On coarse patterns in the atmospheric concentration of ice nucleating particles

• Published in: Atmospheric Research
• Main Authors: Conen, Franz, Yakutin, Mikhail V, Puchnin, Alexander, Yttri, Karl Espen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3051819; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106645

The atmospheric concentration of ice nucleating particles active at around −10 °C (INP−10) is very low. Nevertheless, these particles play a role in the development of cloud systems, so their spatial and temporal patterns merit attention. We collated available datasets on INP−10 to identify such patterns. Among the five low altitude observatories in northern Eurasia, median values throughout May to October were lowest in Scandinavia (4 and 6 m−3), somewhat higher in central Europe (11 m−3), substantially higher in the West Siberian Plain (69 m−3) and highest in the Central Yakutian Lowland (204 m−3), suggesting that the abundance of INP−10 in northern Eurasia may increase with continentality and from West to East. The range of values at the same observatories was narrower throughout November to April (2 to 27 m−3). On average, by an order of magnitude smaller values were reported for the four Arctic observatories. Consequently, increasing poleward transport of air masses from the midlatitudes likely raises the concentration of INP−10 in the Arctic, particularly when air masses had surface contact in eastern parts of northern Eurasia. publishedVersion