Laboratory Studies of Ice Nucleation on Volcanic Ash

Abstract:

Ice nucleation on volcanic ash controls both ash aggregation and cloud glaciation, which affect human respiratory health, atmospheric transport, and global climate. We have performed laboratory studies of the depositional and immersion freezing efficiency of three distinct samples of volcanic ash using Raman Microscopy coupled to an environmental cell. Ash from the Fuego (Basaltic Ash, Guatemala), Soufriere Hills (Andesetic Ash, Montserrat), and Taupo (Rhyolitic Ash, New Zealand) volcanoes were chosen to represent different geographical locations and silica content. All ash samples were quantitatively analyzed for both percent crystallinity and mineralogy using X-ray diffraction. We find that all three samples of volcanic ash are excellent depositional ice nuclei, nucleating ice at ice saturation ratios of 1.05 ± 0.1. For immersion freezing, however, only the Taupo ash exhibited efficient heterogeneous ice nucleation activity. Similar to recent studies on mineral dust, we suggest that the mineralogy of volcanic ash may dictate its ice nucleation activity in the immersion mode.