Oct 27, 2022 21:00:00

Possibility that 'corona discharge', in which the tips of branches and leaves glow blue when lightning strikes, affects air quality

When lightning strikes, a phenomenon called '

corona discharge ', in which small blue sparks are generated from the tips of plants growing around the impact point, may be confirmed. A research team at the Pennsylvania State University Department of Meteorological and Atmospheric Sciences reports that the phenomenon of corona discharge has significantly changed air quality.

Prodigious Amounts of Hydrogen Oxides Generated by Corona Discharges on Tree Leaves - Jenkins - 2022 - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres - Wiley Online Library
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD036761

Plant leaves spark with electricity during thunderstorms — and that could be altering our air quality in unpredictable ways | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/thunderstorm-leaf-discharges-affect-air-quality

When lightning strikes, the strongly oscillating electric field around the point of impact can cause molecules in the atmosphere to separate into ions and electrons. Corona discharge is a phenomenon in which the separated ions and electrons collide with other atoms, increasing electrons and ions in a chain reaction. This corona discharge is said to be the true cause of the phenomenon known as ' St. Elmo's Fire, ' in which the tip of a ship's mast or antenna glows bluish in bad weather.

by Nitromethane

The research team reproduced the electric field of a thunderstorm in the laboratory and observed the discharge phenomenon from eight types of plants under various conditions. As a result, it was found that corona discharge from plants generates a large amount of

radicals , which greatly changes the surrounding air quality.

Two radicals, hydroxyl radical and hydroperoxyl radical, generated by corona discharge from plants are both negatively charged and are known to alter various compounds.

Hydroxyl radicals in particular react with greenhouse gases such as methane, so they are useful in removing methane. On the other hand, ozone is generated when it reacts with oxygen, but this ozone is toxic to humans. In this way, the composition of the atmosphere changes greatly due to the radicals generated by the discharge phenomenon.

A study published in August 2021 reported that about one-sixth of the hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere are generated by thunderstorms. However, the researchers found that given the sheer number of trees in lightning-prone areas, even small individual coronas produced by plants can collectively have unpredictable impacts on air quality. point out that it affects They argue that some of the hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere may come from corona discharges originating from plants.

Jenna Jenkins, lead author of the paper, said, ``There are 1,800 thunderstorms in the world at any given time, and about 2 trillion trees grow in thunderstorm-prone areas.Hydroxyl radicals are the most important for the atmosphere. 'It's an abrasive, so knowing more exactly where this material is made will give us a more complete understanding of what's going on in the atmosphere.'

During the experiment, the research team reported that ultraviolet rays were detected when corona discharge occurred from the plant.