Video: How the smell of rain happens | Earth | EarthSky

"The researchers used high-speed cameras to capture raindrops falling on 28 different types of surfaces and studied what happened to the raindrops on impact.

They observed that when a raindrop hits a surface, it traps tiny air bubbles at the point of contact. As in a glass of champagne, the bubbles then shoot upward, ultimately bursting from the drop in a fizz of aerosols.

The researchers suspect that in natural environments, aerosols may carry aromatic elements (this is, smells), perhaps along with bacteria and viruses stored in soil. These aerosols may be released during light or moderate rainfall, and then spread via gusts of wind."

Video: How the smell of rain happens | Earth | EarthSky