Identification of a Novel "Fishbone" Structure in the Dendritic Growth of Columnar Ice Crystals

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a unique 'fishbone' dendritic structure in ice crystals near -5°C, linking morphology to lattice features and proposing a complex 3D modeling challenge.

Contribution

It identifies a novel dendritic structure in ice crystals and explores its relation to lattice features, highlighting the need for advanced 3D modeling.

Findings

Discovery of a new 'fishbone' dendritic structure

Relation of morphology to ice crystal lattice features

Challenge in developing a 3D numerical growth model

Abstract

Ice crystals growing in highly supersaturated air at temperatures near -5 C exhibit a distinctive, nonplanar dendritic morphology that has not been previously documented or explained. We examine this structure and identify its most prominent features in relation to the ice crystal lattice. Developing a full 3D numerical model that reproduces this robust morphology will be an interesting challenge in understanding diffusion-limited crystal growth in the presence of highly anisotropic surface attachment kinetics.