What type of icing accumulates primarily in stable, stratiform cloud conditions?

Rime icing forms primarily in stable, stratiform cloud conditions where supercooled water droplets are present. In these environments, the smaller water droplets freeze rapidly upon contact with the aircraft surfaces, creating a rough, opaque ice that is typically white and brittle. This type of icing is most common in layers of cloud associated with stable air, where vertical motions are limited, allowing for a steady accumulation of supercooled liquid water.

Understanding this helps distinguish rime icing from other types. For example, clear icing typically occurs in situations with larger, more energetic droplet sizes, usually associated with cumuliform clouds and warmer temperatures. Mixed icing, as the name suggests, involves both clear and rime characteristics but is more likely to occur in less stable atmospheric conditions. Thus, the environmental context of stratiform clouds leads to rime icing being the correct answer.