Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 30, 2025

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
Characteristics of atmospheric ice nucleating particles over East Antarctica retrieved from the surface snow
1State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
Abstract:
The concentration of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the atmosphere is critical for understanding cloud microphysics and predicting the climate system. In this study, we collected surface snow samples along a traverse route from the coastal to the inland of East Antarctica to analyze INP concentrations and identify their spatial variations using a droplet freezing device. The overall concentration of INPs was found to be considerably low along the route, averaging at 0.8 ± 0.8 × 105 L-1 in water and 4.2 ± 4.8 × 10-3 L-1 in air at -20 °C. Although coastal areas had higher levels of sea salt species compared to inland regions, the concentration of INPs remained consistent along the route suggesting less important origination of INPs from the around ocean. Additionally, the heating experiment revealed the important contribution of proteinaceous INPs indicating the presence of biological INPs (bio-INPs). The fraction of bio-INPs was 0.52 on average at -20 °C and ranged from 0.1 to 0.7 from -30 °C to -15 °C. Finally, we parameterize the atmospheric INP concentrations as a function of freezing temperature which can be useful for modeling INP concentrations in this region.
More Related Videos
09:32LabVIEW-operated Novel Nanoliter Osmometer for Ice Binding Protein Investigations
Published on: February 4, 2013
09:43Identification of Plant Ice-binding Proteins Through Assessment of Ice-recrystallization Inhibition and Isolation Using Ice-affinity Purification
Published on: May 5, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
Precipitation Processes
Precipitate Formation and Particle Size Control
The obtained precipitate should be either a pure substance of known composition or easily converted to one by a simple process, such as ignition or drying. In addition, the precipitate should be insoluble and easily filterable. In general, filterability...
Colloidal precipitates
Types of Coprecipitation
Sometimes, ions in a crystal lattice can undergo isomorphous replacement by inclusions of similar charge and size. For...
Frost Action on Concrete
This freeze-thaw cycle primarily causes surface scaling, where...