Now we know how much glacial melting ‘watermelon snow’ can cause

Algae that tinge snow red are to blame for about a sixth of the snowmelt at an Alaskan ice field

Harding Icefield in Alaska

SNOW DECORATION  Algae turn the snow pink and red on parts of Alaska’s Harding Icefield. New research finds that the pink snow melts faster than clean snow.

Gerard Ganey

Microbes are pushing glacial snow into the red.