EAPSI: Ice Nucleation Properties of Non-proteinaceous Biological Particles

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Glaciation of atmospheric clouds by immersion freezing is an important atmospheric process, affecting the formation of precipitation and Earth?s energy budget. Currently, the climatic impact of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) is uncertain due to increasing evidence of their nucleation efficiency, diversity and abundance in the atmosphere. Recently, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) extracted from natural wood pulp has been identified as an efficient INP, which may add crucial importance to quantifying the role of primary non-proteinaceous biological INP in the troposphere. However, it is still uncertain if the ice-nucleating activity is specific to MCC structure or generally relevant to all plant structural materials. Answering those questions is the specific aim of the project. The fellow will travel to the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) in Japan, which offers rigorous experimental capabilities, and will carry out in-depth characterization in ice-nucleating properties of cellulose-containing particles with Dr. Yutaka Tobo and Dr. Kumiko Goto-Azuma, who are the world-renowned scientists, to better estimate their effects on clouds and the global climate. The fellow plans to investigate: 1) cloud seeding simulation by using nano-crystalline cellulose-containing plant fibrous particles and 2); regional and global climate change. The project is well conceived and organized to create new collaboration opportunities for NIPR to promote scientific immersion with West Texas A&M University beyond existing collaboration (i.e., Arctic Challenge for Sustainability Project, www.arcs-pro.jp/en. A newly-developed Cryogenic Refrigerator Applied to Freezing Test (CRAFT) system and a variety of existing plant fiber samples at NIPR will support the fellow's work with assistance from NIPR faculty. This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Sumer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.