The oxygen you breathe depends on a tiny ocean ingredient

Microscopic ocean algae called phytoplankton produce much of the oxygen we breathe through photosynthesis, but this process depends on iron dust that settles into seawater from deserts and glaciers. New Rutgers University research conducted during ocean voyages reveals that iron shortages cause up to 25% of these organisms' light-capturing proteins to become "uncoupled," wasting energy and reducing oxygen production, which could harm marine food webs as climate change limits iron delivery.