Atmospheric ice nuclei: No detectable effects from a coal‐fired powerplant plume

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Abstract
Atmospheric ice nuclei were measured upwind and within the effluent plume of a coal‐fired powerplant during February 1976. Aerosol particles were captured on two types of membrane filters (Nuclepore and Millipore) and processed in two different thermal diffusion chambers, one calibrated to produce a 100% saturation relative to water and the other to produce a slight supersaturation relative to water. Consequently, the ice nuclei measured were active in the modes that are dominant in diffusion chambers, viz., deposition nucleation and condensation‐followed‐by‐freezing nucleation. Results indicate that plume particles do not act as ice nuclei between the temperatures of −10 and −20°C, nor do combustion gases in the plume deactivate natural ice nuclei.