DATE2024.10.01 #Press Releases
Aerosols involved in ice crystal formation increase with rising temperatures in the Arctic
Summary
An international research group consisting of members from the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR), the Meteorological Research Institute (MRI), Nagoya University, the University of Tokyo, and the Norwegian Institute for Atmospheric Research (NILU) has studied the variation of ice-nucleating particles (INPs), which are known as aerosols with special ability to aid the formation of ice crystals in clouds, over Svalbard. They have found that the melting of snow and ice over the Arctic land area due to rising surface air temperatures promotes the release of active INPs, resulting in marked increase in their concentration. This finding could modify the conventional hypothesis that the formation of ice crystals would become less efficient in clouds over the Arctic region due to the effects of global warming. This finding provides important clues for understanding the formation and dissipation processes of clouds over the Arctic region and is expected to improve the prediction accuracy of aerosol and cloud changes caused by rapid warming in the Arctic region.
Figure：Summary of Results of this Research
Associate Professor Koike Makoto of the Department of Earth and Planetary Science participated in this study.
Links： National Institute of Polar Research, Meteorological Research Institute, Nagoya University
Journals
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Journal Communications Earth & Environment Title of paper