Widespread phytoplankton blooms triggered by 2019–2020 Australian wildfires

Weiyi Tang, Joan Llort, Jakob Weis, Morgane M. G. Perron, Sara Basart, Zuchuan Li, Shubha Sathyendranath, Thomas Jackson, Estrella Sanz Rodriguez, Bernadette C. Proemse, Andrew R. Bowie, Christina Schallenberg, Peter G. Strutton, Richard Matear () and Nicolas Cassar ()
Additional contact information
Weiyi Tang: Duke University
Joan Llort: University of Tasmania
Jakob Weis: University of Tasmania
Morgane M. G. Perron: University of Tasmania
Sara Basart: Barcelona Supercomputing Centre
Zuchuan Li: Duke University
Shubha Sathyendranath: Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Thomas Jackson: Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Estrella Sanz Rodriguez: University of Tasmania
Bernadette C. Proemse: University of Tasmania
Andrew R. Bowie: University of Tasmania
Christina Schallenberg: University of Tasmania
Peter G. Strutton: University of Tasmania
Richard Matear: CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere
Nicolas Cassar: Duke University

Nature, 2021, vol. 597, issue 7876, 370-375

Abstract: Abstract Droughts and climate-change-driven warming are leading to more frequent and intense wildfires1–3, arguably contributing to the severe 2019–2020 Australian wildfires4. The environmental and ecological impacts of the fires include loss of habitats and the emission of substantial amounts of atmospheric aerosols5–7. Aerosol emissions from wildfires can lead to the atmospheric transport of macronutrients and bio-essential trace metals such as nitrogen and iron, respectively8–10. It has been suggested that the oceanic deposition of wildfire aerosols can relieve nutrient limitations and, consequently, enhance marine productivity11,12, but direct observations are lacking. Here we use satellite and autonomous biogeochemical Argo float data to evaluate the effect of 2019–2020 Australian wildfire aerosol deposition on phytoplankton productivity. We find anomalously widespread phytoplankton blooms from December 2019 to March 2020 in the Southern Ocean downwind of Australia. Aerosol samples originating from the Australian wildfires contained a high iron content and atmospheric trajectories show that these aerosols were likely to be transported to the bloom regions, suggesting that the blooms resulted from the fertilization of the iron-limited waters of the Southern Ocean. Climate models project more frequent and severe wildfires in many regions1–3. A greater appreciation of the links between wildfires, pyrogenic aerosols13, nutrient cycling and marine photosynthesis could improve our understanding of the contemporary and glacial–interglacial cycling of atmospheric CO2 and the global climate system.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03805-8

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