Wildfire plumes deposit ash on seawater, fueling growth of phytoplankton

A team of marine biologists at the University of California has found that large wildfires, such as the Thomas Fire in California, can deposit large amounts of ash on seawater, fueling the growth of phytoplankton. In their study, reported in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the group tested the impact of ash from a major wildfire on seawater samples in their lab.