Researchers Confirm First Natural Corona Discharges in Trees During Storms
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A Penn State research team has made the first confirmed detections of natural corona discharges from trees during thunderstorms. Using a custom-built telescope system, they recorded hundreds of these faint ultraviolet bursts from tree branches in North Carolina. The findings, published in Geophysical Research Letters, could advance understanding of atmospheric chemistry.
Facts First
- First confirmed detections of natural corona discharges from trees during thunderstorms.
- 859 corona events recorded on a sweetgum tree and 93 on a loblolly pine during a single storm.
- Corona discharges produce faint UV light that can break apart water vapor to form hydroxyl, a key atmospheric oxidizer.
- Observations made with a custom Corona Observing Telescope System (COTS) mounted on a research van.
- Study supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and published in Geophysical Research Letters.
What Happened
A Penn State meteorology research team recorded the first confirmed detections of natural corona discharges during a thunderstorm in North Carolina. Using a custom Corona Observing Telescope System (COTS), the team documented 859 corona events on a sweetgum tree and 93 on a nearby loblolly pine.
Why this Matters to You
This discovery helps explain a fundamental atmospheric process. Corona discharges from trees during storms produce ultraviolet light, which breaks apart water vapor to create hydroxyl. Hydroxyl acts as the atmosphere's primary 'clean-up' agent, reacting with and helping to remove both natural compounds and human-generated pollutants like methane. A better understanding of this natural process could improve models of air quality and climate change.
What's Next
The research team has published its findings regarding the observations. Further observations were conducted during four other thunderstorms and across four different tree species, which may lead to more comprehensive data. This foundational discovery may prompt more widespread field studies to quantify how much hydroxyl is produced globally by this natural phenomenon and its role in the atmospheric cleansing cycle.