麻豆淫院

A new study has revealed that tiny organisms called snow algae are significantly contributing to the surface melting on Antarctic ice shelves. The discovery could have far-reaching implications for global sea level rise.

The study, published in and led by Dr. Liang Dong from the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, uses high-resolution Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite data and advanced analytics to explore how snow algae growth, temperature, and snowmelt interact on the Brunt and Riiser-Larsen ice shelves from 2019 to 2022.

Snow algae are microscopic plants that grow on snow and ice, often giving it a green or reddish tint. These blooms darken the snow's surface, reduce its reflectivity, and cause it to absorb more sunlight and heat, leading to faster ice melt.

"This creates a feedback loop," explained Dr. Liang. "More algae means more melting, and more melting can create better conditions for algae to grow."

A key finding is that algae blooms appear early in the melt season, before peak temperatures. Using time-lag-adjusted Pearson correlation and Granger causality analysis, the study found a strong link between snow algae, rising temperatures, and surface melting. These factors form a feedback loop: algae growth leads to more melting, and each element reinforces the others in a self-sustaining cycle.

Additionally, the study found that algae growth declines later in the season, despite continued temperature increases. This suggests a more complex relationship between algae and melting, which depends on a delicate balance of environmental conditions.

The study highlights how biological processes鈥攕uch as algae growth鈥攃ontribute to polar climate dynamics. The findings suggest that future climate models should incorporate biological factors to better predict sea-level rise, the researchers noted.