Blood Red Snow in Antarctica
Recent event:.
Over
the past few weeks, snow around Ukraine’s Vernadsky Research base, located off
the coast of Antarctica’s northernmost peninsula, has started to take on a red
tinge, courtesy of an algae that thrives in freezing weather. Because of the
tinge, the snow is often dubbed “
Why is the snow turning Red?
According to a 2016 report in the new York times, such algae
as found around the Ukrainian research base grow well in freezing temperatures
and liquid water.
During the summer, when these typically green algae get a
lot of sun, they start producing a natural sunscreen that paints the snow in
shades of pink and red. In the winter months, they lie dormant.
Chlamydomonas Nivalis is a unicellular red coloured
photosynthetic green alga that is found in the snowfields of the alps and polar
regions all over the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment