In the mid-twentieth century, humans were exploring an incipient and very powerful technology. The properties of radioactivity have been known since the 19th century, and at the beginning of the Second World War the atomic bomb was developed, a very powerful discharge of energy caused by a very determined use of this energy source. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki disaster showed the horrors of nuclear weapons. Although the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed in the 1960s, which would enter into force in 1972, and nuclear energy began to be used for peaceful uses that were very beneficial for the human being and the planet; some countries still continued to test nuclear weapons during the Cold War to demonstrate their military might.
Today we know that some regions of the planet where nuclear tests were carried out, such as the Marshall Islands, are a dangerous area and not suitable for the settlement of the population.
As well; New research from the University of Reading points to a consequence not just regional, but global: Some of the nuclear tests conducted during the Cold War may have changed rainfall patterns . And, as we mentioned, not at the local level, but the tests could have altered these weather patterns thousands of kilometers from where the bombs were detonated.
Radioactivity ionizes the air
More specifically, the study concludes that nuclear bombs, detonated mainly by the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s, affected rain clouds, due to the electrical charge released: radioactivity ionizes the air, releasing electrical charge. The study enjoys the prestige of having been published by the journal Physical Review Letters . In it, the researchers detail how the clouds of those days were visibly thicker, and there was 24% more rain on average on the days with the most radioactivity.
Scientists already knew that nuclear tests had affected the atmospheric circulation. But this is the first time that changes in rainfall patterns have been detailed. According to Professor Giles Harrison, Lead Author and Professor of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Reading: “By studying the radioactivity released from Cold War weapons tests, scientists at that time learned about atmospheric circulation patterns. We have now reused this data to examine its effect on rain. ”And he continues, ironic: “ The ‘charged environment’ of the Cold War has given us a unique way to study how electrical charge affects rain. “
For more details: Researchers, from the Universities of Reading, Bath and Bristol, studied records from well-equipped research meteorological stations from the Met Office in Kew, near London, and Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, northwest of Scotland. The Shetland rain these days showed differences, which disappeared after the main episode of radioactivity ended.
The previous knowledge that scientists had about how electrical charge modifies rain patterns is that this energy modifies the way that water droplets collide and combine in clouds, which could affect the size of the droplets and influence the rain But this is difficult to observe in the atmosphere. By combining bomb test data with ancient weather records, scientists were able to investigate this phenomenon retrospectively. Thus, the researchers note that, although the detonations took place in remote parts of the world, such as the Nevada desert in the United States, and on the islands of the Pacific and the Arctic, the radioactive contamination was widespread throughout the world. atmosphere.
The findings of the new study will allow scientists to better understand these types of meteorological processes. But, in addition, the findings may be useful for geoengineering research, which explores how electrical charge could influence rain, alleviate droughts or prevent floods, without the use of chemicals.
Referencias:
Harrison, G., Nicoll, K., Ambaum, M., Marlton, G., Aplin, K., Lockwood, M. (2020); ‘Precipitation modification by ionisation’; Physical Review Letters; doi: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.198701
