ICE-T: In-Cloud Measurements of Black Carbon, Dust, CCN, Cloud Droplet Size and Ice Particle Shapes Over the Caribbean Sea

这项为期两年的工作将支持从水滴测量技术公司(DMT)开发的仪器中收集和解释基本气溶胶和云微物理测量结果，该仪器在ICE-T(“云中冰实验-热带”)野外活动期间在NSF/NCAR C-130飞机上操作。通过单颗粒烟尘光谱仪(SP2)对难熔黑碳(烟尘)颗粒质量的明确测量，包括从云滴和冰晶残留物中获得的残留物，将有助于描述烟尘和尘埃颗粒如何从大气中清除，以及这些颗粒是否(以及如何)充当有效的冰核。利用DMT的带去极化(APSD)仪器的气溶胶粒子光谱仪(APSD)还将测量气溶胶的尺寸分布、形状和折射率。这项工作的智力优势在于识别了在相对较浅(和相对普遍存在的)海洋对流云中导致第一次冰的机制，由于它们的寿命相对较短，可能成为环境冰的来源，从而有效地在相对温暖(约-10摄氏度)的温度下形成积云，并通过二次冰产生。这项研究的更广泛影响包括积极参与仪器设计的受支持调查人员与大学研究人员和专门解释从这些仪器和其他仪器产生的大量数据的学生之间扩大的互动和协同效应。由于一名联合调查员与墨西哥国立自治大学(UNAM)有联系，也将鼓励国际合作和对发展中国家科学进步的贡献。

This two-year effort will support collection and interpretation of fundamental aerosol and cloud microphysical measurements from instrumentation developed by Droplet Measurement Technology, Inc. (DMT) as operated aboard the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft during the ICE-T (the "Ice in Clouds Experiment-Tropical") field campaign. Unambiguous measurements of the mass of refractory black carbon (soot) particles to be made via a single-particle soot spectrometer (SP2), including residuals obtained from cloud droplet and ice crystal residues, will serve to describe how soot and dust particles are removed from the atmosphere as well as if (and perhaps how) these particles serve as efficient ice nuclei. Measurements of aerosol size distributions, shape and refractive index by DMT's aerosol particle spectrometer with depolarization (APSD) instrument will also be obtained.The intellectual merit of this effort rests in the identification of those mechanisms leading to first-ice within comparatively shallow (and relatively ubiquitous) maritime convective clouds, which owing to their relatively short lifetimes may serve as a source of ambient ice that effectively seeds later developing cumulus clouds at relatively warm (ca. -10 degC) temperatures as well as through secondary ice production. Broader impacts of this research include expanded interactions and synergies between supported investigators active in instrument design with university-based researchers and students specializing in interpretation of large suites of data emerging from these and other instruments. Owing to one co-investigator's affiliation with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), international collaborations and contributions to the advancement of science in a developing nation will also be encouraged.