A link between the ice nucleation activity and the biogeochemistry of seawater

M. J. Wolf; M. J. Wolf; M. Goodell; E. Dong; L. A. Dove; L. A. Dove; C. Zhang; C. Zhang; L. J. Franco; C. Shen; C. Shen; E. G. Rutkowski; D. N. Narducci; S. Mullen; S. Mullen; A. R. Babbin; D. J. Cziczo; D. J. Cziczo; D. J. Cziczo

doi:10.5194/acp-20-15341-2020

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Dec 2020)

A link between the ice nucleation activity and the biogeochemistry of seawater

M. J. Wolf,
M. J. Wolf,
M. Goodell,
E. Dong,
L. A. Dove,
L. A. Dove,
C. Zhang,
C. Zhang,
L. J. Franco,
C. Shen,
C. Shen,
E. G. Rutkowski,
D. N. Narducci,
S. Mullen,
S. Mullen,
A. R. Babbin,
D. J. Cziczo,
D. J. Cziczo,
D. J. Cziczo

Affiliations

M. J. Wolf: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
M. J. Wolf: Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, G32 Kroon Hall, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
M. Goodell: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
E. Dong: School of Engineering, Brown University, 75 Waterman St, Providence, RI 02912, USA
L. A. Dove: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
L. A. Dove: Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
C. Zhang: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
C. Zhang: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
L. J. Franco: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
C. Shen: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
C. Shen: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
E. G. Rutkowski: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
D. N. Narducci: Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 56-651, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
S. Mullen: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
S. Mullen: Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California Berkeley, 307 McCone Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
A. R. Babbin: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
D. J. Cziczo: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 54-918, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
D. J. Cziczo: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 66-350, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
D. J. Cziczo: Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15341-2020
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 20
pp. 15341 – 15356

Abstract

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Emissions of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) from sea spray can impact climate and precipitation by changing cloud formation, precipitation, and albedo. However, the relationship between seawater biogeochemistry and the ice nucleation activity of sea spray aerosols remains unclarified. Here, we demonstrate a link between the biological productivity in seawater and the ice nucleation activity of sea spray aerosol under conditions relevant to cirrus and mixed-phase cloud formation. We show for the first time that aerosol particles generated from both subsurface and microlayer seawater from the highly productive eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean are effective INPs in the deposition and immersion freezing modes. Seawater particles of composition similar to subsurface waters of highly productive regions may therefore be an unrealized source of effective INPs. In contrast, the subsurface water from the less productive Florida Straits produced less effective immersion mode INPs and ineffective depositional mode INPs. These results indicate that the regional biogeochemistry of seawater can strongly affect the ice nucleation activity of sea spray aerosol.

Published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

ISSN: 1680-7316 (Print); 1680-7324 (Online)
Publisher: Copernicus Publications
Country of publisher: Germany
LCC subjects: Science: Physics; Science: Chemistry
Website: http://www.atmospheric-chemistry-and-physics.net/

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