科学家在南极洲拍摄了令人难以置信的“西瓜”雪的照片

科学家在南极洲拍摄了令人难以置信的“西瓜”雪的照片

Ukranian scientists stationed at the Vernadsky Research Base on Galindez Island had quite the surprise walking outside earlier this week. The snow around the Antarctic base had turned from white to shades of pink and red. But don’t worry, no penguins were harmed or responsible for the change of color.

本周早些时候，驻扎在加林兹岛沃尔纳德斯基研究基地的乌克兰科学家们在户外散步时，着实吃了一惊。南极基地周围的雪从白色变成了粉红色和红色。但别担心，没有企鹅受到伤害，也没有企鹅变色的原因。

The culprit behind the coloration is Chlamydomonas nivalis, a red algae that is typically found in ice and snow on mountain ranges as well as at the poles. Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science explained the phenomenon in a Facebook post, describing the snow as the color of "raspberry jam".

造成这种颜色的罪魁祸首是nivalis衣藻，这是一种红色藻类，通常存在于山脉的冰雪中以及极地。乌克兰教育和科学部在脸书上解释了这一现象，称雪的颜色为“覆盆子酱”。

It may look delicious, but it's not a good sign.

它可能看起来很美味，但这不是一个好迹象。

Andriy Zotov/Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science

These tiny organisms have found their niche in extremely cold climates. During the winter months, they are dormant, waiting for the ice and snow to thaw. When the environment warms up, they blossom and replicate into their surroundings. The algae change color from green to orange to red during its life cycle, with blooms particularly intense during long stretches of fair temperatures.

这些微生物在极冷的气候中找到了它们的生存空间。在冬季，它们蛰伏，等待冰雪融化。当环境变暖时，它们会开花并在周围繁殖。在它的生命周期中，藻类的颜色从绿色到橙色再到红色，在长时间的适宜温度下，藻类会大量繁殖。

The weather has been unusually warm in Antarctica this season. The hottest-ever recorded temperature in the southernmost continent was set early this month with an incredible 18.3°C (64.9°F) at the Argentinian research base Esperanza, 405 kilometers (252 miles) from Vernadsky Research Base.

这个季节南极洲的天气异常温暖。本月初，距沃尔纳德斯基研究基地405公里(252英里)的阿根廷研究基地埃斯佩朗萨(Esperanza)创下了史上最南端大陆温度最高记录，达到了令人难以置信的18.3摄氏度(64.9华氏度)。

Andriy Zotov/Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science

Large algae blooms such as these have a deleterious effect on the ice and the melting of glaciers in many geographical locations. Ice being white is really good at reflecting light away, reducing the amount of heat the glacier absorbs. Since the algae is darker in coloration, it reflects less sunlight and therefore results in the glaciers melting faster.

像这样的大规模藻类爆发对许多地理位置的冰和冰川的融化产生了有害的影响。因为冰是白色的，所以很容易反射光线，减少冰川吸收的热量。由于藻类颜色较深，它反射的阳光较少，因此导致冰川融化更快。

As discussed in a Nature Communications study from a few years back, algae can reduce the albedo of snow (its reflectivity) by up to 13 percent. Given that warmer temperatures across the globe create earlier and longer blooms for the algae, there is a vicious circle between the tiny organisms, climate change, and the melting of glaciers across the world.

正如几年前《自然通讯》的一项研究中所讨论的那样，藻类可以将雪的反照率(其反射率)降低至多13%。考虑到全球变暖会使藻类更早、更长久地大量繁殖，在微小生物、气候变化和全球冰川融化之间形成了一个恶性循环。