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Research Discovers The Shocking Benefits Of Lightning
What is the purpose of lightning? It may sound like a very philosophical question, but scientists may have shed some more light on the answer with the results of a recently published study. A new study presented at Science at the end of April found that lightning could play a greater role in global climate change than previously known to the scientific community. “Lightning enhances the ability of the atmosphere to purify itself,” the researchers wrote in a study. Many are familiar with the potentially deadly danger posed by lightning, which is accused of killing an average of 43 people each year in the United States, based on data from 1989 to 2018. I will. One in 15,300 people in a year and in life-many of the meteorological communities have long urged people to take appropriate precautions to stay safe in storms. However, researchers have recently discovered a surprisingly beneficial effect of lightning. According to the National Weather Service, the Earth is hit by about 20 million lightning strikes each year, traveling 10 to 12 miles from thunderstorms and instantly heating the air to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The figure above illustrates how positive and negative charges in and between clouds and the ground cause lightning strikes (AccuWeather). In essence, lightning is caused by the accumulation of electric charge in the atmosphere. Lightning is triggered between two clouds, or between clouds and the ground, to balance the different charges. The study included contributions from nearly 12 universities and nine different atmospheric researchers from the Meteorological Organization, and was based on an aerial research flight conducted by the NASA DC-8 Storm Chasing plane in 2012. The plane was used to examine the top of the thundercloud known as the anvil. According to Dr. William Brune, a professor of meteorology and atmospheric science at Penn State University and co-author of the study, researchers initially had problems with the aircraft equipment used to measure hydroxyl radicals. I was thinking (OH) In the atmosphere, ABC News reported until I noticed that the spikes they observed corresponded to the flash of lightning. Called “chemical scavengers” by ScienceDirect, hydroxyl radicals are important compounds found in the atmosphere due to their reactivity with other organic molecules. Click here for the free Accuweather app Researchers previously understood that lightning can help clean the atmosphere, but there was no evidence that they could produce compounds like these radicals. .. And the data showed a surprising spike of up to 1,000 more hydroxyl radicals than normal values. “No one has ever seen so much in the atmosphere from natural processes,” Brune said. On Sunday, June 2, 2013, a lightning strike struck the One World Trade Center in the center right during a thunderstorm seen from the Heights district of Jersey City, NJ. (APPhoto / Julio Cortez) As a result, research shows that 2% and 16% of naturally occurring oxidation or cleaning in the Earth’s atmosphere is done by lightning. Why is this important? Oxidation processes help reduce chemicals such as carbon monoxide and methane in the atmosphere. Known as greenhouse gases, these chemicals have been shown to contribute to the rise in temperature associated with climate change. Researchers say more research is needed to see how lightning contributes to the fight against global climate change. Keep checking AccuWeather.com and keep an eye on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and VerizonFios’ AccuWeather network.