skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

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

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)
 [1];  [1]
  1. Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

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, 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 can be readily explained by this model considering varying ISA. An apparent cooling-rate dependence of Jhet is explained by assuming identical ISA in each droplet. When accounting for ISA variability, the cooling-rate dependence of ice nucleation kinetics vanishes as expected from classical nucleation theory. Finally, the model simulations allow for a quantitative experimental uncertainty analysis for parameters Ntot, T, RH, and the ISA variability. We discuss the implications of our results for experimental analysis and interpretation of the immersion freezing process.

Research Organization:
Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0008613
OSTI ID:
1254489
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Vol. 16, Issue 4; ISSN 1680-7324
Publisher:
European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 42 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (74)

Ice nucleation from aqueous NaCl droplets with and without marine diatoms journal January 2011
Initiation of the ice phase by marine biogenic surfaces in supersaturated gas and supercooled aqueous phases journal January 2011
Ice nucleation by surrogates for atmospheric mineral dust and mineral dust/sulfate particles at cirrus temperatures journal January 2005
The immersion mode ice nucleation behavior of mineral dusts: A comparison of different pure and surface modified dusts journal October 2014
Cloud Microphysics and Climate journal May 1997
Uptake of HO 2 radicals on Arizona Test Dust journal January 2013
T-dependent rate measurements of homogeneous ice nucleation in cloud droplets using a large atmospheric simulation chamber journal December 2005
Atmospheric ice nuclei in the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic ash plume journal January 2012
Immersion mode heterogeneous ice nucleation by an illite rich powder representative of atmospheric mineral dust journal January 2012
Adsorption of Gases in Multimolecular Layers journal February 1938
BINARY: an optical freezing array for assessing temperature and time dependence of heterogeneous ice nucleation journal January 2015
The fast Ice Nucleus chamber FINCH journal November 2008
Ice nuclei properties within a Saharan dust event at the Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alps journal January 2011
Application of linear polarized light for the discrimination of frozen and liquid droplets in ice nucleation experiments journal January 2013
Studies of heterogeneous freezing by three different desert dust samples journal January 2009
The microscopic features of heterogeneous ice nucleation may affect the macroscopic morphology of atmospheric ice crystals journal January 2013
Particle Morphology and Density Characterization by Combined Mobility and Aerodynamic Diameter Measurements. Part 1: Theory journal January 2004
Predicting global atmospheric ice nuclei distributions and their impacts on climate journal June 2010
Particle surface area dependence of mineral dust in immersion freezing mode: investigations with freely suspended drops in an acoustic levitator and a vertical wind tunnel journal January 2014
Ice nucleation and droplet formation by bare and coated soot particles journal January 2011
Ice Nucleation by Alcohols Arranged in Monolayers at the Surface of Water Drops journal November 1990
Freezing thresholds and cirrus cloud formation mechanisms inferred from in situ measurements of relative humidity journal January 2003
Homogeneous and heterogeneous ice nucleation at LACIS: operating principle and theoretical studies journal January 2011
Immersion Freezing of Kaolinite: Scaling with Particle Surface Area journal January 2016
Nucleation in the atmosphere journal April 2009
Representing time-dependent freezing behaviour in immersion mode ice nucleation journal January 2014
Measurement of Ice Nucleation-Active Bacteria on Plants and in Precipitation by Quantitative PCR journal December 2013
A comprehensive parameterization of heterogeneous ice nucleation of dust surrogate: laboratory study with hematite particles and its application to atmospheric models journal January 2014
A comprehensive laboratory study on the immersion freezing behavior of illite NX particles: a comparison of 17 ice nucleation measurement techniques journal January 2015
Contact freezing efficiency of mineral dust aerosols studied in an electrodynamic balance: quantitative size and temperature dependence for illite particles journal January 2013
Heterogeneous ice nucleation on atmospheric aerosols: a review of results from laboratory experiments journal January 2012
The ice nucleation ability of one of the most abundant types of fungal spores found in the atmosphere journal January 2011
Laboratory studies of immersion and deposition mode ice nucleation of ozone aged mineral dust particles journal January 2013
Freezing of Water and Aqueous NaCl Droplets Coated by Organic Monolayers as a Function of Surfactant Properties and Water Activity journal June 2011
Freezing of HNO 3 /H 2 SO 4 /H 2 O Solutions at Stratospheric Temperatures:  Nucleation Statistics and Experiments journal February 1997
Water activity as the determinant for homogeneous ice nucleation in aqueous solutions journal August 2000
Laboratory measurements and model sensitivity studies of dust deposition ice nucleation journal January 2012
Inclusion of Ice Microphysics in the NCAR Community Atmospheric Model Version 3 (CAM3) journal September 2007
Sensitivity studies of different aerosol indirect effects in mixed-phase clouds journal January 2009
The Structural Properties of Uncompressed Crystalline Monolayers of Alcohols CnH2n+1 OH (n = 13–31) on Water and Their Role as Ice Nucleators journal August 1995
Efficiency of immersion mode ice nucleation on surrogates of mineral dust journal January 2007
Experimental investigation of homogeneous freezing of sulphuric acid particles in the aerosol chamber AIDA journal January 2003
Review of the vapour pressures of ice and supercooled water for atmospheric applications journal April 2005
Heterogeneous freezing of water droplets containing kaolinite particles journal January 2011
Ice nucleation by particles immersed in supercooled cloud droplets journal January 2012
Heterogeneous freezing of droplets with immersed mineral dust particles – measurements and parameterization journal January 2010
Experimental study of the role of physicochemical surface processing on the IN ability of mineral dust particles journal January 2011
Heterogeneous ice nucleation: exploring the transition from stochastic to singular freezing behavior journal January 2011
A computationally efficient description of heterogeneous freezing: A simplified version of the Soccer ball model: NIEDERMEIER ET AL. journal January 2014
A Particle-Surface-Area-Based Parameterization of Immersion Freezing on Desert Dust Particles journal October 2012
Ice nucleation by fertile soil dusts: relative importance of mineral and biogenic components journal January 2014
Tandem Measurements of Aerosol Properties—A Review of Mobility Techniques with Extensions journal August 2008
Ice nucleation efficiency of clay minerals in the immersion mode journal January 2012
Induced freezing of supercooled water into ice by self-assembled crystalline monolayers of amphiphilic alcohols at the air-water interface journal February 1994
The homogeneous ice nucleation rate of water droplets produced in a microfluidic device and the role of temperature uncertainty journal January 2013
Immersion freezing of water and aqueous ammonium sulfate droplets initiated by humic-like substances as a function of water activity journal January 2013
Global observations of aerosol-cloud-precipitation-climate interactions: Aerosol-cloud-climate interactions journal November 2014
Heterogeneous ice nucleation on phase-separated organic-sulfate particles: effect of liquid vs. glassy coatings journal January 2013
On the effective density of non-spherical particles as derived from combined measurements of aerodynamic and mobility equivalent size journal April 2007
Particle Morphology and Density Characterization by Combined Mobility and Aerodynamic Diameter Measurements. Part 2: Application to Combustion-Generated Soot Aerosols as a Function of Fuel Equivalence Ratio journal January 2004
The Zurich Ice Nucleation Chamber (ZINC)-A New Instrument to Investigate Atmospheric Ice Formation journal January 2008
A Wind Tunnel Study on the Shape, Oscillation, and Internal Circulation of Large Raindrops with Sizes between 2.5 and 7.5 mm journal March 2009
A Novel Adiabatic-Expansion-Type Cloud Simulation Chamber journal January 2013
Biological aerosol particles as a key determinant of ice nuclei populations in a forest ecosystem: BIOLOGICAL ICE NUCLEI IN FOREST journal September 2013
Repeatability and randomness in heterogeneous freezing nucleation journal January 2008
Interpretation of freezing nucleation experiments: singular and stochastic; sites and surfaces journal January 2014
Time-dependent freezing rate parcel model journal January 2015
Influence of particle size on the ice nucleating ability of mineral dusts journal January 2009
Time dependence of immersion freezing: an experimental study on size selected kaolinite particles journal January 2012
Kaolinite particles as ice nuclei: learning from the use of different kaolinite samples and different coatings journal January 2014
Immersion Freezing of Supermicron Mineral Dust Particles: Freezing Results, Testing Different Schemes for Describing Ice Nucleation, and Ice Nucleation Active Site Densities journal November 2014
Aerosol charging in high purity gases journal January 1988
The role of time in heterogeneous freezing nucleation: ROLE OF TIME IN ICE NUCLEATION journal May 2013
From Agglomerates of Spheres to Irregularly Shaped Particles: Determination of Dynamic Shape Factors from Measurements of Mobility and Vacuum Aerodynamic Diameters journal March 2006

Cited By (9)

Stochastic nucleation processes and substrate abundance explain time-dependent freezing in supercooled droplets journal January 2020
Direct observation of ice nucleation events on individual atmospheric particles journal January 2016
Not all feldspars are equal: a survey of ice nucleating properties across the feldspar group of minerals journal January 2016
Classical nucleation theory of immersion freezing: sensitivity of contact angle schemes to thermodynamic and kinetic parameters journal January 2017
Refreeze experiments with water droplets containing different types of ice nuclei interpreted by classical nucleation theory journal January 2017
Marine and terrestrial influences on ice nucleating particles during continuous springtime measurements in an Arctic oilfield location journal January 2018
Refreeze experiments with water droplets containing different types of ice nuclei interpreted by classical nucleation theory text January 2017
Classical nucleation theory of immersion freezing: Sensitivity of contact angle schemes to thermodynamic and kinetic parameters posted_content January 2016
Classical nucleation theory of immersion freezing: Sensitivity of contact angle schemes to thermodynamic and kinetic parameters text January 2017