{"id":3572,"date":"2019-07-11T12:14:53","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T12:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=3572"},"modified":"2019-07-12T10:10:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T10:10:00","slug":"the-ripple-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2019\/07\/11\/the-ripple-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ripple Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Researchers tell us what we can learn from the Second World War bombing raids that made their mark on the edge of space.<\/span><\/p>\n

Allied bombing raids during the Second World War may have caused devastation on the ground, but the explosions were so powerful that their effects were felt on the edge of space.<\/p>\n

Research carried out at the University of Reading has revealed that the impact of explosives such as the 10-tonne \u201cGrand Slam\u201d dropped on German targets between 1943 and 1945 was so great that it weakened the electrified upper atmosphere, known as the ionosphere, above Slough \u2013 some 1,000km away.<\/p>\n

\"\"The findings, by Professor of Space and Atmospheric Physics, Chris Scott, and modern historian, Professor Patrick Major, will be used to further our understanding of how natural forces from below, including lightning, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, affect the Earth\u2019s upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Professor Scott said: \u201cThe images of neighbourhoods across Europe reduced to rubble due to wartime air raids are a lasting reminder of the destruction that can be caused by man-made explosions \u2013 but the impact of these bombs way up in the Earth\u2019s atmosphere has never been realised until now.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt is astonishing to see how the ripples caused by man-made explosions can affect the edge of space.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Professor Scott\u2019s investigation stemmed from a previous piece of his research that showed that a specific layer of the ionosphere \u2013 which affects modern technologies such as radio communications, GPS systems, radio telescopes and some early warning radar \u2013 was actually enhanced by lightning storms.<\/p>\n

The discovery posed the question of what was causing the enhancement. Were shockwaves from thunder rippling through the atmosphere or could it be the result of a bolt of lightning travelling upwards?<\/p>\n

Realising that finding the answer would require ionospheric measurements from periods where there had been shockwaves but no lightning, Professor Scott began the hunt for significant ground-based explosions.<\/p>\n

Slough and the Second World War<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"An initial request for input from quarries and demolition companies proved fruitless as\u00a0the\u00a0explosives they used were too small, but the academic found his solution in information gathered at the Radio Research Centre in Slough during the Second World War.<\/p>\n

The centre recorded daily data by sending sequences of radio pulses over a range of shortwave frequencies 100-300 km above the Earth\u2019s surface to reveal the height and electron concentration of ionisation within the upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that period was a source of explosions and that there was data available,\u201d he explained. \u201cMy challenge was to think what I could possibly do to determine when the explosions were happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given Slough\u2019s proximity to London, Professor Scott zeroed in on the bombing of England\u2019s capital city during the Blitz and duly contacted Professor Major \u2013 who soon poured cold water on the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem was twofold,\u201d said Professor Scott. \u201cThe bombing in the Blitz was continuous, so you have very little opportunity to see what it would be like if the bombing wasn\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSecondly, the German Luftwaffe used twin-engine bombers which weren\u2019t able to carry the sort of heavy bombs the Allied forces\u2019 four-engined planes could manage.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

With the size and frequency of bombing raids over London ruling them out of the study, Professor Scott had to look further afield. As luck would have it, his cross-disciplinary relationship with Professor Major again came to the fore.<\/p>\n

An astonishing discovery<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The historian had been researching the socio-political aspects of the bombing of Berlin and had prepared a spreadsheet detailing the times and dates of Allied raids over the German capital between 1943 and 1945.<\/p>\n

The academics were able to cross-check this data with the information from the Radio Research Centre \u2013 and were amazed by what they found.<\/p>\n

Professor Scott said: \u201cBerlin is 1,000 km away from Slough as the bomber flies, so I wasn\u2019t expecting to see anything. But I plugged the numbers in and, low and behold, these bombing raids in Germany seemed to be weakening the ionosphere above Slough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was astonished that something so far away could have such an effect, and it was the first clue that perhaps it isn\u2019t the same shockwaves from the thunderstorms causing the atmospheric disturbance \u2013 it is most likely some electrical connection because if you just have the bombing alone it weakens the ionosphere. This is really helping us to understand the physics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The phenomenal horizontal distance across which the Berlin bombings were making themselves felt is remarkable, but the vertical figures are equally astounding. The layers at which the recordings were made are about 250 km up in the atmosphere \u2013 150km higher than you have to fly to be classified as an astronaut. As Professor Scott put it, \u201cit\u2019s space by anyone\u2019s definition\u201d.<\/p>\n

Boosted by the Berlin data, the researchers widened their geographic net to include other major air raids over continental Europe and were able to show a \u201csignificant response\u201d from bombing across Germany and in France \u2013 including those in Normandy in support of the D-Day landings.<\/p>\n

Aside from their historical significance, Professor Scott and Professor Major\u2019s findings may make it easier for scientists to predict changes in the ionosphere caused by events below rather than the solar activity above, which is already comparatively well understood. Professor Scott said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe have got this quantifiable result, we know what sort of energies cause an effect and can look to nature to see what we think is likely to happen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMajor thunderstorms might be causing some of this variability, seismic activity \u2013 earthquakes and volcanoes \u2013 too, and we know that there are some meteorological phenomena known as sudden stratospheric warmings that can also influence the ionosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have computer models that tell us when it\u2019s likely to be thundery and what the energy of those storms is likely to be, so we could potentially start to have a much better understanding of where and when the ionosphere is going to be perturbed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Reading-based ionospheric investigation provides an excellent example of the benefit of cross-department collaboration and Professor Scott was quick to acknowledge the importance of discoveries made \u201cat the boundaries of disciplines\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the most interesting conversations I have had are with people who have an interest in some other field,\u201d he concluded. \u201cBetween you, you can try and bring your expertise to bear and get some unique insights as a consequence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find out more about Professor Scott and Professor Major\u2019s research<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers tell us what we can learn from the Second World War bombing raids that made their mark on the edge of space. Allied bombing raids during the Second World War may have caused devastation on the ground, but the explosions were so powerful that their effects were felt on the edge of space. 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