Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Laser-Induced Fluorescence Emission (L.I.F.E.) as Novel Non-Invasive Tool for In-Situ Measurements of Biomarkers in Cryospheric Habitats
Published on: October 26, 2019
Ubiquity of biological ice nucleators in snowfall
Brent C Christner1, Cindy E Morris, Christine M Foreman
1Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. xner@lsu.edu
Abstract:
Despite the integral role of ice nucleators (IN) in atmospheric processes leading to precipitation, their sources and distributions have not been well established. We examined IN in snowfall from mid- and high-latitude locations and found that the most active were biological in origin. Of the IN larger than 0.2 micrometer that were active at temperatures warmer than -7 degrees C, 69 to 100% were biological, and a substantial fraction were bacteria. Our results indicate that the biosphere is a source of highly active IN and suggest that these biological particles may affect the precipitation cycle and/or their own precipitation during atmospheric transport.
Related Concept Videos
Introduction to Plant Diversity
What is Natural Selection?
Precipitation Processes
Microbes and Climate Change
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
Types of Coprecipitation
Sometimes, ions in a crystal lattice can undergo isomorphous replacement by inclusions of similar charge and size. For...

