A study published in Science reveals that mineral dust from land plays a vital role in fertilizing phytoplankton growth in oceans. Researchers combined satellite observations and computer models to determine that dust deposition supports about 4.5% of yearly global export production, with contributi
This image, acquired on April 8, 2011, with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instruments on NASA’s Terra satellite, shows Saharan dust over the Bay of Biscay. A phytoplankton bloom makes the water appear bright green and blue. Sediment is likely contributing to some of the color, especially in coastal areas.
According to the new study, dust deposition onto the ocean supports about 4.5% of yearly global export production — a measure of how much of the carbon phytoplankton take up duringsinks into the deep ocean. However, this contribution approaches 20% to 40% in some ocean regions at middle and higher latitudes.
Study authors Toby Westberry and Michael Behrenfeld — remote sensing oceanographers at Oregon State University — analyzed 14 years of ocean color measurements collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Aqua satellite from 2003 through 2016. Tracing distinct signatures in ocean color, they were able to determine not only when and where phytoplankton blooms occurred, but also how healthy and abundant they were .
Previous studies had focused on large local events — volcanic eruptions, wildfires, extreme dust storms — that spewed huge amounts of organic and mineral particles into the air. In other studies, researchers intentionallyby ‘seeding’ seawater with iron, a key but often limited nutrient in the ocean.
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