Lightning

Sound of Lightning

Description

Photo courtesy of Moonraker Australia

Lightning strikes the coastal ocean at a rate of about 2 strikes per square kilometer per year. Lightning in the open ocean is rare. Most people are very familiar with lightning because lightning strikes the land much more often than the ocean. In the arctic and antarctic there is very little lightning.

References

  • Arnold, R. T., Bass, H. E., & Atchley, A. A. (1984). Underwater sound from lightning strikes to water in the Gulf of Mexico. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 76(1), 320–322. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.391065
  • Hill, R. D. (1985). Investigation of lightning strikes to water surfaces. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 78(6), 2096–2099. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.392668