Shocker: Healthy coral reefs produce clouds and rain
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Dr. Graham Jones has been researching coral reefs and coastal precipitation for over 20 years. And all that research has paid off with the discovery that “a substance produced by thriving coral reefs seed clouds leading to precipitation in a long-standing natural process that is coming under threat due to climate change. “Coral reefs produce a volatile substance called dimethylsulphide or DMS which oxidizes in the atmosphere to produce cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). These are tiny sulphur aerosol particles around which water vapor condenses to form clouds,” said Mr Jones. Interestingly, Jones said that “water vapor cannot form clouds without these tiny aerosol particles being present.” The DMS is produced by the algae living in coral tissues, causing the corals to produce the cloud-seeding substance, DMS, on a daily basis. If coral reefs do make more clouds that deliver rain, how long before we start to harvest DMS for cloud seeding? And you might want to get an umbrella for those of you who have larger reef tanks in your house. You know, in case it starts raining.
via [Mango Bay]
