Iron-rich plume discovered along Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Discovery : Oceanic iron levels may be higher than previously thought. An extensive plume of iron almost 1000 km long was found billowing from hydrothermal vents at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by a group of researchers collecting seawater samples. Mak Saito of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and colleagues were traveling by ship across the Atlantic Ocean from Brazil to Namibia to study the ocean’s chemical composition and microbial life when they made the amazing discovery. Until now it had been believed that the slow-spreading ridge in the Atlantic was less geologically active than those in the Pacific and other regions. Iron is important to oceanic phytoplankton, which not only provide food for fish and other sea creatures but also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide and carry it to the ocean floor when they die. The group’s findings have been published in Nature Geoscience.