Ice in the atmosphere

Question 1

what does INP mean

Answer 1

Ice Nucleating Particle

Question 2

what is an ice nucleating particle

Answer 2

particle with the potential to nucleate ice if exposed to the right set of conditions ( temp low enough and humidity high or immersion in supercooled water)

Question 3

name 4 types of aerosols that can nucleate ice

Answer 3

desert dust
pollen 
soot 
bacteria 
ash 
fungal spores
sea spray

Question 4

is it a large proportion of atmospheric aerosol particles that nucleate ice

Answer 4

no - only a very small proportion

Question 5

what is supercooled water

Answer 5

water which persists as liquid water below the melting point of ice, stays like this until something triggers freezing

Question 6

which mechanisms of ice nucleation are important in the troposphere

Answer 6

homogeneous nucleation and hetrogeneous nucleation

Question 7

what climatically important changes does ice nucleation cause in stratus clouds

Answer 7

hetrogeneous nucleation of clouds mad of supercooled water leads to the rapid growth of ice crystals at the expense of water droplets. these ice crystals then sediment. this alters the radiative properties of the cloud and reduces the lifetime.