Petrichor - wikipedia Petrichor `` Scent of rain '' redirects here. For the play, see Scent of Rain. For other uses, see Scent of Rain ( disambiguation ). `` Smell of rain '' redirects here. For the album, see The Smell of Rain. For the song by Phish, see Big Boat. For the song by Paul Kelly, see Life Is Fine. Rainfall Petrichor ( / ˈpɛtrɪkɔːr / ) is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The word is constructed from Greek πέτρα petra, meaning `` stone '', and ἰχώρ īchōr, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology. The term was coined in 1964 by two Australian CSIRO researchers, Isabel Joy Bear and Richard G. Thomas, for an article in the journal Nature. In the article, the authors describe how the smell derives from an oil exuded by certain plants during dry periods, whereupon it is absorbed by clay - based soils and rocks. During rain, the oil is released into the air along with another compound, geosmin, a metabolic by - product of certain actinobacteria, which is emitted by wet soil, producing the distinctive scent ; ozone may also be present if there is lightning. In a follow - up paper, Bear and Thomas ( 1965 ) showed that the oil retards seed germination and early plant growth. In 2015, MIT scientists used high - speed cameras to record how the scent moves into the air. The tests involved approximately 600 experiments on 28 different surfaces, including engineered materials and soil samples. When a raindrop lands on a porous surface, air from the pores forms small bubbles, which float to the surface and release aerosols. Such aerosols carry the scent, as well as bacteria and viruses from the soil. Raindrops that move at a slower rate tend to produce more aerosols ; this serves as an explanation for why the petrichor is more common after light rains. Some scientists believe that humans appreciate the rain scent because ancestors may have relied on rainy weather for survival. See also Geosmin References Jump up ^ Bear, Isabel Joy ; Thomas, Richard G. ( March 1964 ). `` Nature of argillaceous odour ''. Nature. 201 ( 4923 ) : 993 -- 995. Bibcode : 1964Natur. 201... 993B. doi : 10.1038 / 201993a0. Jump up ^ Garg, Anu ( 2007 ). The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado Or Two : The Hidden Lives and Strange Origins of Words. Penguin. p. 399. ISBN 9780452288614. Jump up ^ Yuhas, Daisy ( July 18, 2012 ). `` Storm Scents : It 's True, You Can Smell Oncoming Summer Rain : Researchers have teased out the aromas associated with a rainstorm and deciphered the olfactory messages they convey ''. Scientific American. Retrieved July 20, 2012. Jump up ^ Bear, Isabel Joy ; Thomas, Richard G. ( September 1965 ). `` Petrichor and plant growth ''. Nature. 207 ( 5005 ) : 1415 -- 1416. Bibcode : 1965Natur. 207.1415 B. doi : 10.1038 / 2071415a0. ^ Jump up to : Cooper - White, Macrina ( 15 January 2015 ). `` Here 's Why Rain Has That Distinctive Smell ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 January 2015. Jump up ^ Chu, Jennifer ( 14 January 2015 ). `` Rainfall can release aerosols, study finds ''. MIT News. Retrieved 17 January 2015. Jump up ^ Palermo, Elizabeth ( 21 June 2013 ). `` Why Does Rain Smell Good ? ''. LiveScience.com. Retrieved 17 January 2015. External links Look up petrichor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Petrichor -- at `` A Word a Day '' From the Oxford English Dictionary Hansen, Joe, Where does the smell of rain come from ?, It 's Okay To Be Smart, PBS Digital Studios The Straight Dope : What 's that smell right before it rains ? Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Petrichor&oldid=804012193 '' Categories : Olfaction Precipitation Soil Rain Talk About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Français گیلکی 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Português Русский Simple English தமிழ் Українська Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 6 October 2017, at 03 : 28. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the name for the smell of rain
Answer: Petrichor