STUDIES OF ALASKAN ICE-FOG PARTICLES

Abstract

During the 1952?1953 winter, studies were made at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, of ice fog and other low-temperature aerosol phenomena. The particulate material, collected by settling onto glass slides at temperatures below ?2OC, was classified as hexagonal plates, prismatic columns, and droxtals, a droxtal being an equant solid particle with rudimentary crystal faces. The hexagons and prisms are several times larger than the droxtals, and all three types tend to be smaller at lower temperatures. The droxtals increase in relative number with decreasing temperatures, and the high incidence of restricted visibility at low temperatures is attributed to the presence of the droxtals rather than the crystals.