Industrial snow

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Industrial snow structure

As Industrieschnee is called snow by, emissions (mainly of water vapor and condensation nuclei ) of industrial plants is caused. Industrial snow is therefore an example of an anthropogenic , i.e. man-made influence on the weather.

Emergence

An important condition for the formation of industrial snow is the presence of special weather conditions, such as fog or high fog- like clouds, a pronounced temperature reversal layer ( inversion ) near the ground, low air movement and temperatures below freezing point. These weather conditions are local and can occur in the Central European climate zone ( cool temperate climate ) from November to February.

nature

The snow is finer-grained than normal snow (natural snow) because it comes from significantly lower heights than this (100 to 200 m) and the ice crystals therefore do not have enough time to fully develop. It is locally limited and, depending on the source of the water vapor and the condensation nuclei, may also be more polluted than conventional snow. Due to its fine grain size, industrial snow also adheres to (and in) objects that would not be affected by natural snowfall because conventional snow would already fall off again (weight per contact surface) or would not reach certain points (branches within tree tops). According to various observations, the nature of industrial snow is also described as particularly light and fine-grained, as in some industrial snowfalls the crystals near the ground only sink very slowly to the ground and in the affected area a very fine, "glittering" snowfall, so to speak "snow dust" “Cause, similar to the snow drifts on mountain peaks and ridges. This phenomenon can be observed particularly well at night in cities and with the street lights switched on.

Liability for damage

It is still unclear who is liable for damage caused by industrial snow (e.g. rear-end collisions, falls, costs for grit, etc.). On the basis of the bound aerosols in the condensation nuclei, it is relatively easy to determine which industrial polluter is responsible for the failure of industrial snow and can be recourse to ( polluter pays principle ).

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