Il fumo dei catastrofici incendi dell'estate 2019/20 in Australia causò una fioritura di microscopiche alghe marine nel fondo dell'Oceano Antartico, grande quanto l'intero continente australiano.
Un team internazionale di scienziati ha ricostruito dai dati satellitari che l'esplosione di fitoplancton si è verificata nell'oceano a sud dell'Australia, fra il Sudamerica e la Nuova Zelanda da ottobre 2019 per circa quattro mesi. Le nuvole di fumo hanno intanto raggiunto la stratosfera e circumnavigato il globo, depositando particelle aerosol a migliaia di chilometri di distanza dall'Australia. Lo studio, pubblicato sulla rivista Nature, indica che la fioritura di fitoplancton era alimentata dalle particelle di ferro negli aerosol di fumo.
Il coautore dello studio Peter Strutton, dell'Istituto di Studi Marini e Antartici dell'Università della Tasmania, ha paragonato la fioritura di fitoplancton "a trasformare in prateria l'intero deserto del Sahara per un paio di mesi". Il fitoplancton, spiega, richiede ferro per la fotosintesi.
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