Heterogeneous ice nucleation measurements of secondary organic aerosol generated from ozonolysis of alkenes

Abstract

Ice nuclei (IN) are those particles which catalyze ice nucleation in the atmosphere. Ambient measurements suggest that the main particle types that function as IN are metal oxides and dust. However, carbonaceous particles often are the next most abundant IN particle type, although the source and exact chemical compositions of these particles are unknown. Here we explore the ice nucleating ability of one potential source of carbonaceous IN to the atmosphere, secondary organic aerosol (SOA). We generated SOA by ozonolysis of 25 different organic precursors in the presence of an OH scavenger. For all experiments, ice nucleation was not observed in detectable quantities. We conclude that SOA generated from ozonolysis of alkenes is an unlikely source of IN to the atmosphere Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.