What is Watermelon Snow?

Despite near-zero temperatures, acidity, solar irradiation, and minimal nutritional value, over sixty species of algae appear in the snow. The most common species of snow alga is Chlamydomonas nivalis, which colors snow red or pink. This phenomenon is called “watermelon snow” or “blood snow”. “Watermelon snow” forms as the summer sun heats up and melts winter’s leftovers. It is said to smell slightly sweet, a bit like watermelon.

The red pigment helps protect them from intense UV radiation experienced at high elevations and in ecosystems with no shade protection. In spring and summer, they are mobile, green cells.

Small creatures, like rotifers, nematodes, ice worms and springtails, feed on the algae in watermelon snow.

When these algae – typically green organisms – get a lot of sun, they produce a natural type of sunscreen (bright red carotenoids) that paints the slopes pink and red. The addition of color to the surface darkens the snow, allowing it to heat up faster, and melt more quickly. Algae changes snow’s albedo, causing decrease of 13% over the course of an Arctic melt season, compared with clean snow, meaning the dark snow would absorb much more light; it might cause a positive feedback loop (more snow melting, more algae blooms, darker surface, lowered albedo, higher temperature, more snow melting).

Comments

What is the smallest possible Distance in The Universe?

In physics, the Planck length, denoted ℓP, is a unit of length that is the distance light travels in one unit of Planck time. It is also the reduced Compton wavelength of a particle with Planck mass. It is equal to 5.72938×10⁻³⁵ m (Lorentz–Heaviside version) or 1.61623×10⁻³⁵ m (Gaussian version). It is a base unit in the system of Planck units, developed by physicist Max Planck. The Planck length can be defined from three fundamental physical constants: the speed of light in a vacuum, the Planck constant, and the gravitational constant. It is the smallest distance about which current, experimentally corroborated, models of physics can make meaningful statements. At such small distances, the conventional laws of macro-physics no longer apply, and even relativistic physics requires special treatment. The smallest possible size for anything in the universe is the Planck Length, which is 1.6 x10 -35 m across. It is impossible to determine the difference between two locations less than one ...

How do Ants sense Food?

S ugar has a slight odor, particularly granulated beet sugar. While all species of ants can differentiate between a wide variety of odors, the smelling range differs from a few centimeters to meters. Desert ants can smell sugar from up to 3 meters. the food sources that ants cannot smell from a distance they 'smell' it (contact chemoreception) by touching it. So in a way, all the food they detect, they detect it by smelling. So yes, ants smell (although contact chemoreception is more like taste) the sugar. The ant colonies send scout ants to search for food in various directions, often up to a range of 100 to 200 meters.(Depends on the territorial boundary and time of the year). The scout marches steadily in less circuitous paths initially if it has memories of previous feeder locations. (Ants use visual landmarks, and a stereo-smell system to create an odor map and navigate) Periodically it will halt and look for olfactory cues. It will then take into a more circuitous rando...

What is The International Space Station?

The International Space Station is a large spacecraft. It orbits around Earth. It is a home where astronauts live. The space station is also a science lab. Many countries worked together to build it. They also work together to use it. The space station is made of many pieces. The pieces were put together in space by astronauts. The ISS consists of pressurized modules, external trusses, solar arrays and other components. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuzrockets as well as American Space Shuttles. The space station's orbit is about 220 miles above Earth. NASA and other space agencies uses the station to learn about living and working in space. The first piece of the International Space Station was launched in 1998. A Russian rocket launched that piece. After that, more pieces were added. Two years later, the station was ready for people. The first crew arrived in October 2000. People have lived on the space station ever since. Over time more pieces...

Curious thing crunchbase

Search This Blog