Researchers discovered that phosphorus containing minerals may be driving the rapid growth of algae or algal blooms on the Greenland ice sheet.
The sheet's western margin has developed massive areas of algal blooms known as the Dark Zone. As algal blooms grow they darken the ice surface, decreasing the ability to reflect sunlight, causing more melting ice and faster rising sea levels.
Phosphorus is a key nutrient for algae. Researchers found that a phosphorous containing mineral is being blown onto the sheet from local rock outcrops, fuelling the Zone's algal bloom. As land dries even more under climate change, researchers expect more dust being transported and deposited on the Sheet, further fuelling algal blooms.
Over the last quarter century, the Sheet has increased its surface melting and water runoff by about 40 %.
The study will help better predict where future algal blooms occur and help better understand their role in ice sheets melting.
Original article:
Blowin' in the wind: the mineral dust linked to ice melt
Original study:
Mineral phosphorus drives glacier algal blooms on the Greenland Ice Sheet