Viruses and algae can cause clouds to form. Free Technical Library News

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Viruses and algae can cause clouds

21.08.2018

Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Israel have determined that tiny "skeletons" made of minerals can form vast sedimentary deposits after cell death. Fragments of the "skeleton" of phytoplankton have the ability to accumulate in the air, while they become the center of moisture condensation.

"Flowering water", teeming with tiny unicellular algae Emiliania huxleyi, is capable of capturing vast territories. These photosynthetic eukaryotes are one of the numerous representatives of oceanic phytoplankton.

This phytoplankton is a kind of foundation of the Earth's biosphere. Plankton accumulate in huge quantities. It becomes so abundant that after its death, it forms accumulations of extensive sedimentary deposits.

Some of these biogenic mineral particles are carried into the atmosphere and may be the cause of clouds. Parts of the skeleton of plankton and other algae, also known as coccoliths, can appear in gigantic quantities, especially during the spread of a virus epidemic. They end up in the atmosphere thanks to foam or evaporating water.

To evaluate this process, the researchers infected plankton with the EhV virus and monitored how this would affect the number of mineral particles in the air of a container containing sea water. At the beginning of the experiment, it was recorded that 20 million coccoliths were located on each milliliter of liquid. A few days after the introduction of the virus into plankton, their number increased sharply by 3 times, and above water - by an incredible 10 times.

Due to their lightness, they are able to spend a long time in flight. Particles travel one centimeter of height in 100 seconds. All this contributes to the accumulation of coccoliths in the atmosphere. Particles of the plankton skeleton are strewn with small pores that can only be seen under a microscope. This surface is ideal for the condensation of water vapor from the atmosphere.

With the amount of coccoliths in which they accumulate at altitude, they can cause clouds to form. This is one of the sides of the enormous influence that these microorganisms have on our planet.

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