The ice-nucleating activity of African mineral dust in the Caribbean boundary layer

• DOI: 10.5194/acp-2022-57
• Publication Date: 2022-02-22T09:28:41Z
• Authors: Alexander D. Harr...; Daniel O’Sullivan; Michael P. Adams; Grace C. E. Porter; Edmund Blades; Cherise Brathwaite; Rebecca Chewitt-L...; Cassandra Gaston; Rachel Hawker; Ovid O. Krüger; Leslie Neve; Mira L. Pöhlker; Christopher Pöhlker; Ulrich Pöschl; Alberto Sanchez-M...; Andrea Sealy; Peter Sealy; Mark D. Tarn; Shanice Whitehall; James B. McQuaid; Kenneth S. Carslaw; Joseph M. Prospero; Benjamin J. Murray
• Keywords: Mineral dust; Ice nucleus

Abstract. African mineral dust is transported many thousands of kilometres from its source regions and, because ability to nucleate ice, it plays a major role in cloud glaciation around the globe. The ice-nucleating activity desert influenced by mineralogy, which varies substantially between and across particle sizes. However, models often assumed that (expressed as active sites per unit surface area function temperature) atmospheric same everywhere on Here, we find sampled summertime marine boundary layer Barbados (July August, 2017) lower than parameterizations based soil specific locations Saharan or sedimented storms. We conclude Barbados’ primarily defined low K-feldspar content dust, 1 %. propose Caribbean was region West Africa (in Sahel Mauritania Mali), has much feldspar other sources Sahara Sahel.