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Remote sensing reveals Antarctic green snow algae as important terrestrial carbon sink

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Peer-reviewed

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Abstract

Abstract: We present the first estimate of green snow algae community biomass and distribution along the Antarctic Peninsula. Sentinel 2 imagery supported by two field campaigns revealed 1679 snow algae blooms, seasonally covering 1.95 × 106 m2 and equating to 1.3 × 103 tonnes total dry biomass. Ecosystem range is limited to areas with average positive summer temperatures, and distribution strongly influenced by marine nutrient inputs, with 60% of blooms less than 5 km from a penguin colony. A warming Antarctica may lose a majority of the 62% of blooms occupying small, low-lying islands with no high ground for range expansion. However, bloom area and elevation were observed to increase at lower latitudes, suggesting that parallel expansion of bloom area on larger landmasses, close to bird or seal colonies, is likely. This increase is predicted to outweigh biomass lost from small islands, resulting in a net increase in snow algae extent and biomass as the Peninsula warms.

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Keywords

Article, /631/449, /704/47/4113, /704/106/125, /704/158/855, article

Journal Title

Nature Communications

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2041-1723

Volume Title

11

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group UK
Sponsorship
RCUK | NERC | British Antarctic Survey (BAS) (CASS 2018)