Ukrainian polar explorers said the “blooming” of snow contributes to climate change on Earth because it throws away less sunlight and begins to melt faster because of this color.
Pink snow appeared around the Ukrainian polar station “Akademik Vernadsky” in Antarctica. Such an unusual natural phenomenon is due to the fact that microscopic green algae grow on the snow. This was reported at the National Antarctic Science Center.
The scientists said that the Arctic summer is now over, and at this time the snow cover begins to “bloom” under the influence of algae. There are three color stages: green, orange and purple or crimson.
In winter, the algae are under the snow in the “green” version, where the chlorophyll pigment predominates. However, with the warming of the weather, they rise to the surface and begin to turn red.
“Carotenoids form in them (these compounds color carrots, for example). Carotenoids protect algae from ultraviolet radiation,” the researchers said.
At this time, scientists took samples of pink snow for further study. At the same time, the science center noted that the “blooming” of snow contributes to climate change on Earth, because due to this color it throws away less sunlight and begins to melt faster.
“As a result, increasingly bright algae grow inside, which further accelerates thaw. It is therefore important to record the area of ’blooming snow” on research surfaces each year to see general trends. Now our biologists and station biologists are conducting these studies using drones,” he said. .
Recall, on January 24, it was reported that a huge 1550 square kilometer block of ice broke off from Antarctica’s ice shelf. The researchers state that the giant icebergs have left the glacier for the second time in two years.
On January 7, polar explorers from Akademik Vernadsky station said the penguin population had increased so much in this region that they had to dig trenches in the snow to “not be able to surround the station.”
Source: Focus
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