Saharan Dust Storms Linked To Enigmatic Fertilizer Plankton In Ocean
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 - 23:35
in Earth & Climate
Scientists have returned after six weeks on the Cape Verde Islands, 800 kilometers off the West African coast. They collected air and water samples in the search for a link between Saharan dust storms and the biological productivity of the ocean. The results were intriguing: the waters off Cape Verde contain huge amounts of the recently discovered cyanobacteria “UCYN-A”, an enigmatic fertilizer alga whose characteristics are puzzling to scientists.