We built a Continuous-Flow Diffusion-Chamber type Ice Nucleus Counter based on the design of Rogers et al. (1988) at Colorado State University, USA and have improved it to operate automatically. The main improvements are 1) automatic procedures to coat the cylinder walls with ice, 2) automatic measurements of temperature and supersaturation spectra of ice nuclei activation, and 3) reducing the heat inertia of inner cylinder to shorten the time for scanning the activation temperatures and supersaturations.Its performance is briefly demonstrated through examples of measurements on activation spectra of ice nuclei for summertime atmospheric aerosol particles in the central part of Japan and for test aerosol particles (Arizona Test Dust and ice nucleating bacteria, Snomax®).
Balloon observation of stratospheric aerosols was carried out at Tsukuba, Japan, on 24 August 1993, about two years after the Pinatubo volcanic eruption. Stratospheric aerosol particles collected from the stratospheric aerosol layer using an impactor were analyzed by an analytical electron microscope. Crustal particles were not detected in all size ranges. The results indicated that most of the particles observed over Tsukuba were aqueous H2SO4 droplets without a solid nucleus. This suggests that these particles were formed through homogeneous nucleation processes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.