  Charged particles are continually generated in atmospheric air, and the
interaction between natural ionisation and atmospheric particles is
complicated. It is of some climatic importance to establish if ions are
implicated in particle formation. Atmospheric ion concentrations have been
investigated here at high temporal resolution, using Gerdien ion analysers at a
site where synchronous meteorological measurements were also made. The
background ionisation rate was also monitored with a Geiger counter, enabling
ion production from natural radioactivity to be distinguished from other
effects. Measurements at 1Hz offer some promise in establishing the atmospheric
electrical influences in ionic nucleation bursts, although combinations of
other meteorological factors are also known to be significant. High time
resolution meteorological and ion measurements are therefore clearly necessary
in advancing basic understanding in the behaviour of atmospheric aerosol.
