Megacryometeors: A Phenomenon with No Clear Explanation

In January, 2006 a 200 lb chunk of ice landed in the back seat of a red Ford Mustang, totaling the pony car. Later, in April of that year a huge ball of ice fell out of the sky and left a sizeable hole in the ground at an Oakland, California park. ABC News, 4/10/06. In fact there have been at least 50 such icefalls recorded since 2000, ranging in size from one lb to a 400 lb monstrosity that crashed through the roof of a Mercedes Benz factory in Brazil.

Typically these events occur under clear skies. And no, these ice chunks were clear, free from urine, feces and blue disinfectant that would indicate a septic discharge from an airplane. So where did they come from?

Incident in Spain Causes Planetary Scientist to Seek Answer

During January, 2000, hunks of ice weighing up to 6.6 lbs. rained on Spain over the course of ten days, all under cloudless skies. Planetary geologist Jesus Martinez-Frias became intrigued by the incident and formed a team that continues to investigate the phenomenon. Frias named the ice chunks megacryometeors. He includes the term ‘meteor’ not in the more common sense of an object from space, but because he is convinced that the objects are meteorological phenomenon, originating near the tropopause, the border between the troposphere and the stratosphere.

The troposphere is the lowest region of the atmosphere, extending from earth to an average altitude of 6.8 miles, or 36,080 feet. It is the only layer of the atmosphere in which weather occurs. Frias’s hypothesis is that megacryometeors form when an ice crystal is repeatedly tossed about by strong turbulence through regions rife with cold water vapor. Eventually, they will acquire sufficient mass to overcome the atmospheric turbulence and fall to earth.

Frias believes that both turbulence and water vapor have increased at the tropopause due to climate change, specifically warming of the troposphere and concomitant cooling of the stratosphere, interacting to make the tropopause colder, wetter, and subject to more extreme updrafts and wind shears. If this is the case, incidents of falling ice could become more common. That prediction cohabits with the smash landing of a microwave-sized ice ball in Douglasdale, South Africa on July 10, 2007, the first suspected megacryometeor recorded on that continent.

Megacryometeors Have Much in Common with Hail, but Without the Thunderstorms

Parts of ice chunks have been studied by the Frias group and others. Reportedly, they share the same textural features and composition as large hailstones. After examining a chunk of ice that fell near Madrid, Frias concluded: “The water in the megacryometeor is clearly tropospheric.” Chemical Science, 2/26/08. Scientists are in agreement in doubting an extra-terrestrial origin. Though they concede that there are pieces of comets out there, “it’s extremely unlikely” for a cosmic hunk of ice to make it to earth’s surface, “mainly because of the shockwaves it encounters as it’s entering the atmosphere.” Ryan Diduck, Chabot Space and Science Center.