ICE AGES FUELED BY IRON-RICH DUST?

Dust is all that’s needed to plunge the world into an ice age. When blown into the sea, the iron it contains can fertilise plankton growth on a scale large enough to cause global temperatures to drop. The finding adds support to the idea of staving off climate change by simulating the effects of dust – perhaps by sprinkling the oceans with iron filings.

Iron-rich dust falling on the ocean has long been known to spark blooms of plankton, and researchers suspect the process could have intensified the ice ages that have occurred over the past few million years.

I’m getting an idea for an eco-terrorism-based thriller novel involving a crazy billionaire and a few freighters full of iron filings.