Ice Nucleating Particle and Ion Characteristics of Arctic Aerosols

• Main Author: Henschel, Colleen Leanne
• Other Authors: Norman, Ann-Lise, Wieser, Michael, Else, Brent
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Science 2021
• Subjects: aerosols; Arctic; Atmospheric Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113774; https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39128

INPs are aerosol particles that allow for the formation of ice crystals in clouds at temperatures warmer than required for homogeneous freezing. These aerosols are particularly important for the formation of mixed-phase clouds, which are ubiquitous during the Arctic summer. In order to better understand the factors affecting the rapidly warming Arctic climate, this study investigates INP concentrations found in size-segregated aerosol, fog and precipitation samples collected in the Arctic during the summer of 2016. The key findings from this study include: (1) the initial droplet freezing temperature correlates with sea salt ion concentrations for fog samples and aerosol samples in the size range of 1.5-7.2µm diameter, (2) INP concentrations for aerosol samples decreased after both heating and filtering, but were still distinguishable from blank samples, indicating the presence of biological INPs and separable ice nucleating components, (3) the INP concentrations measured for co-collected seawater samples were similar overall, but were not consistent at the exact locations of collection, and (4) the important size range of aerosols acting as INPs varied by sample time and location.