26 January 2013, DailyMailUK
At first glance they may look like they have fallen from the sky in a clean and perfect form – but hailstones and clouds are actually filled with bacteria and over 3,000 chemical compounds, scientists revealed today.
The Danish researchers analyzed hailstones recovered after a storm in May 2009 and found that they carried several species of bacteria typically found on plants and almost 3000 different compounds usually found in soil.
The team say their finding could have major implications for our understanding of weather patterns, and that certain bacteria may even trigger hailstorms.
Really would be good to know what chemical compounds were found in these hailstones. I hear snow also has the same mix and probably too the bacteria if its coming from the same source, i.e. out of planes
No mention of barium, nor aluminium.
More information: Santl-Temkiv T, Finster K, Dittmar T, Hansen BM, Thyrhaug R, et al. (2013) Hailstones: A Window into the Microbial and Chemical Inventory of a Storm Cloud. PLOS ONE 8(1): e53550.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0053550
Journal reference: PLoS ONE search and more info website Provided by Public Library of Science search and more info website
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-hailstones-reveal-life-storm-cloud.html#jCp