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A new theory of heterogeneous ice nucleation for application in cloud and climate models
Author(s) -
Khvorostyanov Vitaly I.,
Curry Judith A.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/1999gl011211
Subject(s) - nucleation , ice nucleus , supersaturation , ice crystals , cloud condensation nuclei , condensation , classical nucleation theory , crystal (programming language) , materials science , cloud physics , thermodynamics , atmospheric sciences , chemical physics , meteorology , cloud computing , physics , aerosol , computer science , programming language , operating system
A new formulation is presented of the thermodynamical theory of heterogeneous ice crystal nucleation in clouds by freezing. This theory unifies and explains the empirical ice nuclei dependence on temperature and supersaturation, predicts crystal formation via condensation‐freezing at a subsaturation over water. The theory also explains observations of high nucleation rates and crystal concentrations at warm (−5 > −12°C) temperatures when the splintering mechanism may be not effective. This theory can be applied to parameterizations for use in cloud and climate models.