Homogeneous nucleation and subsequent cluster growth leads to the formation of new aerosol particles in the atmosphere(1). The nucleation of sulfuric acid and organic vapours is thought to be responsible for the formation of new particles over continents(1,2), whereas iodine oxide vapours have been implicated in particle formation over coastal regions(3-7). The molecular clustering pathways that are involved in atmospheric particle formation have been elucidated in controlled laboratory studies of chemically simple systems(2,8-10), but direct molecular-level observations of nucleation in atmospheric field conditions that involve sulfuric acid, organic or iodine oxide vapours have yet to be reported(11). Here we present field data from Mace Head, Ireland, and supporting data from northern Greenland and Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, that enable us to identify the molecular steps involved in new particle formation in an iodine-rich, coastal atmospheric environment. We find that the formation and initial growth process is almost exclusively driven by iodine oxoacids and iodine oxide vapours, with average oxygen-to-iodine ratios of 2.4 found in the clusters. On the basis of this high ratio, together with the high concentrations of iodic acid (HIO3) observed, we suggest that cluster formation primarily proceeds by sequential addition of HIO3, followed by intracluster restructuring to I2O5 and recycling of water either in the atmosphere or on dehydration. Our study provides ambient atmospheric molecular-level observations of nucleation, supporting the previously suggested role of iodine-containing species in the formation of new aerosol particles(3-7,12-18), and identifies the key nucleating compound.