Dirty thunderstorm
A dirty thunderstorm (also, Volcanic lightning) is a weather phenomenon that is related to the production of lightning in a volcanic plume.[1]
A famous image of the phenomenon was photographed by Carlos Gutierrez and occurred in Chile above the Chaiten Volcano.[2] It circulated widely on the internet.
Other instances have been reported above Alaska's Mount Augustine volcano,[3] Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano[4] and Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy.[5]
Causes
A study in the journal Science indicated that electrical charges are generated when rock fragments, ash, and ice particles in a volcanic plume collide and produce static charges, just as ice particles collide in regular thunderstorms. [6]
As the plume started going downwind, it seemed to have a life of its own and produced some 300 more or less normal [lightning bolts] ... The implication is that it has produced more charge than it started with. Otherwise [the plume] couldn't continue to make lightning.
—Martin A. Uman, co-director of the University of Florida Lightning Research program
Volcanic eruptions also release large amounts of water, which may help fuel these thunderstorms.
References
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External Links
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