Experimental evidence for the role of ions in particle nucleation under atmospheric conditions

Experimental studies of aerosol nucleation in air, containing trace amounts of ozone, sulphur dioxide and water vapour at concentrations relevant for the Earth's atmosphere, are reported. The production of new aerosol particles is found to be proportional to the negative ion density and yields nucleation rates of the order of 0.1–1 cm−3 s−1. This suggests that the ions are active in generating an atmospheric reservoir of small thermodynamically stable clusters, which are important for nucleation processes in the atmosphere and ultimately for cloud formation.

[1]  K. Aplin,et al.  A computer-controlled Gerdien atmospheric ion counter , 2000 .

[2]  J. Bricard,et al.  Formation and evolution of nuclei of condensation that appear in air initially free of aerosols , 1968 .

[3]  D. Fahey,et al.  Reaction rate constants for O−2(H2O)n ions n = 0 to 4, with O3, NO, SO2, and CO2 , 1982 .

[4]  Bandy,et al.  Particle nucleation in the tropical boundary layer and its coupling to marine sulfur sources , 1998, Science.

[5]  Hannes Tammet,et al.  Size and mobility of nanometer particles, clusters and ions , 1995 .

[6]  Henrik Svensmark,et al.  Variation of cosmic ray flux and global cloud coverage—a missing link in solar-climate relationships , 1997 .

[7]  F. Yu.  From molecular clusters to nanoparticles: second-generation ion-mediated nucleation model , 2006 .

[8]  R. Dingenen,et al.  The role of ion-induced aerosol formation in the lower atmosphere , 1986 .

[9]  K. Lehtinen,et al.  Kinetic nucleation and ions in boreal forest particle formation events , 2004 .

[10]  J. M. Mäkelä,et al.  On the formation, growth and composition of nucleation mode particles , 2001 .

[11]  J. Seinfeld,et al.  Effect of NO 2 on Particle Formation in SO 2 /H 2 O/Air Mixtures by Ion-Induced and Homogeneous Nucleation , 2002 .

[12]  Richard P. Turco,et al.  From molecular clusters to nanoparticles: Role of ambient ionization in tropospheric aerosol formation , 2001 .

[13]  M. Kulmala,et al.  Rapid Formation of Sulfuric Acid Particles at Near-Atmospheric Conditions , 2005, Science.

[14]  T. S. Muraleedharan,et al.  An experimental study of the role of radon and its daughter products in the conversion of sulphur dioxide into aerosol particles in the atmosphere , 1984 .

[15]  Henrik Svensmark,et al.  Influence of Cosmic Rays on Earth's Climate , 1998 .

[16]  F. Tao,et al.  Hydrolysis of sulfur trioxide to form sulfuric acid in small water clusters , 2000 .

[17]  H. Svensmark,et al.  Low cloud properties influenced by cosmic rays , 2000, Physical review letters.

[18]  N. Shaviv.  Cosmic ray diffusion from the galactic spiral arms, iron meteorites, and a possible climatic connection. , 2002, Physical review letters.

[19]  F. Fehsenfeld,et al.  Laboratory studies of negative ion reactions with atmospheric trace constituents , 1974 .

[20]  Ion-induced aerosol formation: new insights from laboratory measurements of mixed cluster ions HSO4−(H2SO4)a(H2O)w and H+(H2SO4)a(H2O)w , 2004 .

[21]  W. Birmili,et al.  The Hohenpeissenberg aerosol formation experiment (HAFEX): a long-term study including size-resolved aerosol, H 2 SO 4 , OH, and monoterpenes measurements , 2002 .

[22]  R. Turco,et al.  A new source of tropospheric aerosols: Ion‐ion recombination , 1998 .

[23]  B. Reinhard,et al.  Wet electrons and how to dry them , 2001 .

[24]  F. Arnold,et al.  Multi-ion complexes in the stratosphere—implications for trace gases and aerosol , 1980, Nature.

[25]  K. Okuyama,et al.  An experimental study of ion-induced nucleation using a drift tube ion mobility spectrometer/mass spectrometer and a cluster-differential mobility analyzer/Faraday cup electrometer , 2005 .

[26]  J. W. Fitzgerald,et al.  Marine boundary layer measurements of new particle formation and the effects nonprecipitating clouds have on aerosol size distribution , 1994 .

[27]  P. Španěl,et al.  Ions in the terrestrial atmosphere and in interstellar clouds , 1995 .

[28]  K. Froyd,et al.  Atmospheric ion‐induced nucleation of sulfuric acid and water , 2004 .

[29]  J. M. Reeves,et al.  Particle Formation by Ion Nucleation in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere , 2003, Science.

[30]  Hanna Vehkamäki,et al.  Formation and growth rates of ultrafine atmospheric particles: a review of observations , 2004 .

[31]  L. Pirjola,et al.  Stable sulphate clusters as a source of new atmospheric particles , 2000, Nature.

[32]  C. Timmreck,et al.  An improved parameterization for sulfuric acid-water nucleation rates for tropospheric and stratospheric conditions , 2002 .

[33]  J. Seinfeld.  Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics of Air Pollution , 1986 .