A new study shows that the Greenland ice sheet may be teeming with microbial life — but that's not necessarily a good thing.
What's happening?
Algae have long been spotted on the Greenland ice sheet, which is the world's second-largest body of ice, and can contribute to it melting more quickly. Because these algae are dark in color, they absorb heat, thus increasing the surface temperature on the ice, causing it to melt. This is even more concerning as the planet continues to warm, which has already caused millions of tons of ice to melt on the sheet.
While researchers have known about this algae, it was thought the area's frigid weather conditions made it nearly impossible for the algae to spread too wide. But a new study, published in the journal Nature, suggests that is not the case.
Researchers found this algae not only needs few nutrients to survive, but also that they can store energy, which would allow them to spread more than previously thought.
Why is this important?
If this algae can spread more rapidly and widely than originally thought, the Greenland ice sheet may become darker, which, along with rising temperatures, could intensify its melting.
"New ice is being exposed on Greenland every year because the snow melts earlier and earlier," study author Laura Halbach told Earth.com. "There used to be a thick snow cover all year round, but now large new areas of ice are being exposed to the sun.
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"This opens up these areas for the algae to colonize, and as they can live on very limited amounts of nutrients, it might happen sooner than later."
Recent studies show that melting ice in Greenland has already been responsible for more than five inches of rising sea levels over the past 30 years, and that number is only expected to rise.
What's being done about this?
As Earth.com reports, most climate models don't account for algae, or any type of microbial life. This means that current models may be underestimating future ice loss in Greenland.
More research will likely need to be done to verify the impact this algae's spread has on the ice sheet, but it's possible that, in the future, sea levels will rise more than previously predicted.
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