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A biogenic secondary organic aerosol source of cirrus ice nucleating particles

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [13];  [13];  [14];  [1];  [15];  [16]
  1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  2. Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Aerodyne Research Inc., Billerica, MA (United States). Center for Aerosol and Cloud Chemistry; Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)
  3. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). Earth System Research Lab.; Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences
  5. Univ. Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand (France). Lab. of Meteorological Physics (LaMP)
  6. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule, Zurich (Switzerland). Inst. for Atmospheric and Climate Science
  7. Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Lab. of Atmospheric Chemistry
  8. Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
  9. Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany). Inst. of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-AAF)
  10. Droplet Measurement Technologies, Longmont, CO (United States)
  11. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
  12. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Handix Scientific, Boulder, CO (United States)
  13. Univ. of Toronto, ON (Canada)
  14. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Tofwerk USA, Boulder, CO (United States)
  15. Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)
  16. Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INPs) influence global climate by altering cloud formation, lifetime, and precipitation efficiency. The role of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) material as a source of INPs in the ambient atmosphere has not been well defined. Here, we demonstrate the potential for biogenic SOA to activate as depositional INPs in the upper troposphere by combining field measurements with laboratory experiments. Ambient INPs were measured in a remote mountaintop location at –46°C and an ice supersaturation of 30% with concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 70 L–1. Concentrations of depositional INPs were positively correlated with the mass fractions and loadings of isoprene-derived secondary organic aerosols. Compositional analysis of ice residuals showed that ambient particles with isoprene-derived SOA material can act as depositional ice nuclei. Laboratory experiments further demonstrated the ability of isoprene-derived SOA to nucleate ice under a range of atmospheric conditions. We further show that ambient concentrations of isoprene-derived SOA can be competitive with other INP sources. This demonstrates that isoprene and potentially other biogenically-derived SOA materials could influence cirrus formation and properties.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1778945
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA--160730
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 11; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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