BBC: Scientists say tiny ocean plants could play a significant role in the formation of ice in clouds.
An international team has shown that the top few millimetres of the sea is rich in secretions from phytoplankton.
The group's tests demonstrate that this microscopic material can nucleate ice crystals if lifted into the atmosphere by crashing waves and sea spray.
If this is a very prevalent process, it likely alters cloud properties, the researchers tell the journal Nature.
A greater or lesser...