Ice Nucleus Measurements in an Urban Atmosphere

Abstract

On the basis of Millipore filter measurements it is concluded that natural ice nuclei were deactivated in passing over St. Louis, Mo., during March 1973. This conclusion is supported by very strong statistical evidence. To overcome the effects of soluble materials in desensitizing the filter technique, samples were limited to volumes less than 100 liters with the background crystal count measured for every filter; a forced-flow developing chamber was used; and the Huffman-Vali correction factor, based upon concurrently measured CCN, was applied. The measurements strongly suggest the possibility of local sources of ice nuclei. However, these nuclei also were deactivated in passing over the city. Simultaneous measurements with an expansion chamber gave results similar to those of the filters, but did not show statistical support.