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Dust โขParticlesโค Found to Trigger cloud Freezing, Impacting Climate Forecasts
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Zurich, โคSwitzerland – August 16, 2025 โข – A โgroundbreaking studyโ from ETH Zurich has revealed a โขsignificant โคlink between dust โparticles โoriginating from distant deserts and โคthe freezing process within โคclouds, especially โฃin the Northernโฃ Hemisphere. This discovery โคhas major implications โฃfor the accuracy of globalโ climate models and our understanding of precipitation patterns.
How Desert โDust Influences Cloud Behaviour
Researchersโ foundโ that airborne dust, โขcarried by winds across vast distances, acts as a catalyst for ice crystal โformation within clouds. โฃThis process directlyโค affects how much sunlight a cloud reflects back into space and its ability to produce rain or snow. The study, led by postdoctoral researcher Diego Villanueva, highlights โขa โขpreviously underestimated factor in โขatmospheric physics.
“We found that cloudsโข containing more dust are much more โlikely to freeze atโ their tops,” explained Villanueva. “This has a direct impact on the amount of solar radiation reflected back into space and theโข amount of precipitation that forms.”
Did Youโ Know? Dust particles can travel thousands ofโ miles, originating from โขdeserts like theโ Sahara andโค impacting cloud formation โinโค regions like Europe and North America.
The Role of Mixed-Phase Clouds
Theโ research focused on โฃmixed-phase clouds, which exist โขbetweenโข -39ยฐC and 0ยฐC and contain both water droplets and ice โขcrystals. Theseโ clouds are particularly sensitive toโค environmental changes and play โฃa critical role in regulatingโข Earth’s temperature. โโ The study demonstrates that the presence of dust significantly increasesโค the โคlikelihood of โice crystal formation within these clouds.
| Factor | Impact on Cloud Freezing |
|---|---|
| Dust Concentration | Higher concentration increases freezing likelihood |
| Cloud Temperature | Most effective inโ cloudsโ between -39ยฐC and 0ยฐC |
| Geographic Location | Most โฃpronounced effectโ in Northern Hemisphere |
The findingsโข align โwith laboratory experiments simulatingโ the freezing process, providing strong evidence โfor the โdust-inducedโฃ ice nucleation mechanism. “This is one of the first studies showingโ that satellite measurements of cloud composition agree with our laboratory โคwork results,” stated Professor โUlrike โคLohmann of ETH Zurich’s atmospheric physicsโค department.
The research teamโค acknowledges the need for further โขinvestigation into other factors influencing cloud freezing,such โฃas updraftโฃ strength and humidity levels. However, the currentโข findings clearly demonstrateโฃ the significant roleโ of dust in shaping cloud behavior and,โ consequently, the global climate.
Proโฃ Tip: Understanding the impactโ of aerosols, like dust, onโ cloud formation is crucial forโ improvingโค the accuracy of climate change predictions.
What other atmospheric โฃparticles might influence cloud formation in similar ways? And howโฃ canโข these findings be โintegrated into more โขsophisticated climate models?
Reference: โVillanueva, D. (2025). The freezing of the droplets โฃdriven by dust explains the top of the clouds inโข the northern extropical โขregions.
Source: ETH Zรผrich. (2025). Do youโ want toโ freeze โขa cloud? Desert dustโค could help you!
โโ รณmico Theโฃ study builds uponโข decades of research into aerosol-cloud interactions. Aerosols, tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere, โhave long been recognized as influencingโค cloud properties. Though, the โspecific roleโ of desert dust and its impact on ice โคnucleation has been a subject of ongoing investigation.this โresearch provides compellingโข evidence for a key mechanism driving โcloud freezing, offering valuable โinsights for climate scientists.Future research will likely โfocus โคon quantifying โthe global impact of dust and incorporating these findings intoโค more complex climate models.
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