For 30 years we studied the role that aerosol particles play in both liquid water (i.e. acting as cloud condensation nuclei, or CCN) and ice cloud formation (i.e. acting as ice nuclei, IN). Our latest projects in this area involved field measurements of both the CCN and IN numbers in a coastal setting on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the role of the organic microlayer materials present on the surface of the ocean as CCN and IN, and the role of pollen particles as IN. These measurements were made with both home-built and commercial diffusion cloud chambers.
