Whenever a hurricane races across the Atlantic Ocean, chances are phytoplankton will bloom behind it. According to a new study using NASA satellite data, these phytoplankton blooms may also affect the Earth's climate and carbon cycle.

Dr. Steven Babin, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., studied 13 North Atlantic hurricanes between 1998 and 2001. Ocean color data from the SeaWiFS instrument on the SeaStar satellite were used to analyze levels of chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants. The satellite images showed tiny microscopic ocean plants, called phytoplankton, bloomed following the storms.

"Some parts of the ocean are like deserts, because there isn't enough food for many plants to grow. A hurricane's high winds stir up the ocean waters and help bring nutrients and phytoplankton to the surface, where they get more sunlight, allowing the plants to bloom," Babin said.

"Because 1998 was the first complete Atlantic hurricane season observed by this instrument, we first noticed this effect in late 1998 after looking at hurricane Bonnie," Babin said.

Whenever the quantity of plants increases or decreases, it affects the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As phytoplankton grow, they absorb carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping greenhouse gas. The gas is carried to the ocean floor as a carbon form when the tiny plants die. This enables atmospheric carbon to get into the deep ocean. It is one of several natural processes that contribute to Earth's carbon cycle. >from *NASA data shows hurricanes help plants bloom in 'ocean deserts'* . June 17, 2004

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