Seas serve as important sources of freezing clouds in remote areas

The vertical mixing of the lower atmosphere is quite effective in carrying fine particles from the sea to the height of clouds. On the other hand, the freezing nuclei of continental background air do not end up in the clouds as effectively, because there is less mixing above the cloud layer.

Further information:

Tomi Raatikainen, Finnish Meteorological Institute, tomi.raatikainen@fmi.fi

Raatikainen, T., Prank, M., Ahola, J., Kokkola, H., Tonttila, J., and Romakkaniemi, S.: The effect of marine ice-nucleating particles on mixed-phase clouds, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3763–3778, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3763-2022, 2022.

Scientific article is available on Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.