DOI: 10.1038/NGEO3027
论文题名: The role of microbes in snowmelt and radiative forcing on an Alaskan icefield
作者: Ganey G.Q. ; Loso M.G. ; Burgess A.B. ; Dial R.J.
刊名: Nature Geoscience
ISSN: 17520894
出版年: 2017
卷: 10, 期: 10 起始页码: 754
结束页码: 759
语种: 英语
Scopus关键词: glacier
; lacustrine environment
; microbial activity
; microbial community
; microorganism
; radiative forcing
; satellite imagery
; snowmelt
; Alaska
; United States
; algae
英文摘要: A lack of liquid water limits life on glaciers worldwide but specialized microbes still colonize these environments. These microbes reduce surface albedo, which, in turn, could lead to warming and enhanced glacier melt. Here we present results from a replicated, controlled field experiment to quantify the impact of microbes on snowmelt in red-snow communities. Addition of nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium fertilizer increased alga cell counts nearly fourfold, to levels similar to nitrogen-phosphorus-enriched lakes; water alone increased counts by half. The manipulated alga abundance explained a third of the observed variability in snowmelt. Using a normalized-difference spectral index we estimated alga abundance from satellite imagery and calculated microbial contribution to snowmelt on an icefield of 1,900 km2. The red-snow area extended over about 700 km2, and in this area we determined that microbial communities were responsible for 17% of the total snowmelt there. Our results support hypotheses that snow-dwelling microbes increase glacier melt directly in a bio-geophysical feedback by lowering albedo and indirectly by exposing low-albedo glacier ice. Radiative forcing due to perennial populations of microbes may match that of non-living particulates at high latitudes. Their contribution to climate warming is likely to grow with increased melt and nutrient input. © 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved. Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/105703
Appears in Collections: 气候减缓与适应 科学计划与规划
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作者单位: Department of Environmental Science, Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, AK, United States; National Park Service, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Copper Center, Alaska, United States; Earth Science Information Partners, Boulder, CO, United States
Recommended Citation:
Ganey G.Q.,Loso M.G.,Burgess A.B.,et al. The role of microbes in snowmelt and radiative forcing on an Alaskan icefield[J]. Nature Geoscience,2017-01-01,10(10)