OBAN, Scotland, May 8 (UPI) -- British-led scientists say they've discovered the presence of large amounts of seaweed along coastal areas can influence the Earth's climate.
The international study led by Frithjof Kupper of the Scottish Association for Marine Science found brown seaweeds, when under stress, release large quantities of inorganic iodine into the coastal atmosphere, where it can contribute to cloud formation.
"When kelp experience stress -- for example when they are exposed to intense light, desiccation or atmospheric ozone during low tides -- they very quickly begin to release large quantities of iodide from stores inside the tissues," said Kupper. "These ions detoxify ozone and other oxidants that could otherwise damage kelp, and, in the process, produce molecular iodine.
"Our new data provide a biological explanation why we can measure large amounts of iodine oxide and volatile halocarbons in the atmosphere above kelp beds and forests," he added. "These chemicals act as condensation nuclei around which clouds may form."
The study that included Gordon McFiggans of the University of Manchester and contributors from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the United States appears in the online, early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
