Algae are turning the Italian Alps pink, raising concerns over rapid melting
You might need to reconsider your skiing plans. Citizens and tourists in Italy were surprised by the appearance of pink glacial ice in the Alps, a phenomenon that is usually caused by algae that speed up climate change. Researchers will now study the algae to better understand where it came from. Credit Fickr Biagio Di Mauro, a scientist at Italy’s National Research Council, said the pink snow observed on parts of the Presena glacier is likely caused by a plant that had been previously found in Greenland. He said the algae is not dangerous and described it as a natural phenomenon that happens in middle latitudes and at the Poles. The algae, known as Ancylonema nordenskioeldii , is also present in Greenland’s so-called Dark Zone, where the ice is also melting. Usually, ice reflects more than 80% of the sun’s radiation back into the atmosphere, but as algae appear, they darken the ice so that it absorbs the heat and melts more quickly. More algae appear as the ice melts more rapidly...
