A transatlantic flight may turn Saharan dust into a key ocean nutrient

By Douglas Fox | Science News |

SCIENCE NEWS - As dust from the Sahara blows thousands of kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean, it becomes progressively more nutritious for marine microbes, a new study suggests.

Chemical reactions in the atmosphere chew on iron minerals in the dust, making them more water soluble and creating a crucial nutrient source for the iron-starved seas, researchers report September 20 in Frontiers in Marine Science.

Dust clouds settling on the Atlantic can spawn phytoplankton blooms that support marine ecosystems, says Timothy Lyons, a biogeochemist at the University of California, Riverside. “Iron is incredibly important for life,” he says. Phytoplankton require it to convert carbon dioxide into sugars during photosynthesis.

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