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Fortified with Essential Minerals

Dust storms can sweep iron-rich particles from the continents into the atmosphere, and these “mineral aerosols” then fall into, or are rained into, the oceans. Once in the water, the iron dissolves into a form that is used—along with other nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate—by microscopic plants (phytoplankton) and bacteria to live and grow. Small marine animals (zooplankton) eat phytoplankton and bacteria. When they excrete fecal pellets or die, organic (carbon-based) matter is transferred to the depths. (Illustration by Jack Cook, Woods Hole Oceanographic institution)