The Vertical Distribution of Ice-Nucleating Particles over the North China Plain: A Case of Cold Front Passage

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are crucial for cloud freezing processes in the atmosphere. Given the limited knowledge about the vertical distribution of INPs and its relation to aerosols in China, we present two aircraft observations of INPs over the North China Plain on 23 October 2019 and 25 October 2019, before and after a cold front passage. We used a well-established method to identify the INPs on a silicon wafer and then performed single-particle chemical composition analysis using an environmental scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectrometer (ESEM-EDS). The INP concentrations range from 0.1 to 9.2 L-1 within activation temperatures from -20 to -29 degrees C. INPs are mostly concentrated within the boundary layer, and their concentration shows a decreasing trend with height (0.5 similar to 6 km) before the cold front passage. However, the highest INP concentration always appears at higher altitudes (4 similar to 5 km) after the cold front passage. The cold front passage also significantly weakens the correlations between the concentrations of INPs and aerosol particles at different sizes. The activated fraction (AF) of total aerosols increases from 10(-6) to 10(-4) with height from near ground to 6 km, reflecting a better nucleating capacity of the aerosols at higher altitudes. There is no obvious variation in AF after the cold front passage. Chemical analysis reveals that the INPs containing mineral dust components comprise the majority of total INPs during both flights. The proportion of pure mineral dust declines from 52.2% to 43.5% after the cold front passage while the proportion of mixed mineral dust increases from 23.9% to 45.7%, suggesting that an increased probability of aging or coating of INPs is introduced by the cold front during their long-distance transport. In addition, 88% of INPs have a diameter larger than 1 mu m. This indicates that larger aerosols (>1 mu m) are the major contributors to INPs at high altitudes despite their relatively low abundance. Our results demonstrate a significant impact of transport events on the sources and vertical distribution of INPs in the atmosphere.

Automated summary

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are crucial for cloud freezing processes in the atmosphere. We conducted two aircraft observations in China to investigate the vertical distribution and characteristics of INPs. The results showed that INPs were mainly concentrated within the boundary layer before the cold front passage, with their concentration decreasing with height. However, after the cold front passage, the highest INP concentration appeared at higher altitudes. The cold front passage also weakened the correlations between the concentrations of different-sized aerosol particles and INPs. Mineral dust was the main source of INPs, and increased aging or coating of INPs was introduced by the cold front during long-distance transport. Larger aerosols (>1 μm) were the major contributors to INPs at high altitudes.