A Versatile Apparatus for Measuring the Growth Rates of Small Ice Prisms from the Vapor Phase

TL;DR

This paper introduces a versatile apparatus designed for precise measurement of ice prism growth from vapor, enabling detailed study of physical effects and molecular attachment kinetics crucial for understanding snow crystal formation.

Contribution

The paper presents a new adaptable apparatus and procedures for modeling ice growth data, improving accuracy and understanding of ice crystal growth dynamics.

Findings

Precise measurements of ice prism growth rates across various conditions.

Enhanced understanding of physical effects influencing ice growth.

Tools for disentangling systematic errors in vapor growth experiments.

Abstract

I describe an adaptable apparatus for making precision measurements of the growth of faceted ice prisms from water vapor as a function of temperature, supersaturation, and background gas pressure. I also describe procedures for modeling growth data to disentangle a variety of physical effects and better understand systematic errors and measurement uncertainties. By enabling precise ice-growth measurements over a broad range of environmental conditions, this apparatus is well suited for investigating the molecular attachment kinetics at the ice/vapor interface, which is needed to understand and model snow crystal growth dynamics.