A continuous flow diffusion chamber study of sea salt particles acting as cloud nuclei: deliquescence and ice nucleation

• © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Phase changes of sea salt particles alter their physical and chemical properties, which is significant for Earth’s chemistry and energy budget. In this study, continuous flow diffusion chamber is used to investigate deliquescence, homogeneous and heterogeneous ice nucleation between 242K and 215K, of four salts: pure NaCl, pure MgCl 2 , synthetic sea water salt, and salt distilled from sampled sea water. Anhydrous particles, aqueous droplets and ice particles were discriminated using a polarisation-sensitive optical particle counter coupled with a machine learning analysis technique. The measured onset deliquescence relative humidities agree with previous studies, where sea water salts deliquescence at lower humidities than pure NaCl. Deliquesced salt droplets homogenously freeze when the relative humidity reaches a sufficiently high value at temperatures below 233K. From 224K and below, deposition nucleation freezing on a fraction of NaCl particles was observed at humidities lower than the deliquescence relative humidity. At these low temperatures, otherwise unactivated salt particles deliquesced at the expected deliquescence point, followed by homogeneous freezing at temperatures as low as 215K. Thus, the observed sea salt particles exhibit a triad of temperature-dependent behaviours. First, they act as cloud condensation particles (CCNs) > 233K, second they can be homogeneous freezing nuclei (HFNs) < 233K and finally they act as ice nucleating particles (INPs) for heterogeneous nucleation < 224K.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Meteorologi och atmosfärforskning (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

continuous flow diffusion chamber

deliquescence

heterogeneous ice nucleation

homogeneous ice nucleation

sea salt

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