What Is Dark Snow?

For more see This Planet Chronicle's post: http://www.thisplanet.tv/blog/dark-snow

If all the water stored in the Greenland ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by 22 feet around the world. Greenland's ice loss is accelerating, so a group of scientists launched the Dark Snow project to find out why. Torrential rivers of surface melt revealed the first clue - something was attacking the ice from above. A little dust, perhaps some industrial pollutants, and something else they didn't figure on: algae. Rising temperatures create surface puddles, where a dark-colored form of cold-water-loving algae can grow.

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