retreat of the Arctic sea-ice. Emerging studies document opposite effects, advocating for a more complex relationship between the shrinking sea-ice and terrestrial plant productivity. I introduce an autoregressive plant growth model integrating effects of biological and climatic conditions for analysing individual ring-width growth time series. Using 128 specimens of Salix arctica , S. glauca and Betula nana sampled across Greenland to Svalbard, an overall negative effect of the retreating June sea-ice extent was found on the annual growth. The negative effect of the retreating June sea-ice was observed for younger individuals with large annual growth allocations and with little or no trade-off between previous and current year's growth. © 2017 The Author(s).

  7. Aerosol nucleation in an ultra-low ion density environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Jens Olaf Pepke; Enghoff, Martin Andreas Bødker; Paling, Sean M.

    2012-01-01

    Ion-induced nucleation has been studied in a deep underground ultra-low background radiation environment where the role of ions can be distinguished from alternative neutral aerosol nucleation mechanisms. Our results demonstrate that ions have a significant effect on the production of small...... sulfuric acid–water clusters over a range of sulfuric acid concentrations although neutral nucleation mechanisms remain evident at low ionization levels. The effect of ions is found both to enhance the nucleation rate of stable clusters and the initial growth rate. The effects of possible contaminations...

  8. Nucleation in an ultra low ionisation environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enghoff, Martin Andreas Bødker

    in aerosol nucleation. By exposing a controlled volume of air to varying levels of ionising radiation, and with the minimum ionisation level vastly reduced compared to normal surface laboratory conditions, we have provided both a validation of earlier studies of ion-induced nucleation and extended...

  9. Controlled nucleation and crystallization of fluorozirconate glasses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frischat, G.H.

    1993-01-01

    Pt, Se, and Ag, respectively, were used as nucleating agents for a ZrF 4 -BaF 4 -YF 3 -AlF 3 glass. Nucleation and crystal growth rates were determined as a function of experimental conditions. In all cases the bulk crystals mainly consist of β-BaZrF6, leading to a relatively coarse-grained microstructure. However, in the case of Ag used as a nucleating agent, the microstructure is bimodal with an additional fine-grained crystal phase. In the cases of Se and Ag the relative crystal fraction could be developed in a controlled way between 0 and 100%

  10. Nucleation and growth of polycrystalline SiC

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kaiser, M.; Schimmel, S.; Jokubavicius, V.

    2014-01-01

    The nucleation and bulk growth of polycrystalline SiC in a 2 inch PVT setup using isostatic and pyrolytic graphite as substrates was studied. Textured nucleation occurs under near-thermal equilibrium conditions at the initial growth stage with hexagonal platelet shaped crystallites of 4H, 6H and 15......R polytypes. It is found that pyrolytic graphite results in enhanced texturing of the nucleating gas species. Reducing the pressure leads to growth of the crystallites until a closed polycrystalline SiC layer containing voids with a rough surface is developed. Bulk growth was conducted at 35 mbar Ar...

  11. Experimental study of ion-induced nucleation by radon decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, F.; Hopke, P.K.

    1993-01-01

    In the environment, the presence of ions from natural radioactivity may increase the rate of new particle formation through ion-induced nucleation. A thermal diffusion cloud chamber (TDCC) has been built to experimentally study ion-induced nucleation where the ions are produced by gaseous radioactive sources. The critical supersaturation values and nucleation rates for methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, and 1-butanol vapors on ions produced within the volume of the chamber by alpha decay of 222 Rn have been measured quantitatively at various radioactivity concentrations and supersaturations. The presence of ion tracks and the effect of an external electric field were also investigated. The alpha tracks and ion-induced nucleation formed by 222 Rn decay become visible at the critical supersaturation that is below the value needed for homogeneous nucleation. At this supersaturation, the nucleation rates increase substantially with increasing 222 Rn at low activity concentrations, but attain limiting values at higher concentrations. The experimental results indicate that the ionization by radon decay will promote ion-cluster formation and lower the free energy barriers. The formation of visible droplets is strongly dependent on the supersaturation. This study also confirms that the external electric field has a significant effect on the observed rates of nucleation

  12. Nacre biomineralisation: A review on the mechanisms of crystal nucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nudelman, Fabio

    2015-10-01

    The wide diversity of biogenic minerals that is found in nature, each with its own morphology, mechanical properties and composition, is remarkable. In order to produce minerals that are optimally adapted for their function, biomineralisation usually occurs under strict cellular control. This control is exerted by specialised proteins and polysaccharides that assemble into a 3-dimensional organic matrix framework, forming a microenvironment where mineral deposition takes place. Molluscs are unique in that they use a striking variety of structural motifs to build their shells, each made of crystals with different morphologies and different calcium carbonate polymorphs. Much of want is known about mollusc shell formation comes from studies on the nacreous layer, or mother-of-pearl. In this review, we discuss two existing models on the nucleation of aragonite crystals during nacre formation: heteroepitaxial nucleation and mineral bridges. The heteroepitaxial nucleation model is based on the identification of chemical functional groups and aragonite-nucleating proteins at the centre of crystal imprints. It proposes that during nacre formation, each aragonite tablet nucleates independently on a nucleation site that is formed by acidic proteins and/or glycoproteins adsorbed on the chitin scaffold. The mineral bridges model is based on the identification of physical connections between the crystals in a stack, which results in a large number of crystals across several layers sharing the same crystallographic orientation. These observations suggest that there is one nucleation event per stack of tablets. Once the first crystal nucleates and reaches the top interlamellar matrix, it continues growing through pores, giving rise to the next layer of nacre, subsequently propagating into a stack. We compare both models and propose that they work in concert to control crystal nucleation in nacre. De novo crystal nucleation has to occur at least once per stack of aligned crystals

  13. Ion irradiation enhanced crystal nucleation in amorphous Si thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Im, J.S.; Atwater, H.A.

    1990-01-01

    The nucleation kinetics of the amorphous-to-crystal transition of Si films under 1.5 MeV Xe + irradiation have been investigated by means of in situ transmission electron microscopy in the temperature range T=500--580 degree C. After an incubation period during which negligible nucleation occurs, a constant nucleation rate was observed in steady state, suggesting that homogeneous nucleation occurred. Compared to thermal crystallization, a significant enhancement in the nucleation rate during high-energy ion irradiation (five to seven orders of magnitude) was observed with an apparent activation energy of 3.9±0.75 eV

  14. GIT1/beta PIX signaling proteins and PAK1 kinase regulate microtubule nucleation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Černohorská, Markéta; Sulimenko, Vadym; Hájková, Zuzana; Sulimenko, Tetyana; Sládková, Vladimíra; Vinopal, Stanislav; Dráberová, Eduarda; Dráber, Pavel

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 1863, č. 6 (2016), s. 1282-1297 ISSN 0167-4889 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP302/12/1673; GA ČR GA15-22194S; GA MŠk LH12050; GA MZd NT14467; GA ČR GA16-23702S Institutional support: RVO:68378050 Keywords : Centrosome * Microtubule nucleation * gamma-tubulin * GIT1/beta PIX signaling proteins * PAK1 kinase Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 4.521, year: 2016

  15. Binary nucleation kinetics. III. Transient behavior and time lags

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wyslouzil, B.E.; Wilemski, G.

    1996-01-01

    Transient binary nucleation is more complex than unary because of the bidimensionality of the cluster formation kinetics. To investigate this problem qualitatively and quantitatively, we numerically solved the birth-death equations for vapor-to-liquid phase transitions. Our previous work showed that the customary saddle point and growth path approximations are almost always valid in steady state gas phase nucleation and only fail if the nucleated solution phase is significantly nonideal. Now, we demonstrate that in its early transient stages, binary nucleation rarely, if ever, occurs via the saddle point. This affects not only the number of particles forming but their composition and may be important for nucleation in glasses and other condensed mixtures for which time scales are very long. Before reaching the state of saddle point nucleation, most binary systems pass through a temporary stage in which the region of maximum flux extends over a ridge on the free energy surface. When ridge crossing nucleation is the steady state solution, it thus arises quite naturally as an arrested intermediate state that normally occurs in the development of saddle point nucleation. While the time dependent and steady state distributions of the fluxes and concentrations for each binary system are strongly influenced by the gas composition and species impingement rates, the ratio of nonequilibrium to equilibrium concentrations has a quasiuniversal behavior that is determined primarily by the thermodynamic properties of the liquid mixture. To test our quantitive results of the transient behavior, we directly calculated the time lag for the saddle point flux and compared it with the available analytical predictions. Although the analytical results overestimate the time lag by factors of 1.2-5, they should be adequate for purposes of planning experiments. We also found that the behavior of the saddle point time lag can indicate when steady state ridge crossing nucleation will occur

  16. Nucleation at high pressure I: Theoretical considerations.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luijten, C.C.M.; Dongen, van M.E.H.

    1999-01-01

    A theoretical approach is presented that accounts for the influence of high pressure background gases on the vapor-to-liquid nucleation process. The key idea is to treat the carrier gas pressure as a perturbation parameter that modifies the properties of the nucleating substance. Two important

  17. The implications of dust ice nuclei effect on cloud top temperature in a complex mesoscale convective system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Rui; Dong, Xue; Guo, Jingchao; Fu, Yunfei; Zhao, Chun; Wang, Yu; Min, Qilong

    2017-10-23

    Mineral dust is the most important natural source of atmospheric ice nuclei (IN) which may significantly mediate the properties of ice cloud through heterogeneous nucleation and lead to crucial impacts on hydrological and energy cycle. The potential dust IN effect on cloud top temperature (CTT) in a well-developed mesoscale convective system (MCS) was studied using both satellite observations and cloud resolving model (CRM) simulations. We combined satellite observations from passive spectrometer, active cloud radar, lidar, and wind field simulations from CRM to identify the place where ice cloud mixed with dust particles. For given ice water path, the CTT of dust-mixed cloud is warmer than that in relatively pristine cloud. The probability distribution function (PDF) of CTT for dust-mixed clouds shifted to the warmer end and showed two peaks at about -45 °C and -25 °C. The PDF for relatively pristine cloud only show one peak at -55 °C. Cloud simulations with different microphysical schemes agreed well with each other and showed better agreement with satellite observations in pristine clouds, but they showed large discrepancies in dust-mixed clouds. Some microphysical schemes failed to predict the warm peak of CTT related to heterogeneous ice formation.

  18. Theoretical Studies Of Nucleation Kinetics And Nanodroplet Microstructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilemski, Gerald

    2009-01-01

    The goals of this project were to (1) explore ways of bridging the gap between fundamental molecular nucleation theories and phenomenological approaches based on thermodynamic reasoning, (2) test and improve binary nucleation theory, and (3) provide the theoretical underpinning for a powerful new experimental technique, small angle neutron scattering (SANS) from nanodroplet aerosols, that can probe the compositional structure of nanodroplets. This report summarizes the accomplishments of this project in realizing these goals. Publications supported by this project fall into three general categories: (1) theoretical work on nucleation theory (2) experiments and modeling of nucleation and condensation in supersonic nozzles, and (3) experimental and theoretical work on nanodroplet structure and neutron scattering. These publications are listed and briefly summarized in this report.

  19. NUCLEATION STUDIES OF GOLD ON CARBON ELECTRODES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. SOBRI

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Interest has grown in developing non-toxic electrolytes for gold electrodeposition to replace the conventional cyanide-based bath for long term sustainability of gold electroplating. A solution containing thiosulphate and sulphite has been developed specially for microelectronics applications. However, at the end of the electrodeposition process, the spent electrolyte can contain a significant amount of gold in solution. This study has been initiated to investigate the feasibility of gold recovery from a spent thiosulphate-sulphite electrolyte. We have used flat-plate glassy carbon and graphite electrodes to study the mechanism of nucleation and crystal growth of gold deposition from the spent electrolyte. It was found that at the early stages of reduction process, the deposition of gold on glassy carbon exhibits an instantaneous nucleation of non-overlapping particles. At longer times, the particles begin to overlap and the deposition follows a classic progressive nucleation phenomenon. On the other hand, deposition of gold on graphite does not follow the classical nucleation phenomena.

  20. Adherent nanoparticles-mediated micro- and nanobubble nucleation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Chon U.; Chen, Long Quan; Lippert, Alexander; Arora, Manish; Ohl, Claus-Dieter

    2014-11-01

    Surface nanobubbles are commonly nucleated through water-ethanol-water exchange. It is believed that the higher gas solubility in ethanol and exothermic mixing leads to a supersaturation of gas in water. However details of the nucleation dynamic are still unknown. Here we apply the exchange process onto a glass surface deposited with nanoparticles and monitor the dynamics optically at video frame rates. During exchange bubbles of a few micron in diameter nucleate at the sites of nanoparticles. These microbubbles eventually dissolve in ethanol but are stable in water. This agrees with the nucleation process observed for surface nanobubbles. Also we find a reduction of surface attached nanobubbles near the particles, which might be due to gas uptake from the microbubble growth. Finally, high speed recordings reveal stick-slip motion of the triple contact line during the growth process. We will discuss possibilities of utilizing the findings for contamination detection and ultrasonic cleaning.