In a place known for its icy blues and snowy whites, researchers were stunned to find a bright green algae bloom thriving beneath Arctic ice. This strange sight was first spotted in 2011 by scientists from Stanford University who were tracking ocean life in the Chukchi Sea. The green patch turned out to be a massive bloom of phytoplankton—tiny, oxygen-producing organisms that usually need a lot of sunlight. The catch? Thick Arctic ice has always been thought to block sunlight, making such blooms impossible.
The key to the mystery was thinner ice. A later study in 2017 by researchers at Harvard revealed that global warming had caused Arctic ice to thin out and become less reflective, allowing more sunlight to pass through. This unexpected access to light created just the right conditions for photosynthesis to kick in, sparking large under-ice blooms of phytoplankton. In fact, these blooms were found to be up to ten times more productive than usual, raising big questions about what this means for the future of the Arctic.
Phytoplankton plays a vital role in producing oxygen and feeding marine life, but scientists worry that such fast and dramatic changes could throw the entire Arctic ecosystem off balance. Warmer temperatures, melting ice, and blooming algae could trigger unpredictable effects for everything from tiny fish to larger Arctic animals, creating yet another dangerous feedback loop in our warming world.
PMID: 28435859
PMCID: PMC5371420
The key to the mystery was thinner ice. A later study in 2017 by researchers at Harvard revealed that global warming had caused Arctic ice to thin out and become less reflective, allowing more sunlight to pass through. This unexpected access to light created just the right conditions for photosynthesis to kick in, sparking large under-ice blooms of phytoplankton. In fact, these blooms were found to be up to ten times more productive than usual, raising big questions about what this means for the future of the Arctic.
Phytoplankton plays a vital role in producing oxygen and feeding marine life, but scientists worry that such fast and dramatic changes could throw the entire Arctic ecosystem off balance. Warmer temperatures, melting ice, and blooming algae could trigger unpredictable effects for everything from tiny fish to larger Arctic animals, creating yet another dangerous feedback loop in our warming world.
PMID: 28435859
PMCID: PMC5371420
In a place known for its icy blues and snowy whites, researchers were stunned to find a bright green algae bloom thriving beneath Arctic ice. This strange sight was first spotted in 2011 by scientists from Stanford University who were tracking ocean life in the Chukchi Sea. The green patch turned out to be a massive bloom of phytoplankton—tiny, oxygen-producing organisms that usually need a lot of sunlight. The catch? Thick Arctic ice has always been thought to block sunlight, making such blooms impossible.
The key to the mystery was thinner ice. A later study in 2017 by researchers at Harvard revealed that global warming had caused Arctic ice to thin out and become less reflective, allowing more sunlight to pass through. This unexpected access to light created just the right conditions for photosynthesis to kick in, sparking large under-ice blooms of phytoplankton. In fact, these blooms were found to be up to ten times more productive than usual, raising big questions about what this means for the future of the Arctic.
Phytoplankton plays a vital role in producing oxygen and feeding marine life, but scientists worry that such fast and dramatic changes could throw the entire Arctic ecosystem off balance. Warmer temperatures, melting ice, and blooming algae could trigger unpredictable effects for everything from tiny fish to larger Arctic animals, creating yet another dangerous feedback loop in our warming world.
PMID: 28435859
PMCID: PMC5371420
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