Ions in the Terrestrial Atmosphere and Other Solar System Atmospheres

Charged molecular clusters, traditionally called small ions, carry electric currents in atmospheres. Charged airborne particles, or aerosol ions, play an important role in generation and evolution of atmospheric aerosols. Growth of ions depends on the trace gas content, which is highly variable in the time and space. Even at sub-ppb concentrations, electrically active organic compounds (e.g. pyridine derivatives) can affect the ion composition and size. The size and mobility are closely related, although the form of the relationship varies depending on the critical diameter, which, at 273 K, is about 1.6 nm. For ions smaller than this the separation of quantum levels exceeds the average thermal energy, allowing use of a molecular aggregate model for the size-mobility relation. For larger ions the size-mobility relation approaches the Stokes-Cunningham-Millikan law. The lifetime of a cluster ion in the terrestrial lower atmosphere is about one minute, determined by the balance between ion production rate, ion-ion recombination, and ion-aerosol attachment.