Salt sprays distributed by strong winds and not heat bursts scorched plants at several places along Kerala coast in June, says a team of scientists from Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies after a preliminary study of the phenomenon.
A team of oceanographers, geologists, meteorologists, biologists and chemists from the university studied samples of sea water, soil and plant remains at the sites from where scorching were reported to reach their conclusion, said a Kufos press release here on Wednesday.
The Kufos team will make further studies as the phenomenon was more likely to be an oceanic process, calling for detailed examination of atmospheric, oceanographic and chemical aspects.
Oceanographic aspects like sea surface temperature, sea level rise and variations in tides along the Kerala coast must be studied on a long-term basis to asses the impact of climate change and associated phenomena, said the Vice-Chancellor of the University B. Madhusoodana Kurup.
S. Suresh Kumar, head of the panel of scientists, ruled out the possibility of heat burst and was quoted as saying that heat bursts were rare and localised phenomena. However, scorching of the plants was reported all along the coast.
Salt nucleus formed from salt spray carried by strong winds singed the plants. The chances of salt spray are high as aerosols with high salt content are formed by the action of the wind on waves.
“Intermittent rain and sunshine during the monsoon may have aggravated the situation, the press release said citing the scientists.
Local inquiry confirmed the occurrence of similar phenomena for the last several years during August-September.
However, this year the phenomenon occurred early in June.
