Investigation of Ice Nucleation Properties of Mineral and Soil Particles

摘要

Number fractions of different types of submicron mineral (kaolinite) and soil (China loess soils and agricultural soils from different crops) particles capable of nucleating ice under mixed-phase cloud conditions were investigated using a continuous flow diffusion ice chamber (CFDC). We found that both China loess and agricultural soil particles are better ice nucleators than kaolinite particles particularly at warmer temperatures. We also found that although the ice nucleation properties of untreated China loess and agricultural soil particles are relatively similar to each other, agricultural soil particles lose their ice nucleating ability after heat treatment at 300°C. Our results suggest that agricultural soils contain rich organic matter, which can play a key role in enhancing their ice nucleating ability.