Scientists clueless on red rains yet

By Roy Mathew

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, AUG. 7. Scientists continue to be clueless about the reason for the red rains and other phenomena in the State.

Several scientists come out with hypotheses. But they look amateurish because they are not supported by adequate data or research. The indications are that it would be several days before any explanation that can stand scientific scrutiny emerges. Though the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) here has been working on it for the past two weeks, even the factor that caused the red colour is yet to be identified with certainty not to speak of the origin of the suspended material found in the rain.

Almost every conceivable source has been cited by scientists as the origin of the sediment recovered from the rain water. They included dust from Arabia, meteorite, fungus, volcanic ash, biogas emissions containing particulate matter, red tide and so on.

The scientists of CESS initially hypothesised that the material was of meteorite origin merely on the basis of physical analysis. They also went on to calculate the weight of the meteorite that "exploded" over Changanassery by projecting the weight of the sediments, caught in a vessel, for the entire area where the rain reportedly occurred. They assumed that the explosion spread the particles uniformly over the entire area.

They also heavily depended on a loud noise heard by the people to conclude that it was a meteorite explosion. However, coloured rain had continued to occur in the subsequent days also in places away from Changanassery such as Kollam and Pathanamthitta. None cared to check whether similar noises were heard there also and whether there were more than one "explosion".

However, before anything on that lines could be attempted, the hypothesis got a puncture with the analysis at the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) showing spores of some species of fungus in the sediment. CESS then jumped to the conclusion that "the red colour in the rain water appears to be mainly due to these spores."

However, the scientist, who did the analysis at the TBGRI, Dr. T.K. Abraham, said that the colour could not be attributed to the spores. The spores were not present in enough numbers to give a colouration to the water. He said that it would be another three to five days before the spore is cultured and identified. Then it may be possible to say where it came from.

The presence of large proportion organic matter and carbon in the residue goes against the arguments that the sediments were of meteoric or volcanic origin. Besides carbon, a number of elements such as silicon, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, iron, sodium and potassium have been found in the sediments. There were also trace quantities of phosphorus, titanium, chromium, manganese, copper and nickel. It is not known whether these are part of organic or inorganic material.

If any of this material got into the water locally, that could be ascertained only if samples of coloured rain from other areas are also analysed. However, samples were not collected widely. CESS has got two samples from Pala and Pathanamthitta. These are being analysed.

Meanwhile, any study is yet to begin into the phenomenon of fast drying and dropping leaves reported from Kollam and Thrissur. Also, the scientists are yet to probe whether any material found in the sediments can also be located on the hills reported to have emitted smoke. As there are many angles to the question at hand, only a team work by scientists could unravel the mystery. However, such coordinated efforts are yet to take off. As immediate steps are not being taken for on the spot investigation of the phenomena reported from various parts of the State, several clues are likely to be lost.

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