During thunderstorms, weak electric discharges are formed on the leaves of the trees, which are called crown. A new study has discovered that these crowns would create large quantities of atmospheric chemicals that could have an impact on air quality around the forests.
To talk about it is the research conducted by the Penn State team of scientists and published on Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Lwhich one would demonstrate how the crow They emit small quantities of chemicals that cause damage to air and climate quality.
In fact, these small electrical discharges have been observed lead to the formation of Ho2 (radical hydroperoxide) And OH (Radical hydrospile). Both chemical compounds play an important role: for example they participate in a series of chemical reactions, cleaning the air of gases such as the methane and hydroperoxide is responsible for the destruction of theozone in the stratosphere. But at the same time they produce a certain amount of polluting particles.
The Oh reacts with the hydrocarbons (chemical compounds consisting of hydrogen and carbon) naturally emitted by the leaves to produce ozone and this could affect the quality of the air that we breathe.
The work of scientists is based on a previous study conducted by Willian Bruneprofessor of mettereology at the Penn State. According to the professor, in fact, the lightning and electrical discharges generated, during storms, represent a significant source of OH production.
There are about two trillions of trees in areas where it is more likely to occur global time and there are 1,800 thunderstorms in progress at any time – said Jenkins – this is certainly a process that occurs continuously and based on calculations that we have been able to do so far, we think that this can influence the quality of the air in the forests and in the trees and around the surroundings.
Scientists have conducted numerous laboratory tests on the leaves of eight species of trees under different conditions simulating, for example, the phenomenon of rain. A correlation has been observed between concentrations of Oh and Ho2 produced by the crowns and the UV radiation produced by discharges. This could prove useful for future research as the equipment to measure UV radiation are more practical to use on the field.
In fact, it is essential to continue with the research to understand how many crowns they form during thunderstorms, how long they last and how much this can be influenced by other conditions. In fact, with the climatic crisis, temporal phenomena could be more frequent and uncontrolled, so it is important to monitor the conditions for preserving the quality of the air and climate.