The inefficiency of the standard gauges currently used for measuring a
mbient dust deposition has led to the development of new designs based
on the shape of an inverted Frisbee. Field comparisons between variou
s different versions of the Frisbee gauge and the current British Stan
dard dust deposit gauge were carried out at two rural sites continuous
ly over a period of 17 months. The wet Frisbee (coated with liquid par
affin) and a dry Frisbee (with a polyester foam insert) out-performed
the BS gauge and two other versions of the dry Frisbee. The dry Frisbe
e with foam is recommended because of various problems associated with
the sticky coating of the wet Frisbee. The dry Frisbee with no insert
of any kind was inferior to the BS gauge and its use should be discon
tinued.