S35 The Efficiency of Ice Nucleating Particle Release Through Sea Spray Aerosols in Various Bubble Sizes

Sunday, 6 January 2019
Hall 4 (Phoenix Convention Center - West and North Buildings)
Ruby J Nelson, Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA; and K. A. Moore, T. C. J. Hill, P. J. DeMott, and S. M. Kreidenweis

Ice nucleating particles (INPs) are released from the ocean through sea spray aerosols
(SSA). However, we know very little about the sizes or composition of these INPs, or what
types of bubbles release them most efficiently. Here, bubbles producing predominantly film
drops or jet drops were generated to determine how many and what sizes of aerosols they
produced, as well as how this controlled the size and number of INPs emitted. To do this,
frits of three sizes (145-174 μm, 25-50 μm, and 0.9 -1.4 μm) were used to produce bubbles
that would generate mainly film drops, jet drops, or both. These frits were placed in a tank
of artificial seawater containing birch pollen INPs of various size classes. SSA was
characterized using a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), Aerodynamic Particle Sizer
(APS), and a Condensation Particle Counter (CPC). SSA generated were collected using
an in-line filter unit, and the number of INPs collected on the filter were measured using an
immersion freezing ice spectrometer. This allowed us to determine that 100 – 400 nm
pollen particles are released readily through all bubble sizes, but at a slightly higher rate
through film drop bubbles than through jet drop bubbles.
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