Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics www.atmos-chem-phys.net 1680-7316 1680-7324 8 1 2008 10.5194/acp-8-129-2008 http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/129/2008/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/129/2008/acp-8-129-2008.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/129/2008/acp-8-129-2008.pdf 129 139 2008-01-14 Formation and characteristics of ions and charged aerosol particles in a native Australian Eucalypt forest T. Suni tanja.suni@helsinki.fi M. Kulmala A. Hirsikko T. Bergman L. Laakso P. P. Aalto R. Leuning H. Cleugh S. Zegelin D. Hughes E. van Gorsel M. Kitchen M. Vana U. Hõrrak S. Mirme A. Mirme S. Sevanto J. Twining C. Tadros Department of Physical Sciences, P.O.Box 64, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland Center for High-Performance Computing and Networking CSC, PO. BOX 405, 02101 Espoo, Finland CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 1666, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Ülikooli Str 18., EE2400 Tartu, Estonia Institute for Environmental Research, ANSTO, PMB 1, Menai NSW 2234, Australia Biogenic aerosol formation is likely to contribute significantly to the global aerosol load. In recent years, new-particle formation has been observed in various ecosystems around the world but hardly any measurements have taken place in the terrestrial Southern Hemisphere. Here, we report the first results of atmospheric ion and charged particle concentrations as well as of new-particle formation in a Eucalypt forest in Tumbarumba, South-East Australia, from July 2005 to October 2006. The measurements were carried out with an Air Ion Spectrometer (AIS) with a size range from 0.34 to 40 nm. The Eucalypt forest was a very strong source of new aerosol particles. Daytime aerosol formation took place on 52% of days with acceptable data, which is 2–3 times as often as in the Nordic boreal zone. Average growth rates for negative/positive 1.5–3 nm particles during these formation events were 2.89/2.68 nmh^−1, respectively; for 3-7 nm particles 4.26/4.03, and for 7–20 nm particles 8.90/7.58 nmh^−1, respectively. The growth rates for large ions were highest when the air was coming from the native forest which suggests that the Eucalypts were a strong source of condensable vapours. Average concentrations of cluster ions (0.34–1.8 nm) were 2400/1700 cm^−3 for negative/positive ions, very high compared to most other measurements around the world. One reason behind these high concentrations could be the strong radon efflux from the soils around the Tumbarumba field site. 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