Resilient Algae on Greenland Ice Sheet May Accelerate Melting

New research reveals that nutrient-efficient algae could expand their range, darkening ice and increasing its melt rate.

Algae on Greenland's ice sheet darken the surface, reducing reflectivity and accelerating ice melt by up to 10-13%.
A study led by Laura Halbach discovered that these algae can thrive in nutrient-poor conditions and store phosphorus, enabling their growth in previously uninhabitable areas.
Global warming is exposing more bare ice as snow cover recedes, creating new habitats for algae colonization and potentially intensifying melting.
The findings highlight the role of algae-driven feedback loops in contributing to sea level rise and emphasize the need to integrate these processes into climate models.
The research, published in Nature Communications, used advanced single-cell imaging techniques to measure nutrient uptake and storage in individual algae cells for the first time.