Communities of algae and cyanobacteria on glaciers in west Greenland

Uetake, Jun; Naganuma, Takeshi; Hebsgaard, Martin B.; Kanda, Hiroshi; Kohshima, Shiro

doi:10.1016/j.polar.2010.03.002

Cited by 97 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The average length of photoautrophic cells also increased with distance from the glacier terminus. This might be attributable to more frequent sightings of eukaryotic cells (large, spheroid, single cells, exhibiting characteristic autofluorescence in green-filter light) in the upper parts of the ablation zone-an observation also made by Uetake et al (2010). Takeuchi (2001) suggested that filamentous and colonial cyanobacteria have an advantage in lower parts of the ablation zone by not being washed from the ice by meltwater.…”

Section: Spatial Variation Issuementioning

confidence: 83%

“…This part of the ablation zone was characterized by high mineral content, low microbial numbers and activity, and a high phylogenetic diversity. Wind-transported mineral debris at glacial termini have been observed, and are believed to be a nutrient source (Hodson et al 2008;Uetake et al 2010). High OTU and TC numbers have also been noted at an Alaskan glacier's edge (Segawa et al 2010), while Stibal et al (2012) described low microbial numbers and activities in a comparable area on a Greenland glacier.…”

Section: Culturable Glacial Microbesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Many researchers investigating glacial microbiota have collected samples along a transect like ours (Mindl et al 2007;Uetake et al 2010;Edwards et al 2011;Zarsky et al Fig. 5 Principal component analysis of microbiological data in surface ice (black diamonds) and cryoconite samples (circles).…”

Section: Spatial Variation Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbial community changes along the Ecology Glacier ablation zone (King George Island, Antarctica)

et al. 2015

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Section: Spatial Variation Issuementioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Culturable Glacial Microbesmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Microbial community changes along the Ecology Glacier ablation zone (King George Island, Antarctica)

et al. 2015

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“…Second, there may be additional microbial nitrogen assimilation in other surface ice environments, e.g. dispersed cryoconite grains or ice algae (Uetake et al, 2010). For example, dispersed cryoconite can contribute up to half the total cryoconite coverage on Arctic valley glaciers, and may have the potential to be biologically active .…”

Section: Active Nitrogen Fixation In the Marginal And Glacier Zonesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial nitrogen cycling on the Greenland Ice Sheet

et al. 2012

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Abstract. Nitrogen inputs and microbial nitrogen cycling were investigated along a 79 km transect into the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) during the main ablation season in summer 2010. The depletion of dissolved nitrate and production of ammonium (relative to icemelt) in cryoconite holes on Leverett Glacier, within 7.5 km of the ice sheet margin, suggested microbial uptake and ammonification respectively. Positive in situ acetylene assays indicated nitrogen fixation both in a debris-rich 100 m marginal zone and up to 5.7 km upslope on Leverett Glacier (with rates up to 16.3 µmoles C 2 H 4 m −2 day −1 ). No positive acetylene assays were detected > 5.7 km into the ablation zone of the ice sheet. Potential nitrogen fixation only occurred when concentrations of dissolved and sediment-bound inorganic nitrogen were undetectable. Estimates of nitrogen fluxes onto the transect suggest that nitrogen fixation is likely of minor importance to the overall nitrogen budget of Leverett Glacier and of negligible importance to the nitrogen budget on the main ice sheet itself. Nitrogen fixation is however potentially important as a source of nitrogen to microbial communities in the debrisrich marginal zone close to the terminus of the glacier, where nitrogen fixation may aid the colonization of subglacial and moraine-derived debris.

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“…Glacier albedo can also be modified by ice algae, which are taxonomically distinct from the algae that inhabit snow (Uetake et al, 2010;Yallop et al, 2012). Ice algae are dominated by several species of green algae and cyanobacteria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying bioalbedo: a new physically based model and discussion of empirical methods for characterising biological influence on ice and snow albedo

et al. 2017

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Abstract. The darkening effects of biological impurities on ice and snow have been recognised as a control on the surface energy balance of terrestrial snow, sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets. With a heightened interest in understanding the impacts of a changing climate on snow and ice processes, quantifying the impact of biological impurities on ice and snow albedo ("bioalbedo") and its evolution through time is a rapidly growing field of research. However, rigorous quantification of bioalbedo has remained elusive because of difficulties in isolating the biological contribution to ice albedo from that of inorganic impurities and the variable optical properties of the ice itself. For this reason, isolation of the biological signature in reflectance data obtained from aerial/orbital platforms has not been achieved, even when ground-based biological measurements have been available. This paper provides the cell-specific optical properties that are required to model the spectral signatures and broadband darkening of ice. Applying radiative transfer theory, these properties provide the physical basis needed to link biological and glaciological ground measurements with remotely sensed reflectance data. Using these new capabilities we confirm that biological impurities can influence ice albedo, then we identify 10 challenges to the measurement of bioalbedo in the field with the aim of improving future experimental designs to better quantify bioalbedo feedbacks. These challenges are (1) ambiguity in terminology, (2) characterising snow or ice optical properties, (3) characterising solar irradiance, (4) determining optical properties of cells, (5) measuring biomass, (6) characterising vertical distribution of cells, (7) characterising abiotic impurities, (8) surface anisotropy, (9) measuring indirect albedo feedbacks, and (10) measurement and instrument configurations. This paper aims to provide a broad audience of glaciologists and biologists with an overview of radiative transfer and albedo that could support future experimental design.

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Communities of algae and cyanobacteria on glaciers in west Greenland

Cited by 97 publications

References 15 publications

Microbial community changes along the Ecology Glacier ablation zone (King George Island, Antarctica)

Microbial community changes along the Ecology Glacier ablation zone (King George Island, Antarctica)

Microbial nitrogen cycling on the Greenland Ice Sheet

Quantifying bioalbedo: a new physically based model and discussion of empirical methods for characterising biological influence on ice and snow albedo

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