RT Journal Article T1 How ice grows from premelting films and water droplets A1 Sibley, David N. A1 Llombart, Pablo A1 Noya, Eva G. A1 Archer, Andrew J. A1 MacDowell, Luis G. AB Close to the triple point, the surface of ice is covered by a thin liquid layer (so-called quasi-liquid layer) which crucially impacts growth and melting rates. Experimental probes cannotobserve the growth processes below this layer, and classical models of growth by vapordeposition do not account for the formation of premeltingfilms. Here, we develop a meso-scopic model of liquid-film mediated ice growth, and identify the various resulting growthregimes. At low saturation, freezing proceeds by terrace spreading, but the motion of theburied solid is conveyed through the liquid to the outer liquid–vapor interface. At highersaturations water droplets condense, a large crater forms below, and freezing proceedsundetectably beneath the droplet. Our approach is a general framework that naturally models freezing close to three phase coexistence and provides afirst principle theory of ice growthand melting which may prove useful in the geosciences PB Springer Nature SN 2041-1723 (online) YR 2021 FD 2021-01-11 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/7739 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/7739 LA eng NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) NO BSC/MN NO Red Española de Supercomputación NO EPSRC DS Docta Complutense RD 21 abr 2025