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Arctic Glaciers Face 'Terminal' Decline As Microbes Accelerate Ice Melt
Scientists in Svalbard warn Arctic glaciers are in "terminal" decline, with microbe-driven biological darkening accelerating ice melt and potentially triggering major climate feedback loops. The Guardian reports: Recent research implicates snow and ice-dwelling microbes in positive feedback loops t...
Scientists in Svalbard warn Arctic glaciers are in "terminal" decline, with microbe-driven biological darkening accelerating ice melt and potentially triggering major climate feedback loops. Each summer, a biologically darkened zone, visible from space, covering at least 100,000 sq km, appears on the south-western part of the Greenland ice sheet. According to a 2020 study, microbes there are responsible for 4.4 to 6.0-gigatons of runoff, representing up to 13% of total melt, from an ice mass that holds enough water to raise global sea levels by more than 7 meters.
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