Dataset for Airborne observations of ice-nucleating particles during the 2022 DCMEX campaign, New Mexico

Deep convective clouds play crucial roles in atmospheric processes, generating lightning, severe weather, and significant rainfall, while their extensive anvils reflect solar radiation. However, models face limitations due to a lack of understanding of microphysical processes in these clouds. Ice-nucleating particles (INP), essential for initiating primary ice production, have only rarely been measured in air directly relevant for convective clouds. This makes separating the roles of primary and secondary ice difficult to resolve. Here we report the abundance and likely composition of INP during the Deep Convective Microphysics Experiment (DCMEX) campaign in New Mexico, USA, using measurements made from the FAAM BAe 146 aircraft during flights over and around the Magdalena Mountains. INP were collected on filters during sampling circuits around the mountain range at varying altitudes and then analysed offline for immersion mode ice-nucleating activity using droplet freezing assays and composition using scanning electron microscopy.