Cargo ships generate severe thunderstorms

Curious American scientists were not too lazy and counted the outbreak of lightning in the last 12 years in Curious American scientists were not too lazy and counted outbreaks of lightning in the last 12 years in the South China Sea and the Northeast of the Indian Ocean. By the way, these regions, where the main sea trade and cargo routes for ships are laid. Simple analysis, described in the report on the site of the geophysical magazine South China Sea Geophysical Research Letters, showed that in the marine regions of Asia there is a doubled density of atmospheric discharges. And the lightning is active depending on the season, for example, from November to April, they are steadily sparkling over the Indian Ocean, and from April to December are moving to the South China Sea.

Meteorologists studied the data, but they did not convince them that the nature of the more frequent formation of lightning depends on winds or temperature variations over the ocean. But another obvious reason immediately surfaced to the surface: aerosols that are thrown into the air together with exhaust gases from operating diesel rigs of cargo ships.

To understand why an inoffensive boat disturbs the heavens, one must understand the physics of the process. Lightning is formed from static electricity, and this is known to every child. To the clouds are electrified, you need to rub each other tiny ice cubes and droplets of water, which, however, in the cool layers of the atmosphere abound. Crystallization of water in the cloud occurs in a homogeneous or heterogeneous way. In the lower layers of the atmosphere, in the troposphere, where the main thunderstorms are raging, ice cubes are formed in a heterogeneous way, that is, solid particles must be present for the growth of crystals in droplets of water. Aerosols, emitted together with exhaust gases from ships, are similar to the centers of formation of ice crystals. Further the following effect occurs: light droplets of water with particles of aerosols are lifted by warm streams of air upwards, clouds are enlarged, but not only become larger, but deeper, that is, they grow in the vertical direction. In the upper layers of the atmosphere, water freezes and forms small ice that rubs and accumulates an electrostatic discharge. Huge clouds bring with them not only strong tropical downpours, but also stronger and frequent flashes of lightning.

It should be noted that according to meteorological radar data, although lightning flashes along sea routes much more often, but the amount of precipitation remains unchanged there. This small study showed how a person can affect even the climate and meteorological phenomena through their emissions and pollution.