Iron rich poop help sperm whales take on carbon footprint stimulating phytoplankton growth

Maybe human waste hasn’t come to any good use yet, but the poop whales leave around sure has its benefits. It helps the sperm whales wipe out their carbon footprint, or rather “finprint”. So what exactly does sperm whale poop do? Using their faeces, the whales stimulate plant growth, according to an astonishing fact scientists have stumbled upon, that helps them erase their carbon footprint. Southern Ocean sperm whales release about 50 tons of iron in their waste every year, according to Australian researchers.

Around 400,000 tons of carbon is absorbed by the 12,000 sperm whales that inhabit the Southern Ocean, eating squid and defecating in the upper waters, stimulating phytoplankton growth, accessible to sunlight. The waste, being rich in iron, helps these green beings to grow, that trap carbon and sink deep into the ocean when dead, taking the carbon with them. And to think researching on sperm whale poop was a waste of time.
[Dailymail]