EAPSI: Ice Nucleation Properties of Non-proteinaceous Biological Particles

大气云的浸没结冰作用是一个重要的大气过程，影响降水和地球的形成。美国的能源预算。目前，冰成核粒子（INPs）的气候影响尚不确定，因为越来越多的证据表明它们在大气中的成核效率、多样性和丰度。近年来，从天然木浆中提取的微晶纤维素（MCC）已被确定为一种高效的INP，这可能对定量研究初级非蛋白生物INP在对流层中的作用具有重要意义。然而，目前尚不清楚冰成核活动是特定于MCC结构还是与所有植物结构材料普遍相关。回答这些问题是该项目的具体目标。该研究员将前往具有严格实验能力的日本国立极地研究所（NIPR），并将与世界知名科学家Yutaka Tobo博士和Kumiko Goto-Azuma博士一起深入表征含纤维素颗粒的冰核特性，以更好地估计它们对云层和全球气候的影响。该研究员计划研究：1)使用纳米晶体含纤维素的植物纤维颗粒模拟人工降雨；2)；区域和全球气候变化。该项目经过精心构思和组织，为NIPR创造了新的合作机会，以促进与西德克萨斯a&m大学的科学沉浸，超越现有的合作（即北极可持续发展挑战项目，www.arcs-pro.jp/en）。新开发的适用于冷冻试验的低温冰箱（CRAFT）系统和NIPR现有的各种植物纤维样品将在NIPR教师的帮助下支持该研究员的工作。该奖项属于东亚和太平洋夏季研究所项目，由美国国家科学基金会和日本科学促进会共同资助，支持一名美国研究生进行夏季研究。

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.