Sea spray aerosol as a unique source of ice nucleating particles.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Ice nucleating particles (INPs) are vital for ice initiation in, and precipitation from, mixed-phase clouds. A source of INPs from oceans within sea spray aerosol (SSA) emissions has been suggested in previous studies but remained unconfirmed. Here, we show that INPs are emitted using real wave breaking in a laboratory flume to produce SSA. The number concentrations of INPs from laboratory-generated SSA, when normalized to typical total aerosol number concentrations in the marine boundary layer, agree well with measurements from diverse regions over the oceans. Data in the present study are also in accord with previously published INP measurements made over remote ocean regions. INP number concentrations active within liquid water droplets increase exponentially in number with a decrease in temperature below 0 °C, averaging an order of magnitude increase per 5 °C interval. The plausibility of a strong increase in SSA INP emissions in association with phytoplankton blooms is also shown in laboratory simulations. Nevertheless, INP number concentrations, or active site densities approximated using "dry" geometric SSA surface areas, are a few orders of magnitude lower than corresponding concentrations or site densities in the surface boundary layer over continental regions. These findings have important implications for cloud radiative forcing and precipitation within low-level and midlevel marine clouds unaffected by continental INP sources, such as may occur over the Southern Ocean.
منابع مشابه
The role of jet and film drops in controlling the mixing state of submicron sea spray aerosol particles.
The oceans represent a significant global source of atmospheric aerosols. Sea spray aerosol (SSA) particles comprise sea salts and organic species in varying proportions. In addition to size, the overall composition of SSA particles determines how effectively they can form cloud droplets and ice crystals. Thus, understanding the factors controlling SSA composition is critical to predicting aero...
متن کاملModeling coastal aerosol transport and effects of surf-produced aerosols on processes in the marine atmospheric boundary layer
The Coastal Aerosol Transport (CAT) model was developed to study the evolution of aerosol particle size distributions and composition in the coastal environment. The model simulates such processes as particle production at the sea surface, mixing of particles through the boundary layer by turbulent diffusion, gravitational settling, and dry deposition. The model is initialized at the shoreline ...
متن کاملMicrobial Control of Sea Spray Aerosol Composition: A Tale of Two Blooms
With the oceans covering 71% of the Earth, sea spray aerosol (SSA) particles profoundly impact climate through their ability to scatter solar radiation and serve as seeds for cloud formation. The climate properties can change when sea salt particles become mixed with insoluble organic material formed in ocean regions with phytoplankton blooms. Currently, the extent to which SSA chemical composi...
متن کاملEddy covariance measurements of sea spray particles over the Atlantic Ocean
Most estimates of sea spray aerosol source functions have used indirect means to infer the rate of production as a function of wind speed. Only recently has the technology become available to make high frequency measurements of aerosol spectra suitable for direct eddy correlation determination of the sea spray particle flux. This was accomplished in this study by combining a newly developed fas...
متن کاملSea Spray Aerosol Structure and Composition Using Cryogenic Transmission Electron Microscopy
The composition and surface properties of atmospheric aerosol particles largely control their impact on climate by affecting their ability to uptake water, react heterogeneously, and nucleate ice in clouds. However, in the vacuum of a conventional electron microscope, the native surface and internal structure often undergo physicochemical rearrangement resulting in surfaces that are quite diffe...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
دوره 113 21 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2016