XPost: misc.news.internet.discuss   
   From: here@is.invalid   
      
   Bizarre "pink snow" in the Alps is actually a bad omen for Earth   
      
   The Alps' surprising salmon-tinted landscape is dismal news for Earth.   
   Here's why   
      
   A bizarre bout of so-called "watermelon snow" in the Alps this year   
   certainly looks picaresque. Unfortunately, the salmon-tinted landscape   
   is actually a bad omen for Earth's climate.   
      
   Watermelon snow, which takes on a reddish-pink hue, is caused by snow   
   algae. While most fresh-water algae thrive in warmer temperatures,   
   watermelon snow is cryophillic, meaning the organisms thrive in cold   
   temperatures. The algae is red because of its carotenoid pigment.   
      
   The scientific concern over the algae's growing presence in the Alps   
   arises because the red color increases sunlight absorption into the   
   snows -- meaning they will melt earlier and thereby exacerbate the   
   impact of climate change. Biagio Di Mauro, a researcher at the   
   Institute of Polar Sciences at Italy's National Research Council,   
   explained to Earther that the algae blooms in question here are   
   Chlamydomonas nivalis, which is found not only in the Alps but also in   
   both polar regions, including Greenland and the Antarctic.   
      
      
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)