Coral Reefs Create Clouds to Control the Climate

Neil Halelamien writes "New Scientist reports on research showing that coral reefs might cool off by creating their own clouds. The scientists showed that coral reefs are packed with a chemical called DMS, which helps clouds to form when it is released into the atmosphere. In experiments, the researchers have shown that 'corals produce more DMS when the symbiotic algae inside their tissues become stressed by high temperatures or UV radiation,' suggesting that this may be a mechanism corals evolved to help regulate their environment."

Comments

WTF are you doing at this hour?

[leonbrooks]

(-:

Well, yes, I'm in Perth, but it's nearly midnight. The odds are good that you're a Victorian, specifically from Glen Waverly - my goodness, I can see your house from up here, a couple of blocks from the river - meaning it's nearing 3AM for you. Go to sleep, Julian!

WRT the THC, some of the theories I've seen about how coral reefs work have evidently been devised by marine biologists who store the stuff in their air tanks.