How does rain affect scent?
Macey Adams
2025-07-03 13:09:57
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: 12
The pre-rain smell is ozone. Lightning in the clouds splits nitrogen and oxygen gas into single atoms, which recombine into things like nitric acid and ozone. Downdrafts and the first drops of rain carry ozone to the ground, where we experience it as a sweet, lightly acidic smell. As the rain starts falling, drops of water strike plants and the ground and liberate organic compounds and aromatic oils, splashing them into the air as aerosols. Once the soil and dead leaves on its surface become wet, bacteria begin to produce geosmin, an alcohol that’s the signature musty-basement smell of decaying plant matter. In the countryside, these fragrant compounds come from decaying organic material that becomes attached to rock surfaces during dry spells and recombines with elements from the rock to form fatty acids, oils, and alcohols. When a raindrop lands on a porous surface, it flattens out, while air bubbles from the pores and compounds from the soil are drawn into the droplet. These tiny bubbles, like those you see in soda, burst out of the splashing drops as aerosol clouds, wafting their petrichor scent into the air.
Unique Lowe
2025-06-25 04:44:32
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: 13
Many people believe they can smell when it is going to rain, and there is some evidence to support this. When a higher humidity is experienced as a precursor to rain, the pores of rocks and soil become trapped with moisture forcing some of the oils to be released into the air. But the strongest smell is released when rainfall arrives. Raindrops landing on dusty or clay soils trap tiny air bubbles on the surface which then shoot upward - as in a glass of Champagne - and burst out of the drop throwing aerosols of scent into the air where they are then distributed by wind. Release of the scent is most prominent when light/moderate rain falls on sandy or clay soils. During heavy rain, the speed of the drops represses the creation of bubbles stopping the release of aerosols.
Anna Stamm
2025-06-25 01:24:09
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: 11
Precipitation can wash away odour molecules, making it more difficult to smell. However, some odours, such as petrichor (the scent of rain on dry soil), can be intensified by precipitation. The ease and difficulty of smelling can be influenced by several weather factors, these include the following factors of temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation. Rain, snow, and other forms of precipitation can wash away odour molecules, making it more difficult to smell.
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