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Did you know that thunderstorms can produce gamma-ray events that are out of this world? Scientists have discovered terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), gamma-ray glows, and even flickering gamma-ray flashes (FGFs) in thunderstorms. These phenomena are shedding light on the complex processes happening in our atmosphere.
According to co-author Professor Steve Cummer, “There is way more going on in thunderstorms than we ever imagined. Essentially all big thunderstorms generate gamma rays all day long in many different forms.”
Contrary to previous beliefs, it seems that lightning may not be the main source of these gamma rays. In fact, the gamma rays might actually trigger the lightning strikes. The team behind this groundbreaking research used NASA’s ER-2 High-Altitude Airborne Science Aircraft to study these phenomena up close.
Professor Nikolai Østgaard, the lead investigator of the project, explained, “The ER-2 aircraft would be the ultimate observing platform for gamma rays from thunderclouds. Flying at 20 km [12.4 miles], we can fly directly over the cloud top, as close as possible to the gamma-ray source.”
The observations also revealed that not all storms are capable of producing gamma rays, but more than half of all tropical storms can. The dynamic nature of these gamma-glowing thunderclouds is changing our understanding of these atmospheric events.
And don’t worry, the gamma-ray emission is not harmful to us on the ground. You’d have to be right in the midst of a storm to experience it, and even then, there are other risks to worry about. If you’re curious to learn more, you can read the full papers in the journal Nature here and here.
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