Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Green Ice on Lake Lipno Traced to Rare Under‑Ice Cyanobacteria Bloom

Researchers say nutrient pollution combined with warming trends set the stage.

Overview

  • Hydrobiologists from the Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences documented the December 2025 event and analyzed lake ice and water samples.
  • Microscopy identified the dominant organism as Woronichinia naegeliana, a species that often prevails in Lipno during summer and autumn.
  • Weeks of sunshine, calm winds, thin transparent ice, and a brief warm–refreeze period kept biomass at the surface and produced distinctive “cyanobacterial eyes.”
  • The visible bloom likely ended after heavy snowfall reduced light penetration beneath the ice late in the year.
  • Scientists call the case one of the best-documented under‑ice cyanobacterial events globally and warn that similar winter blooms may become more frequent.