{"id":518081,"date":"2026-06-25T17:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/518081\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T17:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:38:16","slug":"emissions-from-plankton-help-in-forming-cloud-seeds-over-the-worlds-oceans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/518081\/","title":{"rendered":"Emissions from plankton help in forming cloud seeds over the world’s oceans"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"CERN<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

image:\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study was conducted in the controlled environment of the CLOUD chamber in CERN<\/p>\n

view more\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Credit: Jiali Shen<\/p>\n

For nearly fifty years, scientists have suspected that microscopic marine plankton play a role in cloud formation over the oceans. Now, an experiment led by the University of Helsinki has suggested that it may be more important than previously thought.<\/p>\n

Marine plankton release dimethylsulfide (DMS) during photosynthesis \u2014 the gas responsible for the characteristic smell of the sea. When oxidised in the atmosphere, DMS forms acidic vapors.<\/p>\n

One of these is methanesulfonic acid (MSA).\u00a0The CERN CLOUD experimentOpens in a new tab<\/a>\u00a0has shown that this previously overlooked gas can trigger the formation and growth of aerosol particles over cold, pristine ocean regions. Moisture can condense around these aerosol particles, eventually forming clouds. Since this mechanism is not accounted for in current climate models, the experimental results not only deepen our understanding of the atmosphere, but also improve the accuracy of climate models.<\/p>\n

The experiment was conducted under realistic atmospheric conditions in the CERN CLOUD chamber. The chamber’s controlled environment made it possible to measure how cloud seeds form and grow under the ultra-low concentrations and cold temperatures typical of remote marine air \u2014 from +9 \u00b0C down to \u221252 \u00b0C.<\/p>\n

As effective as sulfuric acid in cold marine air<\/p>\n

When the chamber temperature fell below \u221210 \u00b0C and even a trace of ammonia was present, MSA formed new nuclei just as effectively as sulfuric acid, which is considered the primary driver of atmospheric aerosol formation.<\/p>\n

When mixing freely, sulfuric acid and MSA reinforced one another by forming shared molecular clusters. MSA also accelerated rapid particle growth across the entire temperature range studied. This combination helps fragile nanometre-sized particles survive long enough to grow to a size at which they can seed clouds.<\/p>\n

“Because MSA and sulfuric acid generally occur at similar concentrations over cold ocean regions, clouds may form there up to ten times faster than previously thought”, says one of the lead authors, DrJiali Shen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This helps explain the surprisingly high number of particles observed over the Southern Ocean and in the cold marine upper troposphere.<\/p>\n

Implications for clouds and climate<\/p>\n

Aerosol particles influence the climate by scattering sunlight and by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which seed the clouds.<\/p>\n

In general, a higher concentration of CCN leads to a cooling effect on the climate system. Accurately predicting CCN concentrations is therefore essential for improving projections of future climate change. However, current climate models underestimate CCN concentrations over the Southern Ocean by more than half. This introduces a warm bias into the models.<\/p>\n

The team’s global simulations show that incorporating MSA increases particle and CCN concentrations most strongly over the cold, pristine ocean regions surrounding the Arctic and Antarctic \u2014 precisely the areas where models currently fall short.<\/p>\n

“As emissions of sulfur dioxide from fossil fuels continue to decline, the natural, biological sources of cloud seeds from marine plankton may be more effective in the climate system. Capturing these processes is essential if we are to reliably predict future climate”, say Dr\u00a0Xu-Cheng He<\/a>\u00a0and Professor\u00a0Katrianne Lehtipalo<\/a>, corresponding authors of the study.<\/p>\n

“This study also underlines the importance of continued investment in cutting-edge measurements and modelling to improve future climate predictions”, says Professor\u00a0Tuukka Pet\u00e4j\u00e4<\/a>, Director of the\u00a0Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR)<\/a>\u00a0at the University of Helsinki.<\/p>\n

Method of Research<\/p>\n

Experimental study<\/p>\n

Subject of Research<\/p>\n

Not applicable<\/p>\n

Article Title<\/p>\n

Role of methanesulfonic acid in atmospheric particle nucleation and growth<\/p>\n

Article Publication Date<\/p>\n

24-Jun-2026<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"image:\u00a0 The study was conducted in the controlled environment of the CLOUD chamber in CERN view more\u00a0 Credit:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[61,60,82],"class_list":["post-518081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}