Scientists say they have solved a long-standing mystery: why lightning strikes over land are more frequent–and often stronger–than those over the sea.
Previous efforts zeroed in on the presence of fine water particles in the atmosphere that are capable of increasing lightning’s intensity. However, researchers now believe they have found a more dynamic and plausible reason for the disparity between lightning strikes over land and sea, which comes down to a fundamental aspect of seawater: salt.
The actual mechanism behind lightning is complex, but atmospheric scientists have more or less figured it out. Still, in places where lightning strikes are common, even laypersons have noted that the intensity and frequency of the lightning strikes increase as storms over the ocean approach land.
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As noted, some of this disparity has to do with an increase in fine water droplets, but according to researchers, this is not nearly enough to explain the significant difference. This long-standing mystery motivated a group of researchers to search for an answer. And based on their published research, they have found it.
, “the average lightning frequency for the same rainfall amount is generally far smaller over tropical ocean compared to land despite similar meteorology.” This disparity exists for the lightning’s intensity as well, an issue that researchers note has yet to be completely explained by current models.
“The known effects of thermodynamics and aerosols can well explain the thunderstorm activity over land, ” they write in the study’s abstract, “but fail over oceans.”
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To solve this mystery, the research team hypothesized that the presence of coarse salt particles in sea spray may be reducing the amount of charged water particles that could make it high enough into the clouds to instigate the formation of lightning. Next, they looked at lightning strikes from Africa and its adjacent oceans from 2013 to 2017. A total of 76, 665 convective cases with lightning were obtained from January 2013 to December 2017, with 54, 523 over land and 22, 142 over the ocean.
“Tracking the full lifecycle of tropical deep convective cloud clusters shows that adding fine aerosols significantly increases the lightning density for a given rainfall amount over both ocean and land, ” they write, confirming the long-standing explanation for increased lightning intensity on both land and sea. “In contrast, adding coarse sea salt (dry radius > 1 μm), known as sea spray, weakens the cloud vigor and lightning by producing fewer but larger cloud drops, which accelerate warm rain at the expense of mixed-phase precipitation.”
In short, the added coarse salt from sea spray causes more rain droplets to form at a lower altitude, robbing the higher clouds of the fuel needed to create powerful strikes of lightning. In fact, the researchers point out that adding coarse sea spray can reduce the frequency of lightning strikes by as much as 90%.
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“Previously, known differences in thermodynamics and aerosols could not explain much of the large excess in lightning activity over land compared to ocean for the same rainfall amount, ” the study authors explain regarding their findings. “Herein, we resolved this question by quantifying the effects of both fine aerosols and coarse sea salt aerosols (CSS) on tropical DCC properties and lightning over ocean compared to over land.”
In their conclusion, the study authors note that their research “is the first time that coarse sea spray aerosols are documented to weaken DCC and suppress lightning.”
They further note that their study results appear to solve the long-standing mystery of lightning intensity and frequency over land versus water.
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“These findings reconcile long outstanding questions about the differences between continental and marine thunderstorms, ” they conclude, “and help to understand lightning and underlying aerosol-cloud-precipitation interaction mechanisms and their climatic effects.”Unlike traditional lightning (pictured), ball lightning is exceptionally rare and as yet poorly understood by the scientific community. Image credit: Alexandre Brochard Photographies/Getty Images
British researchers have uncovered what they believe to be the earliest written account in England of a bizarre – and poorly understood – phenomenon known as ‘ball lightning’, chronicled in a medieval text written by a Benedictine monk who lived just under 1000 years ago.
Usually associated with thunderstorms, ball lightning has been described as a bright spherical object, on average 25 centimetres across but sometimes reaching several metres in diameter.
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The phenomenon has mystified humans for centuries, with the previous oldest written account having been found in a 1638 report, which described a ball of fire flying into a church, accompanied by a great peal of thunder.
Scientists don’t really understand what causes ball lightning, and have long been on the hunt for an explanation. One possible answer is that lightning striking the ground vaporises some of the minerals in the soil, which then, floating in the air, react with oxygen and release heat and light to produce an unearthly glow. This explanation seems supported by a 2014 study, which identified trace evidence of silicon, iron and calcium – all abundant in soil – in a flash of ball lightning.
Written by the 12th-century Benedictine monk Gervase, the account states that “a marvellous sign descended near London” on 7 June 1195. Gervase described a dense, dark cloud emitting a white substance that grew into a spherical shape, and from which a fiery globe fell towards the river.
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Extract from the Chronicle of Gervase of Canterbury, where the medieval monk describes the ball lightning phenomenon. This is the earliest known description of ball lightning ever found in England. Image credit: The Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge. Reference: Cambridge, Trinity College, MS R.4.11, p.324.
The account was uncovered by the unlikely academic pairing of physicist Brian Tanner and historian Giles Gasper, both of Durham University. The team compared Gervase’s text with historic and modern reports of ball lightning and came to the same conclusion: this dramatic event in 1195 was likely the same phenomenon.
“Gervase’s description of a white substance coming out of the dark cloud, falling as a spinning fiery sphere and then having some horizontal motion is very similar to historic and contemporary descriptions of ball lightning, ” says Tanner.
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“If Gervase is describing ball lightning, as we believe, then this would be the earliest account of this happening in England that has so far been discovered.”
Gasper says that, from a historian’s perspective, the account is convincing. Gervase recorded the dates and times of solar eclipses remarkably accurately and in vivid detail.
“The main focus of Gervase’s writings was Christ Church Cathedral Priory in Canterbury, ” says Gasper. “But he was also interested in natural phenomena, from celestial events and signs in the sky to floods, famine and earthquakes.”
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Amalyah Hart Amalyah Hart has a BA (Hons) in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Oxford and an MA in Journalism from the University of Melbourne.
There’s never been a more important time to explain the facts, cherish evidence-based knowledge and to showcase the latest scientific, technological and engineering breakthroughs. Cosmos is published by The Royal Institution of Australia, a charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science. Financial contributions, however big or small, help us provide access to trusted science information at a time when the world needs it most. Please support us by making a donation or purchasing a subscription today.Mankind still strives to solve many of the world’s natural mysterious phenomena, even after roughly 6, 000 years of civilization. They come in all forms, each has its own appeal, they all captivate our imaginations and some could be outright terrifying. Many of these mysteries have fascinated mankind for thousands of years but some of them have started appearing only recently.
A few phenomena present themselves amid displays of great power and force, though infrequently. Some of them appear more commonly and seem harmless, just mysterious. Still, others remain passive, yet permanent, simply waiting to be found and observed.
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These phenomena are as varied in the nature of their character as in their occurrences. As rare as these phenomena are, good photos of them remain rarer still.
Volcanic Lightning starts off our list of Mysterious Natural Phenomena and has awed those who witness it throughout the ages. When you consider the total area of the earth’s surface, volcanic eruptions themselves remain rare occurrences. In recent times science has finally advanced enough to provide us sufficient warning.
Furthermore, incidents of volcanic lightning appear only in a tiny percentage of eruptions which makes solving the mystery of their origin quite difficult. Many people, scientists, and amateurs alike, continue to try, however.
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Let us first point out the sheer power of volcanic lightning. It creates one of the greatest concentrations of energy in Nature. The amount of raw energy released in the form of volcanic lightning during an eruption rivals an entire supercell thunderstorm. That’s incredible.
This type of lightning forms much closer to the ground. It also doesn’t always move downward like regular lightning. Yet, the incredibly powerful bolts of electricity stay almost entirely contained within the plume of volcanic ash.
Those rare times it occurs also only involve Plinian eruptions which are the most powerful type. Volcanologists have proposed numerous theories to explain the phenomenon but none have been conclusively proven, so the
