1.
Sci Adv
; 2(5): e1501912, 2016 05.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27386537
ABSTRACT
We investigate the interaction of ultrashort laser filaments with individual 90-µm ice particles, representative of cirrus particles. The ice particles fragment under laser illumination. By monitoring the evolution of the corresponding ice/vapor system at up to 140,000 frames per second over 30 ms, we conclude that a shockwave vaporization supersaturates the neighboring region relative to ice, allowing the nucleation and growth of new ice particles, supported by laser-induced plasma photochemistry. This process constitutes the first direct observation of filament-induced secondary ice multiplication, a process that strongly modifies the particle size distribution and, thus, the albedo of typical cirrus clouds.