They may be a factor in why Greenland’s glaciers may be melting faster than before.
Alexandra Anesio, a microbiologist at Aarhus University in Sweden, says that the ice and snow carpets in Greenland and Iceland are full of microscopic life forms. Science Alert writes about it.
According to him, these organisms fall into hibernation and wake up from a cold sleep at the beginning of summer and the melting of glaciers. The scientist says that almost 4,000 different species can easily wake up in a small pool of meltwater from a glacier.
“These microscopic organisms evolve into bacteria, algae, viruses and microscopic fungi. They’re basically a whole ecosystem that we didn’t know existed for a long time. Everything changed when we studied the ice and snow in two glaciers in the middle. in late summer: one of them is located in Iceland and the other in Greenland. Most of the bacteria found are active, others are inactive or dead. But what is interesting is a days after thawing, some of them “sleep. the microbes” were reborn and regained the ability to read genes and produce the building blocks of amino acids. The results of the study showed that after three days of thawing in the laboratory, the samples contains 35% more active microbes,” said the expert. .
He also said that microbial communities in snow and ice can respond quickly to melting. The fact is that adaptation to climate change is generally considered very beneficial, but it also means that a sudden change in an organism can destabilize the situation in the entire ecosystem.
“The dark purple snow algae, which is best seen in Greenland’s meltwater, has recently started to spread. Now in Greenland you can see more areas of dark colored ice due to the algae. In turn, the dark appearance of Ice means it absorbs more and more light, leading to an increase in ice melting by 20%,” said the microbiologist.
Remember, scientists from the University of Newcastle in the UK said that by the end of the century, about half of the 215 thousand glaciers will disappear from the face of the Earth. This process threatens the lives of millions of people, and not where thought.
Source: korrespondent
I am Ben Stock, a passionate and experienced digital journalist working in the news industry. At the Buna Times, I write articles covering technology developments and related topics. I strive to provide reliable information that my readers can trust. My research skills are top-notch, as well as my ability to craft engaging stories on timely topics with clarity and accuracy.