Last August, the Lebanese capital, Beirut, witnessed a massive explosion in its seaport, killing hundreds, injuring and displacing thousands of the city’s residents. Its vibrations were observed in distant European countries, and its effect was even prolonged. Layers of the atmosphereAccording to recent scientific research.
The explosion was so strong that it was detected in stations about 500 km from Beirut, as a result of the vibrations it caused throughout the area.
Research by researchers from India and Japan notes that the vibrations reached the highest layer in the atmosphere, similar to how some natural disasters affect it.
During their work, the researchers measured the electrical disturbances caused by the explosion in the ionosphere, known as the ionosphere, similar to the effect of volcanic eruptions.
According to the scientist at Hokkaido University of Japan, Kosuke Hickey, “The explosion generated a wave that traveled in the ionosphere towards the south at a speed of about 0.8 kilometers per second.”
And falls The ionosphere At an altitude of about 50 km from the surface of the Earth, it forms a “roof of the globe”, extending for hundreds of kilometers to the edge of outer space.
The team resorted during the research to monitor the movement of microwaves that the global satellite navigation system depends on, on the day of the explosion, to determine the extent of the impact.
The scientists relied on the data to calculate changes in the distribution of electrons within the high atmosphere, which helps to detect any unusual waves.
A comparison conducted by the researchers revealed that the effect of the Beirut explosion on the ionosphere was somewhat more severe than the effect of the Asama volcano eruption in Japan in 2004.