Award Abstract # 0436196
Aerosol Particle Effects on Warm and Cold Cloud Formation

NSF Org: AGS
Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences
Recipient: COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: November 18, 2004
Latest Amendment Date: October 13, 2006
Award Number: 0436196
Award Instrument: Continuing Grant
Program Manager: Stephan P. Nelson
AGS
 Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences
GEO
 Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date: December 1, 2004
End Date: November 30, 2007 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $578,027.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $578,027.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2005 = $218,943.00
FY 2006 = $176,741.00

FY 2007 = $182,343.00
History of Investigator:
  • Paul DeMott (Principal Investigator)
    Paul.Demott@colostate.edu
  • Sonia Kreidenweis (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Anthony Prenni (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Colorado State University
601 S HOWES ST
FORT COLLINS
CO  US  80521-2807
(970)491-6355
Sponsor Congressional District: 02
Primary Place of Performance: Colorado State University
601 S HOWES ST
FORT COLLINS
CO  US  80521-2807
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): LT9CXX8L19G1
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Physical & Dynamic Meteorology
Primary Program Source: app-0105 
app-0106 

app-0107 
Program Reference Code(s): 0000, 1522, OTHR
Program Element Code(s): 152500
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.050

ABSTRACT

All cloud droplets and many ice crystals form on suspended particles in the atmosphere. This laboratory investigation will study key aspects of these "nucleation" processes. The study emphasizes the nucleating properties of organic material (including pure organic species and the organic material in soils) and mineral dust because they have not been studied extensively before and there is an increasing body of evidence that points to their importance in the atmosphere. Three different kinds of laboratory measurement will be made: water uptake on particles in subsaturated conditions, activity of particles as cloud-condensation nuclei (CCN), and ice nucleation of pure solution droplets or caused by undissolved particles. Samples of soil from regions that are significant sources of desert dust will be collected and re-suspended for these analyses. A key hypothesis to be tested is that the characteristics of dust from different arid regions of the world have similar characteristics and so might be represented by common parameterizations. Other objectives of this project will be to examine particles of known mixed composition and to develop and test parametric representations of the results. The expected result is new characterization of the nucleating properties of some key constituents of the atmospheric aerosol and the development of new ways of representing those characteristics that can be used in weather and climate models of those processes. This has potential to influence future forecasts of precipitation and representations of the important radiative properties of clouds in climate models.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Kreidenweis, S. M., M. D. Petters, and P. J. DeMott "Deliquescence activation of organic aerosols" Geophysical Research Letters , v.33 , 2006 , p.L06801
Archuleta, C.A., P.J. DeMott, and S.M. Kreidenweis, 2005: . Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 2617?2634. "Ice nucleation by surrogates for atmospheric mineral dusts and dust/sulfate particles at cirrus temperatures" Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics , v.5 , 2005 , p.2617
Koehler, K., S.M. Kreidenweis, P. J. DeMott, A.J. Prenni, C.M. Carrico, B. Ervens, and G. Feingold "Cloud condensation activity of atmospheric aerosols. Part II: Application to organic species" Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics , v.6 , 2006 , p.795
Koehler, K., S. M. Kreidenweis, P. J. DeMott, and A. J. Prenni "Potential impact of Owens (dry) Lake dust on warm and cold cloud formation" J. Geophys. Res. , v.112 , 2007 , p.D12210 10.1029/2007JD008413
Kreidenweis, S. M., K. Koehler, and P. J. DeMott "Cloud condensation activity of atmospheric aerosols. Part I: Water activity estimates from hygroscopicity data" Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics , v.5 , 2005 , p.1357
Moehler, O., P.J. DeMott, G. Vali, and Z. Levin "Microbiology and atmospheric processes: The role of biological particles in cloud physics" Biogeosciences , v.4 , 2007 , p.1059
Petters, M.D., A.J. Prenni, S.M. Kreidenweis, P.J. DeMott, A. Matsunaga, Y.B. Lim, and P.J. Ziemann "Chemical aging and the hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic conversion of carbonaceous aerosol." Geophys. Res. Lett. , v.33 , 2006 , p.L24806 10.1029/2006GL027249
Petters, M. D., and S. M. Kreidenweis "A single parameter representation of hygroscopic growth and cloud condensation nucleus activity" Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics , v.7 , 2006 , p.1961
Petters, M.D., S.M. Kreidenweis, J.R. Snider, K. Koehler, Q. Wang, A.J. Prenni, and P.J. DeMott "Cloud formation on polymerized organic aerosols" Tellus , v.58B , 2006 , p.196

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