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Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1108
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1108
23 Jun 2023
 | 23 Jun 2023

Measurement report: Ion clusters as indicator for localnew particle formation

Santeri Tuovinen, Janne Lampilahti, Veli-Matti Kerminen, and Markku Kulmala

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol particles have considerable impact on climate, both directly by scattering radiation and indirectly by acting as cloud condensation nuclei. A major fraction of global aerosol number is formed in atmospheric new particle formation (NPF). These atmospheric particles consist of both neutral particles and charged atmospheric ions, and atmospheric ion number concentrations have been observed to indicate NPF. In this work, atmospheric ion concentrations were studied with the aim of finding the best suited size range of ions to characterize local NPF. Both negative and positive ion number size distributions measured by Neutral cluster and Air Ion Spectrometer (NAIS) at the SMEAR II measurement station in Hyytiälä, Finland were used. Ion sizes between 1.6 and 3 nm were considered. We found that the negative ions between 2.0 and 2.3 nm are well suited for representing NPF. In addition, the influence of transport on the observed 2.0–2.3 nm ion concentrations is considerably smaller than for larger ions. Therefore, we recommend the negative ions with diameters 2.0–2.3 nm as the best choice for characterization of local NPF.

Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. The authors have no other competing interests to declare.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
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Atmospheric ions can be used to characterize and detect atmospheric new particle formation. In...
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