An aerial photograph taken above the Presena glacier near Pellizzano shows pink snow on July 03. Scientists in Italy are studying this mysterious phenomenon that is linked to the algae that is believed to accelerate the effects of climate change. (Miguel Medina / AFP)
A man can be seen walking on the pink glacial ice on July 04. The origins of the algae are debated; however, Biagio Di Mauro of the Italian National Survey Council believes that the pink snow seen on parts of the Presena glacier appears to have been caused by the plant Ancylonema nordenskioeldii, which is also found in Greenland’s ‘dark-zone’ where the ice melts quickly. (Miguel Medina / AFP)
Di Mauro, who had studied the algae at the Morteratsch glacier in Switzerland, told AFP, “The alga is not dangerous, it is a natural phenomenon that occurs in spring and summer in the central latitudes but also at the Poles. ”(Miguel Medina / AFP)
A researcher at CNR (National Research Council) takes samples of the pink snow. Ice usually releases more than 80 per cent of the sun’s radiation back into the atmosphere, but as algae do, they darken the ice until it absorbs the heat and melts. earlier. Melting ice provides them with vital water and air while at the same time adding red eyes to the white ice. (Miguel Medina / AFP)
Aerial photograph of Passo Gavia at an altitude of 2,618 meters (8,590 feet). “Everything that darkens the snow causes it to melt because it accelerates the uptake of radiation,” Di Mauro said. (Miguel Medina / AFP)
Giving AFP a final look at its research, Di Mauro said, “We are trying to quantify the impact of other onions in addition to the human on global warming,” noting that presence could walkers and ski lifts can also affect the algae. (Miguel Medina / AFP)