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

Ladino, L.A., A. Korolev, I. Heckman, M. Wolde, A.M. Fridlind, and A.S. Ackerman (2017), On the role of ice-nucleating aerosol in the formation of ice particles in tropical mesoscale convective systems, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 1574-1582, doi:10.1002/2016GL072455.
Abstract

Over the 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 particle 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.

PDF of Publication
Download from publisher's website
Research Program
Modeling Analysis and Prediction Program (MAP)
Mission
HIWC

 

Disclaimer: This material is being kept online for historical purposes. Though accurate at the time of publication, it is no longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information, and parts may not function in current web browsers. Visit https://espo.nasa.gov for information about our current projects.