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Algae Drive Enhanced Darkening of Bare Ice on the Greenland Ice Sheet
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2017
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Source: Geophysical Research Letters, 44(22), 11,463-11,471
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Journal Title:Geophysical Research Letters
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Description:Surface ablation of the Greenland ice sheet is ampli fied by surface darkening caused by light-absorbing impurities such as mineral dust, black carbon, and pigmented microbial cells. We present thefirst quantitative assessment of the microbial contribution to the ice sheet surface darkening, based on field measurements of surface re flectance and concentrations of light-absorbing impurities, including pigmented algae, during the 2014 melt season in the southwestern part of the ice sheet. The impact of algae on bare ice darkening in the study area was greater than that of nonalgal impurities and yielded a netalbedo reduction of 0.038 ± 0.0035 for each algal population doubling. We argue that algal growth is a crucial control of bare ice darkening, and incorporating the algal darkening effect will improve mass balance
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Source:Geophysical Research Letters, 44(22), 11,463-11,471
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ISSN:0094-8276;1944-8007;
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Rights Information:CC BY-NC-ND
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Compliance:Library
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