Algae Bloom Causes 'Glacial Blood', Researchers Fear its a Climate Change Marker

The French Alps are renowned for the pristine white snow that engulfs the mountainside. But today, the glaciers resemble horror scenes, with 'Glacial Blood' taking over. Although the red-stained snow isn't really due to high levels of blood, the bloody spots might just spell danger for the beloved French Alps reports Gizmodo.

Algae Blooms in Snow

Despite first impressions, glacial blood is actually due to microalgae blooms. The phenomenon, Chlamydomonas nivalis, occurs when green algae containing red pigments undergo photosynthesis which in turn stains the snow's dark bloody red.

To understand the bizarre red stains and what insights it holds regarding climate change, a team of French scientists embarked on a project known as AlpAlga.

Algae varieties that are known for producing orange, purple, and red hues can be found in numerous mountain ranges across the globe, including the famed Alps, the Rockies, Greenland, and Antarctica. As global warming warms the snow-covered regions researchers suspect that as more and more snow melts it will provide a conducive environment for algae to bloom which would lead to increasing pink snow.

Glacial Blood Explained

The study published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science entitled "Altitudinal Zonation of Green Algae Biodiversity in the French Alps" describes the algal blooms as possible markers for climate change.

The AlpAlga team, in 2016, ventured on an expedition to gather soil samples from 5 sites along the French Alps at an elevation between 3,280 -9,842 feet above sea level. The trek left researchers with roughly 158 soil specimens, which were then analyzed.

Due to bits of DNA from different life forms were contained in the soil samples, it allowed researchers to paint a clear image of where varieties of algae lived and thrived. The team found that different algae species thrive at different elevations.

The team found that an algae genus named Snaguina, known to produce blood-red hues, have only been found at elevations higher than 6,562 feet. On the other hand, green microalgae named Desmococcu and Symbiochloris live in elevations below 4,921 feet.

Newly found distributions of algae suggest that different varieties of algae thrive in specific thermal conditions. However, as climate change warms mountain ecosystems and shortens snow seasons, it could disrupt the organisms' life cycles.

Since glacial algae function similarly like microalgae in bodies of water as bases of mountainous ecosystems the disruption in the food web could spell unfathomable changes. As more and more snow becomes covered in algae, it could hasten the destabilization in the Alps' remaining snow patches and glaciers due to dark algae absorbing more energy. This equates to more warming for snow-covered regions already facing catastrophic meltdowns.

The research is the first step of the AlpAlga team's efforts to identify what environmental conditions trigger algal blooms, how its lifecycle is affected by climatic changes and snowmelt, and how algae blooms affect remaining ice.

Scientists plan to continue their research with another expedition into the Alps to examine how blooms adapt and change during various seasons. The team hopes it will give them insight into how the organisms and the Alps ecosystem might change as the planet warms up.