[Back on #Earth ...] Between land and sea there's the beach, the #sand and its grains of #quartz that the breaking #waves continuously disintegrate, feeding the #phytoplankton with dissolved silicon.
This new source of dissolved silicon has just been discovered by several OMP researchers, including Sébastien Fabre from IRAP. It joins those provided by rivers, groundwater discharges and hydrothermal vents.
How is the #BiologicalPump, the mechanism by which the ocean captures and sequesters atmospheric #CO2, affected? Find out here: https://www.irap.omp.eu/en/2025/03/the-contribution-of-sandy-beaches-to-the-oceanic-silica-cycle/