Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2026

Department

Department of Physics

Abstract

Experiments in the Pi Convection‐Cloud Chamber conducted by systematically changing the diameter of injected dry aerosol particles while holding the temperature difference constant demonstrate that dry diameter strongly influences the onset of haze‐dominated conditions. Two factors contribute: the system becomes water‐limited, resulting in reduction of supersaturation by growing aerosol particles to the activation diameter; and the activation process becomes kinetically limited. Dry aerosol diameter exerts a strong influence on activation time, with a power‐law exponent of 9/2. Kinetically limited activation occurs when the ratio of the activation and droplet residence times is greater than unity. The findings demonstrate that a haze‐dominated state, where cloud formation is suppressed, can be achieved not only with weak supersaturation forcing and high aerosol concentration but also with large, hygroscopic aerosol particles. These results have implications for cloud formation in polluted environments, fog development near the ocean, and hygroscopic cloud seeding.

Publisher's Statement

© 2026. The Author(s). Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL117310

Publication Title

Geophysical Research Letters

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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