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Petrichor is the earthy scent often associated with rain falling on dry soil or rock. The smell is associated with oils that accumulate in rocks and soil during dry periods and are released by moisture. The word is derived from the Greek words for stone and ichor, which in Greek mythology is the ethereal blood of the gods.

History of petrichor

Isabel Bear and Richard Thomas, scientists at CSIRO, first described petrichor in a paper published in the journal Nature in March 1964. Thomas coined the term to refer to what had previously been known as argillaceous odour.

How the smell reaches the air

When a raindrop hits a porous surface, it traps tiny air bubbles at the point of contact, and the bubbles then shoot upward, bursting in a fizz of aerosols. The researchers suspect that, in natural environments, aerosols may carry aromatic elements, along with bacteria and viruses stored in soil. The team observed that more aerosols were produced in light and moderate rain, while far fewer aerosols were released during heavy rain.

Geosmin

Geosmin is a chemical with a distinct earthy or musty odor. It is a contributor to the strong scent known as petrichor, which occurs when rain falls after a spell of dry weather or when soil is disturbed. Geosmin is a bicyclic alcohol with the formula C₁₂H₂₂O. The main genus in the Actinomyces that produces geosmin is Streptomyces. Its name comes from the Greek for earth odour. The smell of geosmin was first identified in 1891, while the isolation and structure of the molecule were reported only in 1965, and its synthesis in 1968.

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