An international team of scientists has identified a previously unknown natural process in the Arctic that significantly boosts the number of particles capable of forming clouds. Near the boundary where melting sea ice meets the open ocean, sunlight triggers chemical reactions involving iodine, sulfur, and organic compounds released by the ocean and algae. This process can multiply the number of cloud-seeding particles by up to 50 times within a single day. The researchers also detected a new class of compounds, iodine-containing oxygenated organic molecules (I-OOMs), which help the newly formed particles grow to sizes necessary for cloud formation. Since the area of melting ice is expanding, this process could increasingly affect cloud cover, altering how much sunlight is reflected or trapped, and thereby impacting regional climate dynamics.
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