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Ice nucleating particle connections to regional Argentinian land surface emissions and weather during the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions experiment
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  • Baptiste Testa,
  • Thomas C. J. Hill,
  • Nicholas Marsden,
  • Kevin R. Barry,
  • Carson C Hume,
  • Qijing Bian,
  • Jun Uetake,
  • Hannah Hare,
  • Russell J Perkins,
  • Ottmar Möhler,
  • Sonia M. Kreidenweis,
  • Paul J DeMott
Baptiste Testa
ETH-Zurich
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Thomas C. J. Hill
Colorado State University
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Nicholas Marsden
University of Manchester
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Kevin R. Barry
Colorado State University
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Carson C Hume
Colorado State University
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Qijing Bian
Colorado State University
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Jun Uetake
Hokkaido University
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Hannah Hare
E-Flux
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Russell J Perkins
Colorado State University
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Ottmar Möhler
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
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Sonia M. Kreidenweis
Colorado State University
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Paul J DeMott
Colorado State University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

Here we present a multi-season study of ice nucleating particles (INPs) active via the immersion freezing mechanism, which took place in north central Argentina, a worldwide hotspot for mesoscale convective storms. INPs were measured untreated, after heating to 95 °C, and after hydrogen peroxide digestion. No seasonal cycle of INP concentrations was observed. Biological INPs (denatured by heat) dominated the population active at -5 to -20 °C, while non-heat-labile organic INPs (decomposed by peroxide) dominated at lower temperatures, from -20 to -28 °C. Inorganic INPs (remaining after peroxide digestion), were minor contributors to the overall INP activity. Biological INP concentration active around -12 °C peaked during rain events and under high relative humidity, reflecting emission mechanisms independent of the background aerosol concentration. The ratio of non-heat-labile organic and inorganic INPs was generally constant, suggesting they originated from the same source, presumably from regional arable topsoil based on air mass histories. Single particle mass spectrometry showed that soil particles aerosolized from a regionally-common agricultural topsoil contained known mineral INP sources (K-feldspar and illite) as well as a significant organic component. The INP activity observed in this study correlates well with agricultural soil INP activities from this and other regions of the world, suggesting that the observed INP spectra might be typical of many arable landscapes. These results demonstrate the strong influence of regional continental landscapes, emitting INPs of types that are not yet well represented in global models.
16 Dec 2021Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres volume 126 issue 23. 10.1029/2021JD035186