Scientists haven’t had much success when it comes to interpreting climate change patterns. Well, maybe they could never establish a relationship between climate change science and the ice clouds.

But now, a team led by Kerri Pratt, a Ph.D. student of atmospheric chemistry and Professor Kim Prather, got an opportunity to collect water droplets and ice crystals from an aircraft flying through skies over Wyoming.

A cool bunch of clouds

A bunch of cool clouds

In a stark revelation, the samples revealed that the ice crystals were composed of dust or biological particles such as bacteria, fungal spores and plant material.

“If we understand the sources of particles that nucleate clouds and their relative abundance, then we can determine the impact of these different sources on climate,” said Professor Prat.

Apparently aerosols (tiny airborne particles) are the ones that create confusion when it comes to climate predictions. The measurements were made using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (A-ATOFMS) nicknamed Shirley. It was developed at the UCSD with the funding coming from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Apparently the biological particles that get swept up in dust storms help to induce the formation of cloud ice. Apparently the dust transported from Asia could be influencing precipitation in North America.

The research is being viewed as the ‘holy grail’ measurement as a lot of breathtaking facts have been revealed, opening avenues for further research.

But that’s what scientists always say, right?

[via Sciencedaily] Image by Wink

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