Episode 533 - Bacteria melting ice and changing the planet

Lagrange Point

How can tiny bacteria change the entire planet? Greenland is beautiful and covered in glaciers, but they are turning more and more dark and black. Black algae is tinting glaciers in Greenland darker, and causing changes in our climate. The more our climate changes, the easier it is for algae to thrive in glacier runoff and change the colours of the glaciers. Algae can survive in strange locations on earth, what can that teach us about microorganisms across the solar system?

1. James A. Bradley, Christopher B. Trivedi, Matthias Winkel, Rey Mourot, Stefanie Lutz, Catherine Larose, Christoph Keuschnig, Eva Doting, Laura Halbach, Athanasios Zervas, Alexandre M. Anesio, Liane G. Benning. Active and dormant microorganisms on glacier surfaces. Geobiology, 2022; 21 (2): 244 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12535