Observed interactions between black carbon and hydrometeor during wet scavenging in mixed-phase clouds

Wet scavenging of black carbon (BC) has been subject to large uncertainty, which importantly determines its atmospheric lifetime and indirect forcing impact on cloud microphysics. This study reveals the complex BC-hydrometeor interactions in mixed-phase clouds via single particle measurements in the real-world environment, by capturing precipitation processes throughout cloud formation, cold rain/graupel, and subsequent snow events at a mountain site influenced by anthropogenic sources in wintertime. We found highly efficient BC wet scavenging during cloud formation, with large and thickly coated BC preferentially incorporated into droplets. During snow processes, BC core sizes in the interstitial phase steadily increased. A mechanism was proposed whereby the BC mass within each droplet was accumulated through droplet collision, leading to larger BC cores, which were then released back to the interstitial air through the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen processes when ice dominated. These results provide fundamental basis for constraining BC wet scavenging.