Electric Discharge From Plants May Be Changing Air Quality in Ways We Didn't Expect

Plants on the ground may respond to lightening.

Plants and trees can emit small, visible electric discharges from the tips of their leaves when they are trapped under the electrical fields generated by storms. Blue sparks that glow around charged objects can be seen in coronas.

New research shows that plant-based sparks may be changing the air quality in ways never before seen. The impact of these minishocks on the atmosphere is still unknown.

Researchers recreated the electrical fields from storms in a laboratory and analyzed the coronas given off by eight plant species under a range of conditions.

The coronas created a high amount of radicals, chemicals with unpaired electrons that are highly reactive with other compounds, which can change the air quality around them.

While little is known about how widespread these discharges are, we estimate that coronas generated on trees under storms could have substantial impacts on the surrounding air.

It may be the most powerful lightning bolt ever detected.

The two radicals given off by the plant coronas are negatively charged and oxidize a number of different chemical compounds, turning them into other molecule.

The researchers wanted to know the concentrations of hydroxyl radicals because they have a bigger impact on air quality.

The co-author of the study said that the hydroxyl radical contributes to the oxidation of pollutants.

Brune said that if a hydroxyl radical reacts with greenhouse gases, it can remove the harmful gasses from the atmosphere.

Ozone is toxic to humans and can be created if the same radical reacts with Oxygen. Air quality can be harmed by the radicals.

Researchers have shown a link between the two.

Brune and his team found that lightning was a major progenitor of the hydroxyl radicals. The team believes that storms could be responsible for up to one-sixth of the hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere.

A study published in the journal Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences in September showed that coronas produced by metallic objects such as telephone poles and transmission towers produce slightly higher levels of hydroxyl radicals than plant coronas.

The levels of radicals produced by plants and artificial coronas are much lower than those produced by lightning.

Even though the charge generated by the plant corona was weaker than the sparks and lightning we looked at before, we still saw extreme amounts of this radical being made.

She said that plant-produced coronas could be a majorly under studied source of radicals with a highly unpredictable effect on air quality.

There are two trillion trees in areas that are most likely to be hit by storms.

Researchers want to study these coronas in greater detail to understand how they affect air quality on a global scale.

The most important cleanser is the hydroxyl radical. A more complete understanding of what's happening in the atmosphere can be given by having a better accounting of where this stuff is being made.

Understanding the effects of storms on air quality is important because studies suggest that storms may become more powerful due to climate change.

The team made a discovery that could help speed up the field of research.

The team can study where coronas are occurring in the field and measure their effects on air quality.

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The original article was published by Live Science. The original article can be found here.