DOE OSTI2017
Ground-based immersion mode ice nucleation measurements were conducted on samples collected at the US DOE ARM AMF3 in Oliktok Point, AK from 1 Mar to 31 May 2017. Samples were collected using a Davis Rotating-drum Unit for Monitoring (DRUM; DRUMAir, LLC) cascading impactor in 4 stages (i.e., size bins). Instrument information on the model used, the DA400, can be found at the DRUMAir website (http://www.drumair.com/). Stages A, B, C, and D, had particle size cuts at 2.96, 1.21, 0.34, and 0.15 µm in particle diameter. Strips of sample substrate (PFA, perfluoroalkoxy; McMaster) were adhered to each disc in each stage and coated with petrolatum to enable particles to stick on impact. The discs move slowly over time, such that aerosol loading is streaked onto the PFA. Every 24 hours, a blank is created on the PFA to separate daily samples. The pump typically pulled 25 lpm at the inlet with all the discs in place in each stage. Daily samples were collected for each of the four stages, equaling 36,000 total L of air per sample. Discs rotated for approximately 24 days before the sampling per strip was complete and changed to a new disc. Discs were stored frozen after collection. Following collection and transport from AMF3 to PI Creamean's laboratory in Boulder, CO, strips were removed from the discs and cut up to separate daily samples. Each daily portion of the strip was stored in separate sterile bags and stored in a standard commercial freezer until analysis (approximately 4 – 5 months after collection). Drop freezing assays (DFAs) were conducted on one daily sample per week of the study for all four stages, with daily samples analyzed from 22 - 29 May 2017. Immediately after removal from the freezer, 2 mL of ultrapure water was added with a single-use sterile syringe directly to the bags, then mixed using a vortex mixer for 2 hours at 500 rpm to resuspend particles from the PFA into the ultrapure water. Following sample preparation, another single-use syringe was used to create 100 aliquots on a 3-inch diameter copper plate, then covered with a transparent plastic dome. The drops were approximately the same volume (2.5 µL each), though careful inspection. The plate was cooled at approximately 3 – 10 K min-1 from room temperature until all drops froze on the plate. Temperature was measured by an Omega thermocouple probes and meter. Drop freezing was visually detected, but recorded through monitoring software to provide the time frozen, channel of the meter used, temperature, and cooling rate for each drop. Not all 100 drops were always detected; the total number of rows in each data file equals the number of drops recorded, which typically was > 80 %. Each sample was tested three times (i.e., a new set of 100 drops was created for each test). Data provided are files containing these parameters. From the freezing temperatures recorded, the fraction frozen can be calculated as can the estimated INP concentration per L of air using the equation from Vali (1971): [INPs] = −(ln(f)/Valiquot)*(Vsuspension/Vair) where f is the proportion of droplets not frozen, Valiquot is the volume of each aliquot (i.e., 2.5e-6 L), Vsuspension is the volume of the suspension (i.e., 0.002 L), and Vair is the volume of air per sample (i.e., 36000 L). Vali, G.: Quantitative Evaluation of Experimental Results an the Heterogeneous Freezing Nucleation of Supercooled Liquids, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 28, 402-409, 1971.
4-stage DRUM aerosol collector (DA400),Aerosol imp↗