Science
Sun-Loving Bacteria May Be Accelerating Glacial Melting – WIRED
Scientists find that cyanobacteria cause sediments on glaciers to clump, thus absorbing more sunlight. It’s not great news for fans of lower sea levels.
Photograph: Sasha Leidman
Mixed in with this grit and melted ice are the cyanobacteria, which run on sunlight. As a cryoconite hole gets deeper, its bottom moves out of direct sunlight, meaning theres less energy available for the cyanobacteria living within it. But, Leidman says, when it rains, or there’s a heavy melt event, the sediment in those cryoconites gets washed out and washed into these supraglacial streams, where they accumulate in floodplains.
Now the bacteria are exposed to all the…
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