Measuring atmospheric marine ice nucleating particles using cryopreservatin technologies (CryoINC)

尽管海洋覆盖了地球的70%以上，而且浪花是大气中主要的气溶胶类型之一，但人们对它在云中冰形成中的作用仍然知之甚少。目前我们还不知道海洋大气中的冰成核粒子是来自当地海洋生物源还是来自大陆的长途运输。在这项建议中，学生将使用最近开发的用于低温保存应用的仪器测量海洋INP。该学生将与一家专门从事低温保存和结晶的中小企业Asymptote Ltd密切合作，该公司与Murray有着良好的合作记录。他们最近开发了一种控制生物样品冷冻的新系统，可以很容易地适用于大气INP研究。该学生将在剑桥渐近线实验室工作，学习如何使用该仪器，并对其进行微调，以测量大气INP （CryoINC）。渐近线控制速率冷冻设备使用斯特林制冷机来实现低温，只需要一个电源，使其便携，非常适合现场工作，而传统系统使用不方便的液氮或使用机械压缩机冷却的液体。Murray的团队已经成功地在前往北极和大西洋的游轮上使用了一个早期版本。渐近线的仪器兼容广泛的机器人和自动化技术，这与额外的投资（可能来自技术战略委员会）将使我们能够开发一个商业自主INP测量系统。该学生将与我们的项目合作伙伴合作，在多个海洋环境中部署CryoINC。第一个将在爱尔兰西海岸完善的梅斯黑德大气观测站进行，这是对海洋空气采样的理想陆地站点。第二个将在英国南极调查局的协助下，在遥远的海洋环境中乘坐一艘科考船，可能是通过大西洋前往南极洲的游轮。通过利用已建立的大气观测站，降低了学生项目的风险，同时还提供了在更具挑战性的偏远海洋环境中进行的非常有价值的船上实地考察培训。

Despite oceans covering over 70% of the planet and sea spray being one of the dominant aerosol types in the atmosphere, its role in the formation of ice in clouds remains poorly understood. At present we do not know if Ice Nucleating Particles (INPs) in the oceanic atmosphere are derived from local marine biogenic sources or from long range transport from the continents. In this proposal the student will measure oceanic INP with an instrument recently developed for use in cryopreservation applications.The student will work in close collaboration with Asymptote Ltd who are an SME company specialising in cryopreservation and crystallisation and have a strong track record with Murray. They have recently developed a new system for the controlled freezing of biological samples which could be easily adapted for atmospheric INP research. The student will work at Asymptote's laboratories in Cambridge in order to learn how to use this instrument and make minor adaptations to it for the measurement of atmospheric INP (CryoINC). The Asymptote controlled rate freezing equipment uses Stirling cryocoolers to achieve low temperatures and only needs an electrical supply making it portable and ideal for field work, whereas conventional systems use inconvenient liquid nitrogen or fluids cooled using mechanical compressors. An earlier version has been successfully used on cruises to the Arctic and Atlantic by Murray's team. Asymptote's instrument is compatible with a wide range of robotic and automation technologies, which with additional investment (possibly from the Technology Strategy Board) will allow us to develop a commercial autonomous INP measurement system.The student will deploy CryoINC in several marine environments in collaboration with our project partners. The first will be at the well-established Mace Head atmospheric observatory on the West Coast of Ireland which is an ideal land-based site for sampling marine air. The second will be on board a research ship, facilitated by the British Antarctic Survey, in the remote marine environment possibly on a cruise to Antarctica via the Atlantic. Risk to the student's project is reduced by making use of an established atmospheric observatory, while also offering highly valuable ship based fieldwork training in the more challenging remote oceanic environment.