Investigating the mechanism of ice nucleation by size-fractionated macromolecules found in ambient aerosols in the UK and in Canada.

EPSRC：Kathleen Thompson：EP/S 023593/1大气冰的形成可以改变云的特性，影响降水和云的寿命。了解控制云中冰形成的微物理过程对于减少气候不确定性至关重要。例如，冰成核粒子（INPs）诱导云中水滴的冻结，因此，了解这些粒子在大气中的性质和丰度对于提高我们对气溶胶云辐射对气候影响的理解是重要的。拟议的研究旨在填补理解大分子在云中成核冰的机制的重要研究空白。我的目标是通过在英国收集的样品，已知的冰成核能力，到不列颠哥伦比亚省大学调查他们的表面活性剂特性。我将使用张力计来测量它们的表面张力，解释生物INP的表面活性剂浓度，并将冰成核能力与表面活性剂浓度相关联。这个项目是创新的，因为它使用了真实的环境样品和大气冰成核领域的独特仪器。这一结果将有助于我们更好地了解大气中生物INP的性质，并利用其潜在的表面张力特性来预测有机气溶胶浓度变化导致的云中冰的形成。

EPSRC: Kathleen Thompson: EP/S023593/1Atmospheric ice formation can alter cloud properties, impacting precipitation and cloud lifetimes. Understanding the microphysical processes which control ice formation in clouds is vital for reducing climate uncertainties. For example, ice nucleating particles (INPs) induce the freezing of water droplets in clouds, therefore, understanding the nature and abundance of these particles in the atmosphere is important for improving our understanding of the aerosol-cloud radiative effects on climate. The proposed research aims to fill the vital research gap of understanding the mechanism by which macromolecules nucleate ice in clouds. I aim to do this by taking samples collected in the UK, with known ice nucleating ability, to the University of British Columbia to investigate their surfactant properties. I will use a tensiometer to measure their surface tension, interpret the surfactant concentration of the biological INP and correlate ice nucleating ability with surfactant concentrations. This project is innovative as it uses real ambient samples and unique instrumentation for the field of atmospheric ice nucleation. The outcome of this will help us to better understand the nature of biological INP in the atmosphere and use their potential surface tension properties to predict ice formation in clouds as a result of changes in concentrations of organic aerosol.