Not so pretty in pink: Arctic cotton candy-colored snow may be warning sign

To some, pink snow sounds like a child’s fantasy come true. To others, it sounds like a dangerous new drug. But in reality, pink snow exists... and it isn’t a good sign. The blush-toned hue is the chemical reaction of algae that causes Arctic melt.

Rosy snow is commonly seen at high altitudes when normally green algae turn red from absorbing ultraviolet rays. However, the reddish snow could also be increasing the speed of glacial melt.

The simplest way to understand this is to think about wearing a black shirt on a hot day. People typically try not to do that because darker colored objects absorb a higher amount of incoming light than light-colored objects, which tend to reflect light. Here, it’s like a glacier putting on a red shirt, the Washington Post explained.

More in-depth details of the phenomenon come from a paper published on Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications. The study looked at 40 different red snow samples from 16 glaciers and snowfields from Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland.

Scientists examined the albedo of red snow, meaning how much light is not absorbed by an object. The presence of red algae decreased albedo by 13 percent.

“Our results point out that the ‘bio-albedo’ effect is important and has to be considered in future climate models,” Stefanie Lutz, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement.

Part of the issue is that the algae may create a positive feedback loop, meaning algae makes more algae. When the algae bloom, snow melts. Melting snow then nourishes the algae and more algae grow.

http://www.rt.com/usa/348316-pink-snow-red-algae/

The Arctic’s pretty but alarming strawberry-pink snow



Biologists know now that the red hue is the result of a chemical reaction within the algae Chlamydomonas nivalis and other cold-loving species. These algae are normally green, but as they start to suck up ultraviolet rays, they turn red.

What may look like an Arctic accident involving gallons of pink lemonade is, in fact, reddish algae blooming in the snow. The unusual phenomenon is also found in high altitudes, and sometimes called watermelon snow or blood snow.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/23/arctic-snow-is-turning-strawberry-pink-pretty-maybe-but-alarming/

The biogeography of red snow microbiomes and their role in melting arctic glaciers

The Arctic is melting at an unprecedented rate and key drivers are changes in snow and ice albedo. Here we show that red snow, a common algal habitat blooming after the onset of melting, plays a crucial role in decreasing albedo. Our data reveal that red pigmented snow algae are cosmopolitan as well as independent of location-specific geochemical and mineralogical factors. The patterns for snow algal diversity, pigmentation and, consequently albedo, are ubiquitous across the Arctic and the reduction in albedo accelerates snow melt and increases the time and area of exposed bare ice. We estimated that the overall decrease in snow albedo by red pigmented snow algal blooms over the course of one melt season can be 13%. This will invariably result in higher melt rates. We argue that such a ‘bio-albedo’ effect has to be considered in climate models.

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160622/ncomms11968/full/ncomms11968.html/


Grass attacked by what is assumed to be pink snow mold (Monographella nivalis).

Snow mold is a type of fungus and a turf disease that damages or kills grass after snow melts, typically in late winter.[1] Its damage is usually concentrated in circles three to twelve inches in diameter, although yards may have many of these circles, sometimes to the point at which it becomes hard to differentiate between different circles. Snow mold comes in two varieties: pink or gray. While it can affect all types of grasses, Kentucky bluegrass and fescue lawns are least affected by snow mold.[2]

Gray snow mold
Main article: Typhula blight

Gray snow mold (Typhula spp. or Typhula blight) is the less damaging form of snow mold. While its damage may appear widespread, it typically does little damage to the grass itself, only to the blades.[1] Unlike most plant pathogens, it is able to survive throughout hot summer months as sclerotia under the ground or in plant debris.[3] Typhula blight is commonly found in United States in the Great Lakes region and anywhere with cold winter temperatures and persistent snow fall.[4][5]
Pink snow moldEdit
Main article: Monographella nivalis

Pink snow mold (Microdochium nivale or Fusarium patch) is the more severe form of snow mold, and can destroy the roots and crowns of grass, causing more damage than gray snow mold.[1] Like gray snow mold, it is able to survive the summer months in decayed plant debris as spores or mycelium.[3]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_mold/

Interesting!

And kind of scary.
I had to stop reading reading it for awhile.
There is a lot out there on this since March 2016.

And the people, who taste tested it... Weird I don't care if it tastes like watermelon.


* Link issue. The ' Nature' link, can be reached through the opening, RT article*

Nice Post! Yeah, global warming is real. It is cyclical though. Our actions are probably speeding it up. I'm too lazy to find good articles right now but, we are due for a mini ice age. Yeah, I know. But, I was concerned a couple years ago and spent time researching it.

It is difficult to fully understand and predict future weather. But, pink snow is an interesting fact. Maybe that proves that .........


the snow melt is due to women!!!!!!!!!