Surface ice of the Greenland Ice Sheet (IMAGE)

University of Bristol

Surface ice of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Caption

Surface ice of the Greenland Ice Sheet within the 'dark-zone' that runs along the western ice sheet margin. The purple/brown discolouration of the ice is driven by a bloom of microscopic 'glacier algae' that produce a specialist 'sun-screen' pigment to protect themselves from the excess sunlight and low temperatures that characterize this environment.

Credit

Dr Chris Williamson

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