Fungal spores are a primary source of sodium salt particles in Amazon air
Tuesday, November 20, 2018 - 09:10
in Astronomy & Space
Tiny particles of sodium salt float in the air over the pristine Amazon basin. Why? The only explanation before now has been that winds blow marine particles hundreds of miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. An international team of scientists used chemical imaging and atmospheric models to prove otherwise. They discovered that, during the wet season, fungal spores make up as much as 69 percent of the airborne sodium salt particles in the central Amazon basin.