What are the living beings can cause rain when they need it? It turns out that such power over the weather have on plants and fungi from the rain forests of the Amazon. Scientists have found that they can release into the air of aerosols, which contain crystals of salts and organic molecules. And those are just the centers of condensation of rain drops.

Endless, full of mysteries tropical forests, growing along the banks of the Amazon river and its tributaries, is rightfully called the rain. As it turned out, they can themselves cause rain. Of course, in this case we are talking not about seasonal rains that water the Amazonia from June to October - they depend on global atmospheric processes.

However, it has long been observed that rainfall over the Amazon forests are going and when, in theory they should not do. Strong they aren't, and global, that in such situations, it's pouring, as a rule, on some small plot vast jungle. However, from the point of view of meteorology these rains look like nonsense - in such moments large humid air masses over these territories not. Why heaven spewing streams of water over the forest?

Recently, this mystery seems to have been solved by scientists. Professor Christopher Pelicer from the chemistry Institute of max Plank Society (Germany) and his colleagues hypothesized that these strange rain clouds form itself Selva. It is known that due to the constant moisture evaporation over tropical forests constantly hanging fog. Recent studies ecologists showed that there are quite a lot of organic molecules and crystals of various salts. So maybe they and their role as centers of condensation of rain drops?

A group of Pelicer conducted chemical analyses of samples of such aerosols produced at the end of the rainy season last year, 150 km North-West of Brazil Manaus. The study showed that the mist over the Selva chock full of potassium salts. In addition, in aerosols with a diameter of about 0.15 millimeters on this salt core accounts for 20 percent of the masses, and in the larger particles, the share of salts slightly less.

Why the fog was so salty? Scientists decided to find out how the crystals were in the forest evaporation. It is known that potassium-rich particles are often in smoke from forest fires with the help of which people are clearing land. However, this version had to be dropped because the samples collected by scientists, not contain soot, which must be present in the smoke from the fires. In addition, according to satellite observations, at this time in the area of Manaus large fire was not.

Expressed another hypothesis: this salt could "fly" from the Atlantic ocean, because he also is a powerful evaporator. However, it has not been confirmed: first, the shore is located far away from the place of field research, and also to leeward. And secondly, the composition of the particles from manowski samples differed greatly from that of sea salt.

It turns out that the particles accumulated in the air due to the activity of the plants themselves. This version is confirmed more thorough analysis of the salt nuclei, in which there were discovered organic molecules. The study showed that many of them are of vegetable origin with carbohydrates and fats, which the inhabitants of the Amazonian forests synthesized in the past year. And tried not only forest giants, but also tiny mushrooms: in air samples found many of their dispute.

Thus it was clear that the rain themselves "order" this forest. Indeed, the work of the previous years show that the salt crystals are not centers of condensation over the oceans, for example, quite a lot, but the rains there every hour not fall). However, they are easily adsorb on its surface various organic molecules. This combination can cause the formation of rain drops, so necessary to the inhabitants of the jungle.

But why all the same salt is in the air? The thing is that, vaporizing moisture through the stomata on leaves, plants emit and many ions - for example, potassium and chlorine: in the cell always have. Mushrooms also help struggling: spraying disputes, they emit a drop of liquid, carbohydrate and all the same ions potassium and chlorine. This is done in order dispute, once on the ground, immediately appeared in the conditions conducive to the germination (sugar, potassium and chlorine are necessary for normal growth of mycelium). However insidious flows of the rising warm air carries all of this fungal spray up, they have to take part in the formation of rain (which for germination is also useful).

It turns out that tropical forests care about their constant moisture. After all, if itself will not save from the drought, it does not do no other. In fact, and people would do well to learn from them useful experience by bringing rain - you look, abnormally hot years will become the property of history. However, in order to cause the rain when you need, need not to save on potassium salts and organic molecules...