The “blood rain” that turned an Iranian island’s shoreline crimson recently was because of the regional soil consisting of high concentrations of oxidised iron, specialists stated.
Social network video footage revealed rainwater streaming down a cliff to the beach on Hormuz Island, situated in the Strait of Hormuz at the junction of the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
Among the videos of the unusual sight that gathered over a million likes on Instagram revealed travelers enjoying blood-red rainwater circulation down the island, called “rainbow island” due to its vibrant soil and mineral deposits.
” The island is a salt dome, a teardrop-shaped mound of rock salt, plaster, anhydrite, and other evaporites that has actually increased up through overlying layers of rock,” Nasa’s Earth Observatory discussed.
” Rock salt or halite is weak and resilient, so it loses its brittleness and streams more like a liquid when under high pressure.”
The phenomenon of “blood rain” generally happens when high concentrations of red-coloured dust or particles are blended into rain, offering it a crimson look, the UK Met Workplace stated.
When it comes to the Iranian island, nevertheless, the crimson colour of the coastline was an outcome of the area’s iron-rich red soil connecting with rainwater, Simon Frasers University earth sciences teacher Brent Ward informed CBC News.
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A previous research study discovered that iron was the most plentiful of all evaluated metals in the soil. “The increasing mass is not simply made from salt,” the observatory stated in a declaration. “Embedded within it are layers of clay, carbonates, shale, and iron-rich volcanic rocks, a few of which have actually handled vibrant tones of red, yellow and orange as they moved up and engaged with water and minerals from other rock layers.”.
The island’s soil is so abundant in minerals it is utilized as a regional spice, playing a crucial function in the area’s food culture. The red soil is utilized in the preparation of an unique regional bread in Hormuz called “tomshi”.
Researchers alert versus utilizing the soil in foods due to its heavy metal material.
” The native individuals of this area of Iran call this soil ‘Gelak’ and utilize it as a spice. They turn the red soil into a sauce and utilize it in a range of foods,” a 2023 research study released in the journal Chemosphere kept in mind.