Sensitivity of the classical nucleation theory on thermodynamic and kinetic parameters

Classical nucleation theory (CNT) can be used to parameterize ice nucleation in cloud droplets as a stochastic process based on thermodynamic and kinetic parameters. Due to the lack of a complete physical model for liquid water, several thermodynamic and kinetic parameters are not known leading to various formulations of CNT. The aim of the presented work is to review the different estimates of thermodynamic and kinetic parameters currently used in the research community and to investigate the sensitivity of the nucleation rate on the choice of parameters. By evaluating experimental data sets of droplet freezing it is possible to narrow down a reasonable range for the parameters. This helps to develop CNT-based parameterizations for freezing of droplets in regional and global climate models, which will improve the representation of cold clouds.