Scientists warn that fast- melting glaciers are releasing huge amounts ofbacteria into the water.
Hundreds of thousands of tonnes ofbacteria could be released into the environment downstream of glaciers if global warming continues over the next 80 years, according to a study.
"We think of glaciers as a huge store of frozen water, but the key lesson from this research is that they are also ecosystems in their own right," said the author of the study.
Mountains of ice are carving out valleys as they move towards the sea. Minerals, gases, and organic materials are trapped on a one-way slide that could take tens of thousands to millions of years to end.
It's like opening the door to another era when you study the contents of glaciers. New compounds, such as antibiotics, could be a result of the Microbes Entombed inside them. The researchers behind the study say glaciers are releasing tons ofbacteria faster than they can catalog them.
The team collected meltwater from ten glaciers across the Northern Hemisphere, from the European Alps to the far reaches of Canada.
Over the next 80 years, they estimate that more than a hundred thousand tonnes ofbacteria could be expelled into the glaciers in the Himalayas.
The amount of carbon released into rivers, lakes, fjords, and oceans depends on how fast glaciers melt and how quickly we curb emissions.
Under a'middle of the road' emissions scenario that would still see global temperatures rise between 2 and 3 C, mass ofbacteria in meltwater are predicted to peak within decades.
How much we continue to warm the planet depends on how quickly the glaciers melt. Even with moderate warming, the mass of microbes is huge.
Scientists realized that the ice is thinner than they thought. Some glaciers have already passed a tipping point where meltwater is slowing to a trickle as the glacier's water level continues to decline.
Microbes in meltwater can fertilize downstream, but sensitive environments may be used by communities that rely on glaciers for water.
The researchers couldn't identify any species that might pose a threat to human health because they didn't study individual strains.
The risk is probably very small, but it needs careful assessment, according toEdwards.
We don't know how the sudden influx of microbes will affect the environment. It is expected to have a profound effect on the productivity and ecology of the community.
bacteria and algae found in icy environments usually contain pigments to protect themselves from harmful sunlight Warming that is already accelerated by the loss of glaciers could be worsened by the absorption of solar energy.
The warnings should not be taken lightly because more research is needed to assess the downstream effects. The global water cycle has been altered by humans' thirst for water and industrial activity.
"Over the coming decades, the forecast 'peak water' from Earth's mountain glaciers means we need to improve our understanding of the state and fate of ecosystems on the surface of glaciers."
Predicting the effects of climate change on glaciers and biogeochemistry would be better with a better grasp of that picture.
The study was published in an environmental journal.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
