Iron minerals take up dissolved nutrients and carry them to the seafloor, where they eventually become preserved in rock.

MSN: What green rust did long ago to the big blue ocean

"They suck up a lot of dissolved nutrients, " said George Kraemer, professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Purchase College.

WSJ: Connecticut Seaweed: Life Down on the Kelp Farm

Much is washed off by rain, ending up in local watercourses where dissolved nutrients can cause algal blooms and kill fish.

ECONOMIST: Industrial dairy farming

The general goal of this workshop is a focused review and adoption of a minimum set of QC procedures and QC flags starting with in situ dissolved inorganic nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, and silicate) and dissolved oxygen.

UNESCO: NATURAL SCIENCES