Aggregation of ice-nucleating macromolecules from <i>Betula pendula</i> pollen determines ice nucleation efficiency
<p>Various aerosols, including mineral dust, soot, and biological particles, can act as ice nuclei, initiating the freezing of supercooled cloud droplets. Cloud droplet freezing significantly impacts cloud properties and, consequently, weather and climate. Some biological ice nuclei exhibit ex...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Biogeosciences |
| Online Access: | https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/103/2025/bg-22-103-2025.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850082476045631488 |
|---|---|
| author | F. Wieland F. Wieland N. Bothen R. Schwidetzky T. M. Seifried T. M. Seifried P. Bieber P. Bieber U. Pöschl K. Meister K. Meister M. Bonn J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky H. Grothe |
| author_facet | F. Wieland F. Wieland N. Bothen R. Schwidetzky T. M. Seifried T. M. Seifried P. Bieber P. Bieber U. Pöschl K. Meister K. Meister M. Bonn J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky H. Grothe |
| author_sort | F. Wieland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Various aerosols, including mineral dust, soot, and biological particles, can act as ice nuclei, initiating the freezing of supercooled cloud droplets. Cloud droplet freezing significantly impacts cloud properties and, consequently, weather and climate. Some biological ice nuclei exhibit exceptionally high nucleation temperatures close to 0 °C. Ice-nucleating macromolecules (INMs) found on pollen are typically not considered among the most active ice nuclei. Still, they can be highly abundant, especially for species such as <i>Betula pendula</i>, a widespread birch tree species in the boreal forest. Recent studies have shown that certain tree-derived INMs exhibit ice nucleation activity above <span class="inline-formula">−</span>10 °C, suggesting they could play a more significant role in atmospheric processes than previously understood. Our study reveals that three distinct INM classes active at <span class="inline-formula">−</span>8.7, <span class="inline-formula">−</span>15.7, and <span class="inline-formula">−</span>17.4 °C are present in <i>B. pendula</i>. Freeze drying and freeze–thaw cycles noticeably alter their ice nucleation capability, and the results of heat treatment, size, and chemical analysis indicate that INM classes correspond to size-varying aggregates, with larger aggregates nucleating ice at higher temperatures, in agreement with previous studies on fungal and bacterial ice nucleators. Our findings suggest that <i>B. pendula</i> INMs are potentially important for atmospheric ice nucleation because of their high prevalence and nucleation temperatures.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-309c9796b4ad4cc8992fa793cf5e67f9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1726-4170 1726-4189 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biogeosciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-309c9796b4ad4cc8992fa793cf5e67f92025-08-20T02:44:32ZengCopernicus PublicationsBiogeosciences1726-41701726-41892025-01-012210311510.5194/bg-22-103-2025Aggregation of ice-nucleating macromolecules from <i>Betula pendula</i> pollen determines ice nucleation efficiencyF. Wieland0F. Wieland1N. Bothen2R. Schwidetzky3T. M. Seifried4T. M. Seifried5P. Bieber6P. Bieber7U. Pöschl8K. Meister9K. Meister10M. Bonn11J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky12H. Grothe13Institute of Materials Chemistry, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, AustriaMultiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, GermanyMultiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, GermanyMolecular Spectroscopy Department, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, GermanyInstitute of Materials Chemistry, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, CanadaInstitute of Materials Chemistry, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, CanadaMultiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, GermanyMolecular Spectroscopy Department, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, GermanyDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USAMolecular Spectroscopy Department, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, GermanyMultiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, GermanyInstitute of Materials Chemistry, TU Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria<p>Various aerosols, including mineral dust, soot, and biological particles, can act as ice nuclei, initiating the freezing of supercooled cloud droplets. Cloud droplet freezing significantly impacts cloud properties and, consequently, weather and climate. Some biological ice nuclei exhibit exceptionally high nucleation temperatures close to 0 °C. Ice-nucleating macromolecules (INMs) found on pollen are typically not considered among the most active ice nuclei. Still, they can be highly abundant, especially for species such as <i>Betula pendula</i>, a widespread birch tree species in the boreal forest. Recent studies have shown that certain tree-derived INMs exhibit ice nucleation activity above <span class="inline-formula">−</span>10 °C, suggesting they could play a more significant role in atmospheric processes than previously understood. Our study reveals that three distinct INM classes active at <span class="inline-formula">−</span>8.7, <span class="inline-formula">−</span>15.7, and <span class="inline-formula">−</span>17.4 °C are present in <i>B. pendula</i>. Freeze drying and freeze–thaw cycles noticeably alter their ice nucleation capability, and the results of heat treatment, size, and chemical analysis indicate that INM classes correspond to size-varying aggregates, with larger aggregates nucleating ice at higher temperatures, in agreement with previous studies on fungal and bacterial ice nucleators. Our findings suggest that <i>B. pendula</i> INMs are potentially important for atmospheric ice nucleation because of their high prevalence and nucleation temperatures.</p>https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/103/2025/bg-22-103-2025.pdf |
| spellingShingle | F. Wieland F. Wieland N. Bothen R. Schwidetzky T. M. Seifried T. M. Seifried P. Bieber P. Bieber U. Pöschl K. Meister K. Meister M. Bonn J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky H. Grothe Aggregation of ice-nucleating macromolecules from <i>Betula pendula</i> pollen determines ice nucleation efficiency Biogeosciences |
| title | Aggregation of ice-nucleating macromolecules from <i>Betula pendula</i> pollen determines ice nucleation efficiency |
| title_full | Aggregation of ice-nucleating macromolecules from <i>Betula pendula</i> pollen determines ice nucleation efficiency |
| title_fullStr | Aggregation of ice-nucleating macromolecules from <i>Betula pendula</i> pollen determines ice nucleation efficiency |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aggregation of ice-nucleating macromolecules from <i>Betula pendula</i> pollen determines ice nucleation efficiency |
| title_short | Aggregation of ice-nucleating macromolecules from <i>Betula pendula</i> pollen determines ice nucleation efficiency |
| title_sort | aggregation of ice nucleating macromolecules from i betula pendula i pollen determines ice nucleation efficiency |
| url | https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/103/2025/bg-22-103-2025.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fwieland aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT fwieland aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT nbothen aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT rschwidetzky aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT tmseifried aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT tmseifried aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT pbieber aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT pbieber aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT uposchl aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT kmeister aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT kmeister aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT mbonn aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT jfrohlichnowoisky aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency AT hgrothe aggregationoficenucleatingmacromoleculesfromibetulapendulaipollendeterminesicenucleationefficiency |