Mondo Knows Facts
Geosmin creates the smell of rain
Soil bacteria release a compound the human nose detects in parts per trillion Geosmin is produced by Streptomyces bacteria and gives damp earth its familiar scent, known as petrichor. Raindrops hitting soil launch tiny aerosols that carry the compound into the air. People detect it at concentrations of a few nanograms per litre of water. It sits in Mondo's science collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
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Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
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Tags: chemistry, smell, bacteria
Geosmin creates the smell of rain: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Soil bacteria release a compound the human nose detects in parts per trillion. The figure is taken from Nature, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a science fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.