Blood snow an abnormal signal of climate change

Blood snow is an abnormal signal of climate change
In the period of climate change, some areas will appear “blood snow”. These are red dots made up of tiny algae that grow on snowy mountains. This algae is initially green, but when exposed to sunlight, it turns red, creating a scary scene. Researchers at the US National Center for Scientific Research have collected numerous red snow samples on the Le Brévent mountain in France. They found a link between snow algae, called Sanguina Nivaloides, and high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2).

In this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that CO2 levels in the atmosphere are now 50% higher than in pre-industrial times, which is considered to be the highest level in millions of years. Global warming is contributing to the reduction of snow and ice around the world.
According to NASA, clean snow is one of many natural zones of resistance to the Sun’s heat, as the white snow can reflect more than 80% of sunlight, reflecting heat back into space. Snow affected by algae will drastically reduce this function. Dark spots in the snow, like dirt and even red algae, absorb heat instead of reflecting it, contributing to warming. This means that the increased presence of algae will increase the rate at which the snow melts. “The warmer it is, the more algae there are and the more the snow melts quickly,” said Alberto Amato. “It’s a vicious circle and we are trying to understand all the mechanisms to understand this circle so we can try to do something about it”