Can Weather Spark Life?

We all understand the key role that weather plays in creating life. When it comes to severe weather however, we often focus on the danger, destruction and death that they deliver. But is that fair? Take something like lightning … is it just a source of danger? In this episode we explore the role lightning places in creating life.

Some links from this episode:

• Past lightning related episodes
  • Smell of rain – http://www.whatisitabouttheweather.com/2016/06/17/the-smell-of-rain/
  • Lightning direction – http://www.whatisitabouttheweather.com/2016/08/12/lightning-up-or-down/
  • Forecasting lightning – http://www.whatisitabouttheweather.com/2016/08/26/can-lightning-be-forecast/
• Bacteria are genetically modified by lightning
  • https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6525-bacteria-are-genetically-modified-by-lightning/
• Spark for Life: Lightning Strikes Create Minerals Crucial for Early Organisms
  • https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spark-for-life-lightning/
• Lightning Helps Fertilize The Soil
  • https://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/lightening-helps-fertilize-soil/
• The favorite of my lightning pics
  • https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipM1gwhnTNlON0vr3UOw5B3ZKVgPl0vQsKY3xsXD
• A space window to electrifying science
  • https://phys.org/news/2018-03-space-window-electrifying-science.html
• Eastern Europe is covered in a dusting of Instagram-worthy orange snow right now
  • http://metro.co.uk/2018/03/28/eastern-europe-covered-dusting-instagram-worthy-orange-snow-right-now-7422992/
• National Weather Podcast Month
  • http://www.weatherpodcastmonth.com/

And now for the episode …