Measurements of CCN-concentrations in the European alpine aerosol using a newly developed static thermal diffusion counter

The CCN counter developed at the University of Vienna operates on the principle of a static thermal diffusion chamber. Since 1997, it was used to obtain CCN concentrations in the European alpine background aerosol during intensive measurement campaigns. The 1997 campaign was performed on Mt. Sonnblick (3104 m a.s.l.), while in 1999 and 2000, intensive campaigns were performed on Mt. Rax (1644 m a.s.l.). CCN concentrations at 0.5% supersaturation were found to be comparable ar both sites and also comparable to earlier measurements performed with a commercial CCN counter (DH Associates) on Mt. Sonnblick. Simultaneous measurements of CCN concentration, aerosol number size distribution (measured with a differential mobility particle spectrometer) and cloud liquid water content provided insights into the aerosol/cloud dynamics on Mt. Rax