Experimental Investigations of Ice in Supercooled Clouds. Part II: Scavenging of an Insoluble Aerosol

Abstract

Abstract An experimental study of aerosol scavenging by ice growing in supercooled clouds was conducted with a continuous flow cloud chamber. Techniques for detecting insoluble (latex) submicron particles in individual ice crystals were developed. The effects of microphysical parameters on the scavenging process were examined quantitatively. Measurements of the aerosol scavenging rates were documented as functions of cloud temperature, liquid water content, and the diameters (0.109 μm and 0.551 μm) of the nearly monodisperse aerosol particles. Scavenging data were acquired at temperatures of −6°, −8°, −11.5°, and −14°C. The liquid water contents of the supercooled clouds were varied from ∼0.3 to 6 g m−3, while the maximum dimensions of the ice crystals ranged from about 50 to 300 μm. The scavenging data agree with some previously published theoretical and experimental results and expand the empirical database available for understanding the mechanisms of scavenging. It was found that the presence of liqui...