Pollen grains are efficient cloud condensation nuclei

This letter presents a laboratory study investigating the ability of pollen grains to act as cloud condensation nuclei. The hygroscopicity of pollen is measured under subsaturated relative humidities using an electrodynamic balance. It is found, along with other results, that pollen exhibits bulk uptake of water under subsaturated conditions. Through the use of an environmental scanning electron microscope it was observed that the surface of pollen is wettable at high subsaturated humidities. The hygroscopic response of the pollen to subsaturated relative humidities is parametrized using κ-Köhler theory and values of the parameter κ for pollen are between 0.05 and 0.1. It is found that while pollen grains are only moderately hygroscopic, they can activate at critical supersaturations of 0.001% and lower, and thus pollen grains will readily act as cloud condensation nuclei. While the number density of pollen grains is too low for them to represent a significant global source of cloud condensation nuclei, the large sizes of pollen grains suggest that they will be an important source of giant cloud condensation nuclei. Low temperature work using the environmental scanning electron microscope indicated that pollen grains do not act as deposition ice nuclei at temperatures warmer than − 15 °C.