閃電會幫助大氣自我凈化

雷雨時劃破長空的閃電有一個你不知道的功能，那就是凈化空氣，而且還有助于抗擊全球氣候變暖。新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，閃電會釋放大量的“化學清洗劑”，幫助大氣自我凈化。

What is the purpose of lightning? That might sound like a deeply philosophicalquestion, but scientists may have shed some more light on the answer with the results of a recently released study.

閃電的功能是什么？聽上去可能像是一個深刻的哲學問題，但是科學家最近發(fā)布的一項研究結(jié)果也許能對這一問題的答案帶來一些啟示。

The new study published at the end of April in Science found that lightning may play a bigger role in global climate change than was previouslyknown by the scientific community. "Lightning increases the atmosphere's ability to cleanseitself," the researchers wrote in the study.

這項四月末發(fā)表在《科學》雜志上的新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，閃電對全球氣候變化的影響力可能比科學界先前所了解的更大。研究人員在報告中寫道：“閃電會提高大氣自我凈化的能力。”

Many are familiar with the potentially deadly hazards posed by lightning, which is blamed for an average of 43 fatalitiesin the United States each year, based on data from 1989 to 2018. Although the oddsof being struck are quite low -- 1 in 1,222,000 in a given year and 1 in 15,300 in a lifetime -- many in the weather community have long urged people to take proper precautions to stay safe amid storms, which can frequently trigger lightning, even without turning severe.

許多人對閃電潛在的致命危害很熟悉，基于1989年到2018年的數(shù)據(jù)，美國每年平均有43人因閃電而喪生。盡管被閃電擊中的概率相當?shù)?，一年被閃電擊中的概率只有122.2萬分之一，一輩子的概率只有15300分之一，但是長久以來氣象界一直敦促人們在暴雨來臨時采取適當?shù)姆婪洞胧┮员ＷC安全，暴雨經(jīng)常會引發(fā)閃電，即使不是強暴雨也可能出現(xiàn)閃電。

However, the researchers recently uncovered a surprising and beneficial impact of lightning.

然而，研究人員最近發(fā)現(xiàn)了閃電的一個驚人的有益影響。

The Earth is struck by lightning nearly 20 million times each year, and bolts of lightning can travel as much as 10 to 12 miles from a thunderstorm, instantly heating the air to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheitresearchers across a dozen universities and meteorological agencies, was based on an airborne research flight conducted by a NASA DC-8 storm-chasing plane in 2012. The plane was used to examine the top portion of thunderstorm clouds, which are known as anvilsthought there was a problem with the equipment on the plane, which was being used to measure the hydroxyl radicals(OH) in the atmosphere until they realized spikesthey observed corresponded with lightning flashes, ABC News reported.

據(jù)ABC新聞網(wǎng)報道，該研究的合著者、賓夕法尼亞州立大學的氣象學和大氣學教授威廉·布龍博士稱，研究人員一開始認為飛機上用來測量大氣中的羥基自由基的設(shè)備有問題，直到他們觀察到羥基自由基水平的飆升和閃電有關(guān)。

Hydroxyl radicals, described as a "chemical scavengerin the atmosphere. These chemicals, known for being greenhouse gases, have been proven to contribute to rising temperatures associated with climate change.

為什么大氣中的氧化很重要？因為氧化過程有助于降低大氣中一氧化碳和甲烷等化學物質(zhì)含量。經(jīng)證實，這些被稱為溫室氣體的化學物質(zhì)導致氣溫升高，而氣溫升高和氣候變化有關(guān)。

Researchers say that more studies will need to be conducted to verify the degree to which lightning contributes to the fight against global climate change.

研究人員表示，還需要開展更多研究，才能確定閃電對于抗擊全球氣候變化的貢獻程度。