The next time you breathe, consider this: photosynthesis of algae, powered by iron dust in the ocean, made it possible.
Now, a new Rutgers University study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences pulls back the curtain on this vital process.
Iron is a critical micronutrient for marine phytoplankton, the microscopic algae that form the foundation of the ocean’s food webs. It is deposited into the world’s oceans as dust from deserts and arid areas as well as from glacial meltwater.
Heshani Pupulewatte (at right in yellow hard hat) collects water samples measuring conductivity, temperature and depth on a research ship in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Brandy Robinson/ GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
“Every other breath you take includes oxygen from the ocean, released from phytoplankton,” said Paul G. Falkowski, the Bennett L. Smith Chair in Business and Natural Resources at Rutgers-New Brunswick and a co-author of the study. “Our research shows that iron is a limiting factor in phytoplankton’s ability to make oxygen in vast regions of the ocean.”
Read the complete article at Rutgers Today.