Giant viruses in Arctic ice could slow sea-level rise

By Francisco "A.J." Camacho, Chelsea Harvey | 06/24/2024 06:20 AM EDT

Scientists recently discovered viruses in the algal blooms that dot the Greenland ice sheet.

NYU student researchers sit on top of a rock overlooking the Helheim glacier in Greenland on Aug. 16, 2019. Scientists say giant viruses may be limiting the growth of algal blooms on Greenland's ice sheet.

Researchers sit on top of a rock overlooking the Helheim glacier in Greenland in 2019. Scientists say giant viruses may be limiting the growth of algal blooms on Greenland's ice sheet. Felipe Dana/AP

Hordes of giant viruses are living on the world’s second-largest body of ice — and may be slowing the impacts of climate change.

Scientists announced the discovery in a recent paper on the Greenland ice sheet. Some of the viruses, they say, have infected algae, potentially limiting the growth of colored snow blooms that can speed up ice melt and raise global sea levels.

“They infect the microalgae,” said Laura Perini, one of the paper’s lead authors and a researcher at Denmark’s Aarhus University. “If they kill the algae, … then they kind of reduce the speed with which the ice is melting.”

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The Greenland ice sheet is the largest single contributor to global sea level rise. Algae can darken the surface of the snow, causing it to absorb more sunlight and melt at faster rates.

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