Abstract View
High-Throughput Microfluidic Device to Study Ice Nucleation Behavior
MARGARET HOUSE, Priyatanu Roy, Cari Dutcher, University of Minnesota
Abstract Number: 72
Working Group: Aerosols, Clouds and Climate
Abstract
Ice nucleating particles are any solid particles in the atmosphere that allow ice to freeze on their surface. They are important to weather and climate processes because they can cause clouds to partially or fully freeze, changing the optical properties of the clouds and how they contribute to the overall energy balance of the Earth. Studying ice nucleation in single particles on the nanoliter to picoliter scale is important for informing regional and global climate models that take aerosol activity into consideration. Recently, microfluidics has emerged as a novel technique by which single particles modeling atmospheric aerosols can be probed. Microfluidics offers the advantage of rapid and monodisperse droplet generation with precise temperature control and minimal solid-surface contact during experiments. We have utilized both a flow-through and static microfluidic device design to probe ice nucleation behavior of several aqueous-organic systems. We have found interesting relationships between ice nucleation temperature, morphology, and sample aging.