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A team of researchers lfound that the process by which marine bacteria consume phytoplankton has an apparent direct role in affecting cloud properties. As the bacteria feed, phytoplankton break down into component molecules such as fats and lipids. The molecules the bacteria leave unconsumed can become airborne as the ocean's surface churns. Once in the atmosphere, these organic-enriched sea spray particles join dust and other particles, or aerosols, in becoming the framework for the drops of moisture that ultimately congeal into clouds. [Source: Scripps Institution of Oceanography]
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