Why Are Phytoplankton in The Southern Ocean Starving for Iron?

• Published in: Frontiers for Young Minds
• Main Authors: van der Merwe, Pier C., Lannuzel, Delphine
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Frontiers Media SA 2023
• Subjects: General Medicine; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1044251; https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2023.1044251/full

In one of Earth’s largest oceans, the Southern Ocean, tiny organisms called phytoplankton are starving! Not for spaghetti though. How would you like a dinner of iron soup? No? Well, phytoplankton love it. Luckily, these important little organisms can get their iron soup near melting ice, undersea volcanoes, and even near the rear ends of whales! Sounds gross, right? Well, not for tiny phytoplankton. When they are not starving, they multiply enough to be visible from space! They have two super-important jobs that they do for the Earth, for free. First, they produce oxygen for humans and other animals to breathe. Second, they change carbon dioxide into sugar-filled snacks that become food for an organism called krill. And krill are whale food! Phytoplankton do these two jobs while also slowing global warming. Read on to hear how iron soup for phytoplankton might help save our planet!