Microfluidics

Contact persons: Dr. Nadia Shardt and Dr. Claudia Marcolli   

To improve our ability to predict the formation of ice and clouds (cold and mixed-phase) in the atmosphere, we need to first better quantify how ice nucleates on particles (mineral, biological, and/or anthropogenic). Our work uses a microfluidic approach to generate aqueous droplets with suspended minerals. These droplets are then cooled, and the ice nucleation activity of the minerals is quantified. We are particularly interested in understanding how the mineralogy of mixtures influences ice nucleation activity and then using this knowledge to improve predictions of ice nucleation.

This project is hosted by Prof. Ulrike Lohmann in collaboration with the group of Prof. Thomas Peter and the Group of Prof. Andrew de Mello.