Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Increasing flash flood threat looms in Texas as heat scorches recovery zone. Click for details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

71°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

71°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

'Green snow' to become a more regular occurrence in Antarctica

By Brooks Hays, UPI

Published May 21, 2020 6:58 PM EDT

Copied

Algae blooms turn the snow bright green in warmer areas of Antarctica during the summer, and scientists found it will likely spread due to rising temperatures.

Partner Content

UPI

May 20 (UPI) -- Green snow algae is likely to become more abundant across Antarctica's coast as global temperatures continue to rise, according to research by a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and the British Antarctic Survey.

To better understand the effects of climate conditions on algae growth patterns, researchers constructed a large-scale map of green snow blooms.

Each individual algae is microscopic, but when they grow en mass, they stain the snow green. The blooms can be mapped using aerial surveys and satellite images.

Ocean scientist Norman Kuring of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center photographed green algae covering snow and ice in Antarctica in February 2013. (NASA Earth Observatory / Norman Kuring)

By tracking links between local weather conditions and green snow growth patterns, scientists say they can predict how climate change will influence future blooms.

"This is a significant advance in our understanding of land-based life on Antarctica, and how it might change in the coming years as the climate warms," lead researcher Matt Davey, a plant physiologist and chemical ecologist at Cambridge, said in a news release. "Snow algae are a key component of the continent's ability to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis."

The latest mapping effort, detailed Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications, confirmed green snow algae blooms are most frequently found when temperatures hover above zero degrees Celsius.

Researchers created their map using images captured between 2017 and 2019 by the European Space Agency's Sentinel 2 satellite. Scientists supplemented the satellite data with on-the-ground field observations. Some of the largest splotches of green were found on islands along the west coast of the Antarctica Peninsula, where warming has been most pronounced over the last several decades.

In addition to the correlation between green snow blooms and warmer temperatures, researchers also found a link between coastal algae blooms and the presence of marine birds and mammals -- bird excrement is rich in nutrients that fuel algae growth.

More than 60 percent of the green snow blooms analyzed by scientists were found within a few miles of penguin colonies, and many other large blooms were identified near the nesting sites of other bird species.

While warming temperatures are likely to encourage larger green snow algae blooms across most of the Antarctic, climate change is likely to leave at least some low-lying islands without summertime snow cover, robbing the islands of their green snow blooms.

"As Antarctica warms, we predict the overall mass of snow algae will increase, as the spread to higher ground will significantly outweigh the loss of small island patches of algae," said Cambridge researcher Andrew Gray, lead author of the new paper.

Larger green snow algae blooms could help pull carbon dioxide from the air. Like plants, microscopic algae capture CO2 and emit oxygen as part of the photosynthesis process.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Weather News

President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues

Jul. 12, 2025
Hurricane

Tropical trouble in the Atlantic may brew into next week

Jul. 12, 2025
Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

Jul. 12, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Thunderstorms fuel increasing flash flooding threat in Texas

11 hours ago

Weather News

Engine fuel supply cut just before Air India jet crash, report says

16 hours ago

Weather News

Texas Hill Country: Before, during and after the flood

16 hours ago

Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

14 hours ago

Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

11 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

1 day ago

Weather News

Viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrates her first birthday

1 day ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

1 day ago

Business

Samsung is looking into more AI devices potentially including earrings...

1 day ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

2 days ago

AccuWeather Weather News 'Green snow' to become a more regular occurrence in Antarctica
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...