Key control in the smell of rain:
- The smell of rain is known as Petrichor, a term derived from Petro, which means Roca and Ichor, which means dim essence.
- The smell is generated from a approaching rain storm. However, if the ground is already too humid and saturated, the envoy could be dominated. If there is a ray with the storm, the smell could be intensified.
- Petrichor is made of the organic compound known as Geosmin. This compound is created from certain bacteria as plant matter decomposes.
If your idea of said is to sit on the porch or next to an open window with a cup of your favorite hot drink, enjoying a rainy day, then it is probably a rainforeophyl, someone who loves the rain. But before the rain begins, something that delights even people who are not so delighted with the rain itself begin. It is the arrival of the aroma that announces the beginning of the rain.
What is the name of the smell of rain?
The smell of rain is known as Petrichor. The word itself is evocative. Coined in 1964 paper Published in nature, it is a combination of “Petro”, which means stone, and “Ichor”, which means a “dim essence”, then, “a dim essence derived from rock or stone”, according to the authors of the article.
However, the most romantically inclined among us could go with Merriam-Webster and define Ichor as something like, “the fluid that flows through the veins of the gods.”
Read more: Old Wives stories to predict the weather: what is based on science and what is only folklore?
That causes the smell of rain
More prosaically, but no less fascinating, Petrichor’s aroma comes from a chemical compound called Geosmin. Geosmin has a chemical structure similar to alcohol, but its aroma is more pleasant, he explains Timothy LoganAn atmospheric scientist at the University of Texas A&M. In fact, its aroma is often described as “earthy.” We are so sensitive to the GEOSMIN that we can detect very, very low concentrations, perhaps as low as one hundred parts per trillion.
“You don’t need much to make it mobile, and once you start traveling, you go directly to your nose,” says Logan.
The aroma is powerful, but not very durable. It blooms when the dry soil is moistened by the first drops of rain or even in response to an increase in moisture that precedes the rain. However, it is easily diluted, says Logan.
“Those compounds are very soluble. So, if it is too humid, you can never smell it, because they simply drown.”
On the other hand, a storm that is approaching can improve the effect.
“If there is a ray in the distance, the ozone will pump the power of what it smells,” adds Logan, who specializes in studying lightning.
But where does the Geosmin come from? And why are we so in tune with that?
How Geosmin creates the smell of rain
Actinomycetes are a type of soil bacteria that break down dead plant matter. And a particular actinomycete is responsible for producing Geosmin: Streptomyces. If that word sounds vaguely familiar, it is probably due to the fact that streptomycetes have been used to make antibiotics, such as streptomycin, which is produced by Bacteria S. Griseus. But one thing that all streptomycetes have in common is that they produce Geosmin. Each one of them.
This fact intrigued Mark Buttner and Matthew Bush, researchers from the John Innes Center In Norwich, the United Kingdom, they associated with a multinational team of researchers to find out what is happening.
“The fact that everyone will make Geosmin suggested that confer a selective advantage in the bacteria, otherwise they would not,” Buttner said in a statement announcing the investigationwhich was published in Nature in 2020.
Hypotizing that the bacteria were using the GEOSMIN as a signal, the team established barley traps with streptomycetes. The traps caught spring queues, small animals that live in wet soils. The tests showed that spring tails are very receptive to the Geosmin.
Spring tails are attracted to streptomycetes because bacteria are an excellent food source. Although the antibiotic properties of streptomycetes kill nematodes and fruit flies, spring tails have evolved enzymes that neutralize them. The selective advantage for the bacteria? The spring tails extended the spores of streptomycetes. Both spring tails and streptomycetes benefit.
Why are humans sensitive to Petrichor?
Of course, none of this tells us why we are so sensitive to the smell of rain or why we perceive it as so pleasant. That is still a mystery. But there is no doubt that people love the aroma. Some laboratories have tried to create a perfume that smells like Petrichor. They have not been too successful, says Logan.
“You can never do well. Nature knows the exact proportions.”
But, without a doubt, it may be useful to know when the rain is on the way. When our ancestors had a smell of Geosmin, they knew it was time to enter, put the animals in the barn, says Logan. Maybe today we know it is time to prepare a cup of tea.
Read more: Rain may have helped form the first cells, starting life as we know it
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