- 4 weeks ago
Join us as we unravel nature's enigmatic wonders and emphasize the importance of caution in the face of such compelling but potentially hazardous spectacles.
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00:00On some nights, when the sky over a powerful thunderstorm is clear, you might see elves, gnomes, trolls, or blue
00:08jets.
00:09Blue jets sound kind of random here, right?
00:11But we're not actually talking about fairy tales.
00:15These are all just different types of lightning flashes that are mostly visible very high above raging thunderstorm clouds.
00:25Let's take red sprites.
00:27Those are flashes of light that appear above thunderstorms that come in clusters.
00:33They are rare because they're only caused by a specific type of lightning called positive cloud-to-ground strikes.
00:40So a positive charge is transferred from a thundercloud to the ground during a lightning strike.
00:47These types of lightning make up only 10% of all lightning strikes.
00:53For more than half a century, many believed these flashes were just urban legends.
00:59People did see them from time to time, but the flashes were so brief that even if you had been
01:04lucky enough to catch them,
01:05you wouldn't have had time to call someone to witness this phenomenon with you.
01:11Even when respectable scientists or pilots would talk about them, the scientific community would mostly ignore them.
01:18In 1989, something strange happened.
01:22The researchers from the University of Minnesota actually managed to catch sprites on film.
01:27And that's how it started.
01:28People across the world began sharing videos and photos of red sprites.
01:36Red sprites can start as 328-foot balls made of ionized air.
01:41These balls shoot down from heights of about 50 miles at 10% of the speed of light.
01:48And researchers have been studying not only the lightning that plunges down from ranging clouds,
01:54but these colorful flashes that go towards space too.
01:58So, electricity stretches up to the electrically charged ionosphere,
02:02but at the same time, it crushes down towards the ground.
02:07Red sprites come in different shapes,
02:09like these big, cool jellyfish sprites that sometimes have areas that measure up to 30 square miles.
02:16You may see carrot sprites or column sprites.
02:20They're similar.
02:20It's just that carrots also have long tendrils.
02:23The lower parts of tendrils are often blue, while the higher ones are red.
02:29On August 22, 2022,
02:31we were able to take some stunning photos of bread-right streaks in the sky above the Atacama Desert in
02:38Chile.
02:38They were surrounded by another bigger glow of greenish color.
02:42It's something we call air glow,
02:45and you can only see it this well when there's no light pollution.
02:50It's basically when we use too much artificial light,
02:53and among other things,
02:54it doesn't allow us to observe stars and other objects we might otherwise see in the sky.
03:01And this air glow happens because of atoms of nitrogen and oxygen in our atmosphere.
03:07Sunlight knocks away their electrons during daytime.
03:10Then, they slowly recombine with their electrons, which is a process that causes them to glow.
03:17How can you see a red sprite?
03:20First, you need to find a large thunderstorm.
03:23They're more common during summer and spring, for example in June.
03:27Of course, sprites can appear at any time if there are powerful enough storms with lightning at ground level.
03:35The skies need to be clear and very dark, ideally without bright moonlight.
03:40And the storm should be around 100 to 200 miles away.
03:45That way, clouds won't block the sky and you'll have better visibility.
03:49In the perfect scenario, the storm will be moving along a distant horizon.
03:55So, you'll be able to see everything above the cloud tops.
03:58You can track a storm with weather radar.
04:02Your eyes need some time to adapt to the darkness around you.
04:06Give them some time, about 20 to 30 minutes.
04:10Keep your eyes above the clouds and try not to look at the clouds directly.
04:15Ignore lightning flashes.
04:16A sprite will pop maybe once for every 200 lightning strikes.
04:22Don't expect to really capture it on camera.
04:24It's not easy.
04:25But the view itself will likely be worth the wait.
04:29This and similar flashy events are something we call TLEs, which stands for transient luminous events.
04:38Blue jets are also worth mentioning.
04:40These are dim blue lights that stream up like a very fast puff of smoke above powerful hailstorms.
04:47They're also very rare, and in most cases, you'll only be able to see them from an airplane.
04:54And now we get to those fairytale creatures.
04:57Elves, when we talk about lightning flashes, are brief disks of dim light you can see about 60 miles high
05:04in the atmosphere.
05:06It's just an abbreviation.
05:08Their full name is emissions of light and very low frequency perturbations due to electromagnetic pulse sources.
05:15Yeah, I suggest we stick to elves.
05:19Moving to trolls.
05:20Those are red spots that pop close to cloud tops after the flash of a very powerful red sprite.
05:28Gnomes are the smallest and fastest flashes.
05:31We're talking about tiny white spikes of light that flash from the top of a big anvil of thunderclouds.
05:38The anvil is that elongated cloud you see at the top of a raging storm.
05:44It spreads downwind together with upper-level winds, and gnomes last for only a microsecond.
05:51And check this out.
05:53Ball lightning is in the shape of fiery orbs that can be as big as a golf ball or can
05:58grow up to a very large beach ball.
06:01They can be yellow, red, white, orange, green, or purple.
06:06And they can stay alive for a couple of seconds, even minutes sometimes.
06:11For the centuries, many people have been talking about how they saw ball lightning, sometimes even floating into their homes.
06:19But such events are really unpredictable and happen very rarely.
06:24Scientists have managed to recreate ball lightning in the lab, or at least something very similar to it.
06:31They have realized that ball lightning probably shows up after a lightning bolt strikes the ground.
06:37Mineral grains in the soil then vaporize.
06:42Here's something spectacular.
06:44Volcanic lightning.
06:45This one is born in the plumes of a wild volcanic eruption.
06:50Like the rest of thunderstorms,
06:52volcanic lightning forms when static electricity builds up in Earth's atmosphere.
06:58And then it gets released in the shape of a lightning bolt.
07:01Scientists don't understand the whole mechanism here, but they think it's related to charging.
07:08For example, ice charging is what causes thunderstorms to form.
07:12It plays a part in producing lightning during volcanic eruptions too.
07:17This happens when the air heated in an eruption rises into the sky and meets cold air.
07:24The water from the eruption turns into ice particles, and when these particles bump into each other, some electrons get
07:31knocked off.
07:32The ice particles that now have more positive charges move higher into the sky and gather together.
07:38Or, it may be frictional charging, another thing that leads to volcanic lightning.
07:43The same as ice charging happens when tiny particles of ice collide.
07:48Here we have ash and pieces of rock colliding and creating charged ions.
07:54There's dark lightning too.
07:56Over 10 years ago, researchers discovered that thunderstorms could generate brief but very strong bursts of gamma rays,
08:03which is the form of light with the highest energy.
08:05They are so bright that they can blind sensors on satellites, even when they're hundreds of miles away.
08:12They can also create antimatter.
08:15Antimatter is a type of matter made of particles with opposite charges compared to the particles in normal matter.
08:22Imagine having two boxes full of blocks.
08:25Some blocks are red and some are blue.
08:27When these pairs touch each other, they disappear or annihilate and turn into energy.
08:33That's what happens when particles of matter and antimatter meet.
08:37And these flashes could be the result of dark lightning because it gives off light that's not really visible.
08:45Regular lightning involves slow electrons.
08:48In dark lightning, electrons are high energy.
08:51They crash into air molecules and, by doing that, produce gamma rays.
08:56Whale watching is a popular bucket list item, but getting too close to these gorgeous sea creatures isn't the best
09:03idea,
09:03especially if you don't want to kick the bucket too early.
09:07Whales are generally curious and friendly giants, but they can be unpredictable when you cross their personal borders.
09:13First of all, they are huge, and one wrong move on their side could flip over your boat or seriously
09:20hurt you.
09:21Second, they are wild animals.
09:23And like any other wild animals, they can carry certain infections they could transfer to you if you get into
09:29direct contact.
09:30Plus, they have strong parental instincts.
09:32So, if you approach their young by accident, they might think you want to take them away and will act
09:39accordingly.
09:39It is only safe to observe whales from the sea when you are accompanied by an experienced expert, both for
09:45your own good and for the good of the whale.
09:50Now, sometimes whales and dolphins strand themselves on the shore for reasons scientists still can't explain.
09:57Quite recently, over 200 whales have been found on a remote beach in Tasmania, Australia.
10:03A rescue team rushed to the location to save the whales, half of which were still alive.
10:08The rescue operation was really complex due to the remote location.
10:12The locals were trying to help the whales, covering them with blankets and pouring buckets of water on them to
10:18keep them alive.
10:19This mutual effort of regular people and professional rescuers helped save around 100 whales.
10:25As to why this happened, one theory says the stranded whales might have had a leader who had some problems
10:31with orientation and took the whole pod to the wrong place.
10:37The Australian box jellyfish looks just like any other jellyfish you've probably met in the sea.
10:43But don't let these creatures deceive you.
10:46They're considered the most venomous marine animals.
10:49Box jellyfish got its name because it does look a lot like a box.
10:54Unlike other kinds of jellyfish that float with the current rather than swim,
10:58this creature can reach a decent speed and choose its own direction.
11:02And here comes the scariest part.
11:04It has tentacles covered with tiny darts loaded with poison.
11:09Mmm.
11:09People and animals that get unlucky enough to have a rendezvous with those tentacles
11:14face some pretty scary and sometimes even fatal consequences in just a matter of minutes.
11:20Before you decide to cancel your vacation by the ocean,
11:23you should know that only a few out of the 50 species of box jellyfish have venom that is lethal
11:30to humans.
11:31There are some not-so-dangerous species living in warm coastal waters worldwide,
11:36and the lethal ones reside in the Indo-Pacific region and northern Australia.
11:41Good day, mate!
11:43Hmm?
11:43A blue-ringed octopus likes to pretend its only outstanding feature is the psychedelic color,
11:49but it can quickly and easily take away your life.
11:53This cute-looking sea monster likes to spend its time in the soft, sandy bottom
11:58or shallow tide pools and coral reefs.
12:00It normally hides in underwater crevices among shells or debris.
12:05If you somehow manage to find and disturb it there,
12:08the octopus will show you its signature blue rings as a warning signal.
12:12And if you don't get the hint, it will introduce you to its other signature feature,
12:18a venom a thousand times more powerful than cyanide.
12:22One octopus has enough of it to do away with 26 people within minutes.
12:26This venom is more toxic than that of land mammals.
12:30The octopus normally uses it to hunt crabs, shrimp, and small fish
12:34by pecking them with its beak and paralyzing them.
12:38The same can happen to a human victim.
12:40You'll unlikely even feel the bite until it's too late.
12:44The good news is that there have been no known cases of such incidents since the 1960s.
12:50If you don't disturb the blue-ringed octopus, it will never attack you first.
12:56If you enjoy picking shells on the beach, make sure the ones you collect don't belong to a cone snail.
13:03It's nothing like its relatives living on land and eating fresh leaves and bark.
13:08There are over 500 species of this venomous sea creature, and a few that can really hurt you.
13:13These little snails are extremely vicious, just like Jimmy from third grade.
13:18They inject their venom through a harpoon-like tooth.
13:21The consequences of this injection can be quite terrible for you.
13:25Now, are you afraid of snakes?
13:28Well, I have some bad news for you.
13:30You can't escape them even in the water.
13:33Certain kinds of these creatures have adapted to live both on land and in the sea,
13:38especially in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
13:41All the species we know so far are venomous, and sometimes an encounter with them can be super dangerous.
13:48The good news is that they only bite if you disturb them.
13:52So, the safest way to go is in the opposite direction of these slithery sea creatures.
13:57Not only venomous sea creatures present a danger to you while you're in the water.
14:02Strong earthquakes sometimes cause the formation of massive ocean waves.
14:06If they head ashore, they hardly leave anything intact in their way.
14:11You know this dangerous sea phenomenon as a tsunami.
14:14There is also another type of this natural disaster called a meteor tsunami.
14:19They're caused by rapid storm systems and pressure changes above the open water.
14:24A powerful storm can generate a whole wall of water.
14:28Sometimes, this wall grows several feet high while it moves through a shallow continental shelf, inlets, or bays.
14:35If it gets strong enough, it can damage houses close to the water.
14:38It's really tricky to forecast or detect a meteor tsunami, because it's nearly impossible to tell from a seismic one.
14:46It happens much more often than regular tsunamis, especially in the Great Lakes area.
14:51Now, the ocean can be dangerous to you, even if you're staying in what seems like safety on the shore.
14:57One such unpleasant surprise could be a sneaker wave moving your way.
15:01As you can guess from its name, waves like this sneak out on unsuspecting beach goers.
15:08They look average, but turn out to be way bigger and more dangerous than you can imagine.
15:13Sneaker waves always appear without warning, after smaller waves carry huge amounts of water, sand, and gravel.
15:20They're so powerful, they can carry swimmers further away into the ocean.
15:24They can swipe you off your feet and into the water when you're casually strolling on a jetty or the
15:30beach or on an outcropping nearby.
15:33Oregon State University researchers found that sneaker waves form in offshore storms that carry wind energy to the ocean surface.
15:41With all that energy, several waves unite and overlap into one beast that stands higher and goes further ashore than
15:49a regular wave.
15:50Another thing that makes them more dangerous is that they're hard to predict.
15:54The logic of regular wave formation doesn't work with them.
15:59Square waves, looking like a giant chessboard over the ocean, are the reason many people visit the Isle of Re,
16:05off the western coast of France.
16:07If you visit it, you'll notice plenty of signs warning you to stay away from the water once you notice
16:14the unusual pattern.
16:15The safest way to observe it is from high up places like nearby lighthouses.
16:20If you decide to stay in the water, the strong currents coming from two directions can literally sweep you off
16:26your feet.
16:30Generally, waves can travel many miles over the surface of the water, depending on local winds and weather.
16:37And even on days when the weather seems somewhat calm, storms located elsewhere can send in crashing waves that affect
16:44the surrounding calm waters.
16:46When waves travel onto the shores of distant lands, they're called swells.
16:51This is different from a wave that occurs from the local wind.
16:54When two different swells coming from opposite directions meet, it's known as a cross sea.
17:00This is what generates these square waves that you see near the Isle of Re.
17:04The cross sea phenomenon can appear in different locations around the world.
17:08The Isle of Re is one of them, thanks to specific wind and weather patterns that create the perfect storm,
17:15which makes this cross sea so beautiful and well recognizable.
17:20Well, wasn't that swell?
17:22Swell? Eh, never mind.
17:24...
17:24Not on the wavelength in the water.
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