Iron in smoke and ash from wildfires can "fertilize" the oceans, providing nutrients for algae blooms that then may suck up carbon, research indicates.

Collecting sticky stuff from areas of the ocean that have no oxygen shed light on how these zones trap carbon in sediment and rocks.

The interaction between bacteria and algae in the world's oceans may play a role in cloud formation, new research indicates.

"Iron from hydrothermal vents can well up, travel across hundreds of miles of open ocean, and allow phytoplankton to thrive in some very unexpected places."

Researchers have charted the distribution of phytoplankton in the world's oceans for the first time.