Characteristics of the ice pellets observed in mid-winter in the Arctic region

• Main Authors: Masahiro Kajikawa, Katsuhiro Kikuchi, Hiroshi Uyeda, Yoshio Asuma, Noboru Sato
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Engineering and Resource Sciences, Akita University/Faculty of Bioresource Sciences, Akita Prefectural University/Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center, Nagoya University/Division of Earth & Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University/Science Education Institute of Osaka Prefecture 2002
• Subjects: Arctic; Canada; Inuvik; Kiruna; Polar meteorology and glaciology
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=2948; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00002948/; https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=2948&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1

In mid-winter ice pellets were observed at Inuvik, Canada and Kiruna, Sweden in the Arctic region. The size distribution, morphology and crystalline nature were examined from the photomicrographs. Moreover, meteorological conditions in which the ice pellets could form were examined from the sounding data at Inuvik. The following results were obtained. (1) The sizes of ice pellets in the Arctic regions were considerably smaller than those in temperate regions. (2) The ice pellets simultaneously fell with the snow crystals with frozen small raindrops. (3) The morphology of ice pellets with a bulge or a spike was qualitatively similar to the results of laboratory experiments. (4) The rate of shattering was smaller than the results of laboratory experiments. (5) Single crystalline ice pellets were abundant in the size < 200μm. (6) Ice pellets in the Arctic are formed through the freezing of supercooled drizzle drops, which are formed by condensation-coalescence process below the freezing temperature.