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Updated: Mar 18, 2026

A Microfluidic Approach for the Study of Ice and Clathrate Hydrate Crystallization
Published on: August 18, 2022
Laser vaporization of cirrus-like ice particles with secondary ice multiplication
Mary Matthews1, François Pomel1, Christiane Wender2
1Université de Genève, GAP-Biophotonics, Chemin de Pinchat 22, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
Abstract:
We investigate the interaction of ultrashort laser filaments with individual 90-μm ice particles, representative of cirrus particles. The ice particles fragment under laser illumination. By monitoring the evolution of the corresponding ice/vapor system at up to 140,000 frames per second over 30 ms, we conclude that a shockwave vaporization supersaturates the neighboring region relative to ice, allowing the nucleation and growth of new ice particles, supported by laser-induced plasma photochemistry. This process constitutes the first direct observation of filament-induced secondary ice multiplication, a process that strongly modifies the particle size distribution and, thus, the albedo of typical cirrus clouds.
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