Research

Spekaer: Dr. Elise Rosky - NCAR ASP Graduate Student Visitor Program (Michigan Tech)

In-situ cumulus measurements indicate that the appearance of ice is associated with the presence of large cloud droplets (hundreds of micrometer diameter). However, understanding the pathways to achieve large cloud droplets has been elusive, and ice nucleation mechanisms themselves are not understood on a molecular level. This seminar will cover two very different topics that are motivated by the need to better understand these two processes independently. First, molecular dynamics simulations of ice nucleation show that one mechanism of increasing nucleation rates in water droplets is through the presence of tension within those droplets. I will discuss these results and the potential implications for atmospheric ice nucleation. Second, I will share preliminary analysis of cloud microphysics within cumulus sampled by the NCAR GV during the SPICULE field campaign. The HOLODEC-II and other in-situ probes will be used to investigate where and how the largest droplets in these clouds are formed.