The Characteristics of Atmospheric Ice Nuclei Measured at Different Altitudes in the Huangshan Mountains in Southeast China

The concentration of ice nuclei （IN） and the relationship with aerosol particles were measured and analyzed using three 5-L mixing cloud chambers and a static diffusion cloud chamber at three altitudes in the Huangshan Mountains in Southeast China from May to September 2011.The results showed that the mean total number concentration of IN on the highest peak of the Huangshan Mountains at an activation temperature （Ta） of-20℃C was 16.6 L-1.When the supersaturation with respect to water （Sw） and with respect to ice （Si） were set to 5％,the average number concentrations of IN measured at an activation temperature of-20℃C by the static diffusion cloud chamber were 0.89 and 0.105 L-1,respectively.A comparison of the concentrations of IN at three different altitudes showed that the concentration of IN at the foot of the mountains was higher than at the peak.A further calculation of the correlation between IN and the concentrations of aerosol particles of different size ranges showed that the IN concentration was well correlated with the concentration of aerosol particles in the size range of 1.2-20 μtm.It was also found that the IN concentration varied with meteorological conditions,such as wind speed,with higher IN concentrations often observed on days with strong wind.An analysis of the backward trajectories of air masses showed that low IN concentrations were often related to air masses travelling along southwest pathways,while higher IN concentrations were usually related to those transported along northeast pathways.

Experimental Study on the Dependency of Ice Nucleation Active Surface Site Density on ATD Aerosol Size

In light of the percentage of Earth’s cloud coverage, heterogeneous ice nucleation in clouds is the most important global-scale pathway. More recent parameterizations of ice nucleation processes in the atmosphere are based on the concept of ice nucleation active surface site density (ns). It is usually assumed that ns is independent of time and aerosol size distribution, i.e. that the surface properties of aerosols of the same species do not vary with size. However, the independence of ns on aerosol size for every species has been questioned. This study presents the results of ice nucleation processes of ATD laboratory-generated aerosol (particle diameters of 0 - 3 μm). Ice nucleation in the condensation mode was performed in a Dynamic Filter Processing Cham- ber at temperatures of -18°C and -22°C, with a saturation ratio with respect to water of 1.02. Results show that ns increased by lowering the nucleation temperature, and was also dependent on the particle size. The ns of particles collected on the filters, after a 0.5 μm D50 cut-off cyclone, resulted statistically higher with respect to the values obtained from the particles collected on total filters. The results obtained suggest the need for further investigation of ns dependence of same composition aerosol particles with a view to support weather and climate predictions.