Antibiotics Chemical Archives

Here’s why soil smells so good after it rains

New Africa/Shutterstock Klas Flärdh, Lund University and Paul Becher, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Did you ever wonder what causes that earthy smell that rises after a light summer rain? That mysterious scent has been called “petrichor”, and a main component of it is an organic compound called geosmin, which lingers around moist soil. Geosmin comes from the ancient Greek …