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Research Article

Laser-induced plasma cloud interaction and ice multiplication under cirrus cloud conditions

Thomas Leisner, Denis Duft, Ottmar Möhler, Harald Saathoff, Martin Schnaiter, Stefano Henin, Kamil Stelmaszczyk, Massimo Petrarca, Raphaëlle Delagrange, Zuoqiang Hao, Johannes Lüder, Yannick Petit, Philipp Rohwetter, Jérôme Kasparian, Jean-Pierre Wolf, and Ludger Wöste
  1. aInstitute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;
  2. bInstitut für Umweltphysik, Universität Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany;
  3. cGroup of Applied Physics, Université de Genève, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland; and
  4. dInstitut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany

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PNAS June 18, 2013 110 (25) 10106-10110; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1222190110
Thomas Leisner
aInstitute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;
bInstitut für Umweltphysik, Universität Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany;
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  • For correspondence: thomas.leisner@kit.edu
Denis Duft
aInstitute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;
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Ottmar Möhler
aInstitute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;
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Harald Saathoff
aInstitute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;
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Martin Schnaiter
aInstitute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;
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Stefano Henin
cGroup of Applied Physics, Université de Genève, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland; and
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Kamil Stelmaszczyk
dInstitut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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Massimo Petrarca
cGroup of Applied Physics, Université de Genève, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland; and
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Raphaëlle Delagrange
cGroup of Applied Physics, Université de Genève, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland; and
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Zuoqiang Hao
dInstitut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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Johannes Lüder
dInstitut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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Yannick Petit
cGroup of Applied Physics, Université de Genève, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland; and
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Philipp Rohwetter
dInstitut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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Jérôme Kasparian
cGroup of Applied Physics, Université de Genève, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland; and
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Jean-Pierre Wolf
cGroup of Applied Physics, Université de Genève, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland; and
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Ludger Wöste
dInstitut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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  1. Edited by A. R. Ravishankara, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory, Chemical Sciences Division, Boulder, CO, and approved May 7, 2013 (received for review December 19, 2012)

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Abstract

Potential impacts of lightning-induced plasma on cloud ice formation and precipitation have been a subject of debate for decades. Here, we report on the interaction of laser-generated plasma channels with water and ice clouds observed in a large cloud simulation chamber. Under the conditions of a typical storm cloud, in which ice and supercooled water coexist, no direct influence of the plasma channels on ice formation or precipitation processes could be detected. Under conditions typical for thin cirrus ice clouds, however, the plasma channels induced a surprisingly strong effect of ice multiplication. Within a few minutes, the laser action led to a strong enhancement of the total ice particle number density in the chamber by up to a factor of 100, even though only a 10−9 fraction of the chamber volume was exposed to the plasma channels. The newly formed ice particles quickly reduced the water vapor pressure to ice saturation, thereby increasing the cloud optical thickness by up to three orders of magnitude. A model relying on the complete vaporization of ice particles in the laser filament and the condensation of the resulting water vapor on plasma ions reproduces our experimental findings. This surprising effect might open new perspectives for remote sensing of water vapor and ice in the upper troposphere.

  • nonlinear optics
  • secondary ice
  • lightning

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: thomas.leisner{at}kit.edu.
  • Author contributions: T.L., O.M., H.S., K.S., J.K., J.-P.W., and L.W. designed research; T.L., O.M., H.S., M.S., S.H., K.S., M.P., R.D., Z.H., J.L., Y.P., P.R., and J.K. performed research; T.L., D.D., O.M., H.S., M.S., J.K., and J.-P.W. analyzed data; and T.L., D.D., J.K., and J.-P.W. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

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Laser plasma–cloud interaction
Thomas Leisner, Denis Duft, Ottmar Möhler, Harald Saathoff, Martin Schnaiter, Stefano Henin, Kamil Stelmaszczyk, Massimo Petrarca, Raphaëlle Delagrange, Zuoqiang Hao, Johannes Lüder, Yannick Petit, Philipp Rohwetter, Jérôme Kasparian, Jean-Pierre Wolf, Ludger Wöste
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jun 2013, 110 (25) 10106-10110; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1222190110

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Laser plasma–cloud interaction
Thomas Leisner, Denis Duft, Ottmar Möhler, Harald Saathoff, Martin Schnaiter, Stefano Henin, Kamil Stelmaszczyk, Massimo Petrarca, Raphaëlle Delagrange, Zuoqiang Hao, Johannes Lüder, Yannick Petit, Philipp Rohwetter, Jérôme Kasparian, Jean-Pierre Wolf, Ludger Wöste
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jun 2013, 110 (25) 10106-10110; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1222190110
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