Wildfire smoke is beneficial to B.C.'s coastal waters, oceanographer says
Particulate matter from fires a 'sort of fertilization' for top layer of Pacific Ocean.
While medical experts were warning British Columbians about the risk of inhaling fine particulate matter from the thick wildfire smoke that hung over much of the province during the last week of summer, marine experts were happy to see those same particulates infiltrating the Pacific Ocean.
According to B.C. oceanographer Richard Dewey, associate director of science with Ocean Networks Canada, particulate matter from burning forests that ends up in the ocean acts as fertilizer, providing minerals and nutrients to phytoplankton that live near the surface and are the base of the ocean's food system.
Phytoplankton are a large variety of aquatic microoganisms that perform photosynthesis, just like land-based plants do.
