The secrets of the Alps' strange red snow...
The secrets of the Alps' strange red snow...
ezgif-7-2a94f799ed6e.jpg
Growing patches of coloured snow in the French Alps could be a sign of the impact climate change is having in the mountains.
It is a shocking, garish sight to come across on a peaceful mountainside. Hike high enough in the French alps during the late spring and early summer, and there is a good chance that you will come across some rather strange patches of snow among the grey limestone and stunted clumps of vegetation. This snow isn't white – it's blood red.
The peculiar phenomenon – sometimes known as blood snow – is the result of a defence mechanism produced by microscopic algae that grow in the Alpine snow. Normally these microalgae have a green colour as they contain chlorophyll, the family of pigments produced by most plants to help them absorb energy from sunlight. However, when the snow algae grow prolifically and are exposed to strong solar radiation, they produce red-coloured pigment molecules known as carotenoids, which act as a sunshield to protect their chlorophyll.
While red snow algae has been known for a long time (it is mentioned in a book published in 1819 as having been discovered during an expedition to the Arctic in 1818) it is still steeped in mysteries that scientists are attempting to unravel.
ezgif-7-fa903b6569f9.jpg
ezgif-7-407d23743f35.jpg
ezgif-7-295fe9ee37b0.jpg
ezgif-7-0ce52ced1537.jpg
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...tm_source=digg
Reply With Quote
