COSEE Ocean Systems: News
Could the smell of the sea help cool a warming planet?
Description: Seaside odors are generally composed of dimethyl sulfide, a smelly gas produced by bacteria feasting on phytoplankton. In the atmosphere, it is changed chemically to sulphate, which in turn becomes the seeds of clouds. Solid organic matter from large collections of phytoplankton blooms can also help with cloud formation. This blooming ocean can give rise to a specky scum, from which tiny bubbles get lofted into the air by the churn of the sea. Water vapor condenses around them, tiny droplets form and the fluffy billows of the sky emerge. [Source: BBC News]
URL: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33690694
Availability: Full Text
Source: BBC News
Publish Date: 8/14/2015
Reading Level: Basic
Page Length:  

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