Science & Technology

Snow turns 'blood red' around Antarctic outpost

By T.K. Randall
February 27, 2020 ·  3 comments

Do not eat the red snow. Image Credit: Facebook / Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine A series of images released by Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science earlier this week show a bizarre landscape of red-colored snow and ice surrounding the Antarctic Vernadsky Research Base.

While the phenomenon has left many social media users scratching their heads, the strange coloration does happen to have a conventional explanation.

It turns out that the culprit is a type of microscopic snow algae that becomes more common during the (relatively) warmer weather of the Antarctic summer (between October and February).The algae has a red carotene layer that helps to protect it from the sun's ultraviolet radiation.

"Because of the red-crimson color, the snow reflects less sunlight and melts faster," the scientsts wrote. "As a consequence, it produces more and more bright algae."

The phenomenon has come to be known as 'raspberry snow'.



Source: Independent | Comments (3)

Tags: Antarctica, Snow