Relationships of Biomass-Burning Aerosols to Ice in Orographic Wave Clouds

Cynthia H. Twohy Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon

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Paul J. DeMott Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

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Kerri A. Pratt University of San Diego, La Jolla, California

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R. Subramanian Droplet Measurement Technologies, Boulder, Colorado

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Gregory L. Kok Droplet Measurement Technologies, Boulder, Colorado

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Shane M. Murphy California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

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Traci Lersch * RJ Lee Group, Monroeville, Pennsylvania

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Andrew J. Heymsfield National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

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Zhien Wang University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming

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Kim A. Prather University of San Diego, La Jolla, California

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John H. Seinfeld California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

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Abstract

Ice concentrations in orographic wave clouds at temperatures between −24° and −29°C were shown to be related to aerosol characteristics in nearby clear air during five research flights over the Rocky Mountains. When clouds with influence from colder temperatures were excluded from the dataset, mean ice nuclei and cloud ice number concentrations were very low, on the order of 1–5 L−1. In this environment, ice number concentrations were found to be significantly correlated with the number concentration of larger particles, those larger than both 0.1- and 0.5-μm diameter. A variety of complementary techniques was used to measure aerosol size distributions and chemical composition. Strong correlations were also observed between ice concentrations and the number concentrations of soot and biomass-burning aerosols. Ice nuclei concentrations directly measured in biomass-burning plumes were the highest detected during the project. Taken together, this evidence indicates a potential role for biomass-burning aerosols in ice formation, particularly in regions with relatively low concentrations of other ice nucleating aerosols.

Corresponding author address: Cynthia Twohy, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97128. Email: twohy@coas.oregonstate.edu

Abstract

Ice concentrations in orographic wave clouds at temperatures between −24° and −29°C were shown to be related to aerosol characteristics in nearby clear air during five research flights over the Rocky Mountains. When clouds with influence from colder temperatures were excluded from the dataset, mean ice nuclei and cloud ice number concentrations were very low, on the order of 1–5 L−1. In this environment, ice number concentrations were found to be significantly correlated with the number concentration of larger particles, those larger than both 0.1- and 0.5-μm diameter. A variety of complementary techniques was used to measure aerosol size distributions and chemical composition. Strong correlations were also observed between ice concentrations and the number concentrations of soot and biomass-burning aerosols. Ice nuclei concentrations directly measured in biomass-burning plumes were the highest detected during the project. Taken together, this evidence indicates a potential role for biomass-burning aerosols in ice formation, particularly in regions with relatively low concentrations of other ice nucleating aerosols.

Corresponding author address: Cynthia Twohy, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97128. Email: twohy@coas.oregonstate.edu

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