Green Chroma In Antarctica
A white layer of snow is a common sight in Antarctica. But this time it’s all green. Algae blooms have occupied a green chroma in few areas of the icy region. The pictures on social media have baffled netizens worldwide.
New study reveals that warmer temperature in the icy regions caused by climate change is responsible for the formation of green snow. University of Cambridge and British Antarctic Survey along with European Space Agency’s Sentinel 2 satellite shows algae blooms on the Antarctic Peninsula coast.
Researchers are also studying red and orange algae of the continent from Space. Matt Davey of University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences, states, “The algal blooms in Antarctica are equivalent to the amount of carbon that’s being omitted by 875,000 average UK petrol car journeys.”
Experts believe that though algae can absorb carbon-di-oxide from the atmosphere, they won’t make any serious amount of difference in the carbon-di-oxide level. They also observed that the distribution of the green snow algae blooms strongly where marine birds and mammals are found. For instance, over 60% of the blooms are found within 3.1 miles of a penguin colony.
The algae bloom consists of simple, non-flowering plants that are microscopic photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms that grow in the warmer parts of Antarctica.
The coronavirus lockdown has pushed the reboot button of nature. Sudden change in the environment across the world shows that sharp change in the earth’s climate is not a myth anymore.