Soot aerosol from commercial aviation engines are poor ice nucleating particles at cirrus cloud temperatures

Testa, Baptiste; Durdina, Lukas; Alpert, Peter A.; Mahrt, Fabian; Dreimol, Christopher H.; Edebeli, Jacinta; Spirig, Curdin; Decker, Zachary C. J.; Anet, Julien; Kanji, Zamin A.

doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-2441

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-30301

Publication type:	Working paper – expertise – study
Title:	Soot aerosol from commercial aviation engines are poor ice nucleating particles at cirrus cloud temperatures
Authors:	Testa, Baptiste Durdina, Lukas Alpert, Peter A. Mahrt, Fabian Dreimol, Christopher H. Edebeli, Jacinta Spirig, Curdin Decker, Zachary C. J. Anet, Julien Kanji, Zamin A.
et. al:	No
DOI:	10.5194/egusphere-2023-2441 10.21256/zhaw-30301
Extent:	47
Issue Date:	6-Nov-2023
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	European Geosciences Union
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Munich
Language:	English
Subject (DDC):	629: Aeronautical, automotive engineering
Abstract:	Ice nucleating particles catalyse ice formation in clouds, affecting climate through radiative forcing from aerosol-cloud interactions. Aviation directly emits particles into the upper troposphere where ice formation conditions are favourable. Previous studies have used proxies of aviation soot to estimate their ice nucleation activity, however the investigations with commercial aircraft soot from modern in-use aircraft engine have not been quantified. In this work, we sample aviation soot particles at ground level from different commercial aircraft engines to test their ice nucleation ability at temperatures ≤ 228 K, as a function of engine thrust and soot particle size. Additionally soot particles were catalytically stripped to reveal the impact of mixing state on their ice nucleation ability. Particle physical and chemical properties were further characterised and related to the ice nucleation properties. The results show that aviation soot nucleates ice at or above relative humidity conditions required for homogeneous freezing of solution droplets (RHhom).We attribute this to a mesopore paucity inhibiting pore condensation and the sulfur content which suppresses freezing. Only large soot aggregates (400 nm) emitted under 30–100 % thrust conditions for a subset of engines (2/10) nucleate ice via pore condensation and freezing. For those specific engines, the presence of hydrophilic chemical groups facilitates the nucleation. Aviation soot emitted at thrust ≥100 % (sea level thrust) nucleates ice at or above RHhom. Overall our results suggest that aviation soot will not contribute to natural cirrus formation and can be used in models to update impacts of soot-cirrus clouds.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/30301
Related research data:	https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000634341
License (according to publishing contract):	CC BY 4.0: Attribution 4.0 International
Departement:	School of Engineering
Organisational Unit:	Centre for Aviation (ZAV)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen School of Engineering

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Testa, B., Durdina, L., Alpert, P. A., Mahrt, F., Dreimol, C. H., Edebeli, J., Spirig, C., Decker, Z. C. J., Anet, J., & Kanji, Z. A. (2023). Soot aerosol from commercial aviation engines are poor ice nucleating particles at cirrus cloud temperatures. European Geosciences Union. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2441

Testa, B. et al. (2023) Soot aerosol from commercial aviation engines are poor ice nucleating particles at cirrus cloud temperatures. Munich: European Geosciences Union. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2441.

B. Testa et al., “Soot aerosol from commercial aviation engines are poor ice nucleating particles at cirrus cloud temperatures,” European Geosciences Union, Munich, Nov. 2023. doi: 10.5194/egusphere-2023-2441.

TESTA, Baptiste, Lukas DURDINA, Peter A. ALPERT, Fabian MAHRT, Christopher H. DREIMOL, Jacinta EDEBELI, Curdin SPIRIG, Zachary C. J. DECKER, Julien ANET und Zamin A. KANJI, 2023. Soot aerosol from commercial aviation engines are poor ice nucleating particles at cirrus cloud temperatures. Munich: European Geosciences Union

Testa, Baptiste, Lukas Durdina, Peter A. Alpert, Fabian Mahrt, Christopher H. Dreimol, Jacinta Edebeli, Curdin Spirig, Zachary C. J. Decker, Julien Anet, and Zamin A. Kanji. 2023. “Soot Aerosol from Commercial Aviation Engines Are Poor Ice Nucleating Particles at Cirrus Cloud Temperatures.” Munich: European Geosciences Union. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2441.

Testa, Baptiste, et al. Soot Aerosol from Commercial Aviation Engines Are Poor Ice Nucleating Particles at Cirrus Cloud Temperatures. European Geosciences Union, 6 Nov. 2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2441.