Radiative effects of tropospheric ionisation

International audienceDespite the increasing evidence that cosmic ray variations may influence clouds and climate, there has been little discussion of the direct radiative effects of atmospheric ionisation. Laboratory experiments show that hydrated molecular cluster-ions, formed in the atmosphere by cosmic rays, absorb in the infra-red continuum at wavelengths of 9?12 ?m. The tropospheric magnitude of this effect is estimated: transmittance anomalies from clear sky ion concentrations peak at ~2% at 10 km in the mid-latitudes. A simple isothermal clear sky atmospheric model suggests the integrated effect of the absorption is ~2 Wm?2. The effect appears detectable in existing surface data sets; surface micrometeorological data shows a significant anticorrelation between downwelling infra-red radiation and atmospheric cosmic ray ionisation. This is consistent with the infra-red attenuation observed in laboratory studies of cluster-ion absorption. If atmospheric ionisation from cosmic rays has universally direct radiative effects, then reinterpretation of satellite cloud data may be necessary

Cosmic ray modulation of infra-red radiation in the atmosphere

Cosmic rays produce molecular cluster ions as they pass through the lower atmosphere. Neutral molecular clusters such as dimers and complexes are expected to make a small contribution to the radiative balance, but atmospheric absorption by charged clusters has not hitherto been observed. In an atmospheric experiment, a narrowband thermopile filter radiometer centred on 9.15 {\mu}m, an absorption band previously associated with infra-red absorption of molecular cluster ions, was used to monitor changes following events identified by a cosmic ray telescope sensitive to high-energy (>400 MeV) particles, principally muons. The average change in longwave radiation in this absorption band due to molecular cluster ions is 7 mWm sup{-2}. The integrated atmospheric energy density for each event is 2 Jm sup{-2}, representing an amplification factor of 10 sup{12} compared to the estimated energy density of a typical air shower. This absorption is expected to occur continuously and globally, but calculations suggest that it has only a small effect on climate

Vertical profile measurements of lower troposphere ionisation

Vertical soundings of the atmospheric ion production rate have been obtained from Geiger counters integrated with conventional meteorological radiosondes. In launches made from Reading (UK) during 2013-2014, the Regener-Pfotzer ionisation maximum was at an altitude equivalent to a pressure of (63.1±2.4) hPa, or, expressed in terms of the local air density, (0.101±0.005) kgm−3. The measured ionisation profiles have been evaluated against the Usoskin-Kovaltsov model and, separately, surface neutron monitor data from Oulu. Model ionisation rates agree well with the observed cosmic ray ionisation below 20 km altitude. Above 10 km, the measured ionisation rates also correlate well with simultaneous neutron monitor data, although, consistently with previous work, measured variability at the ionisation maximum is greater than that found by the neutron monitor. However, in the lower atmosphere (below 5 km altitude), agreement between the measurements and simultaneous neutron monitor data is poor. For studies of transient lower atmosphere phenomena associated with cosmic ray ionisation, this indicates the need for in situ ionisation measurements and improved lower atmosphere parameterisations

Aspirated capacitor measurements of air conductivity and ion mobility spectra

Measurements of ions in atmospheric air are used to investigate atmospheric electricity and particulate pollution. Commonly studied ion parameters are (1) air conductivity, related to the total ion number concentration, and (2) the ion mobility spectrum, which varies with atmospheric composition. The physical principles of air ion instrumentation are long-established. A recent development is the computerised aspirated capacitor, which measures ions from (a) the current of charged particles at a sensing electrode, and (b) the rate of charge exchange with an electrode at a known initial potential, relaxing to a lower potential. As the voltage decays, only ions of higher and higher mobility are collected by the central electrode and contribute to the further decay of the voltage. This enables extension of the classical theory to calculate ion mobility spectra by inverting voltage decay time series. In indoor air, ion mobility spectra determined from both the novel voltage decay inversion, and an established voltage switching technique, were compared and shown to be of similar shape. Air conductivities calculated by integration were: 5.3 +- 2.5 fS/m and 2.7 +- 1.1 fS/m respectively, with conductivity determined to be 3 fS/m by direct measurement at a constant voltage. Applications of the new Relaxation Potential Inversion Method (RPIM) include air ion mobility spectrum retrieval from historical data, and computation of ion mobility spectra in planetary atmospheres.Comment: To be published in Review of Scientific Instrument