Possible Source of Intermediate Ions over Marine Environment

Measurements of small, intermediate and large ions made onboard ORV Sagarkanya over the Arabian Sea in May-June 2003 during Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment (ARMEX) are reported here. The daily averaged values of small-, intermediate-, and large-ion concentrations measured for 36 days during this cruise have been used for analysis. The analysis shows a weak positive correlation of 0.14 between intermediate- and large-ion concentrations, which indicates that the sources of these two types of ions are different over ocean surface. The negative correlation is observed between small- and intermediate-ion concentration for entire period of cruise. In addition, it is seen that the intermediate-ion concentration shows a very good (r = 0.58) and significant positive correlation with sea surface pressure. Based on good negative correlation between small- and intermediate-ion concentrations and good positive correlation between intermediate-ion concentration and sea surface pressure, it has been proposed that attachment of small ions to the ultrafine particles transported from upper troposphere to marine boundary layer is the main source of intermediate ions over ocean surface. This study supports the idea that the main source of ultrafine particles over marine boundary layer (MBL) is entrainment of aerosol particles from the free troposphere.