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Penguin Guano Helps Keep Antarctic Snow Algae Green
The American Geophysical Union statement is dated October 7. Green snow absorbs about 40 percent more sunlight energy than clean snow. Red absorbs about 20 percent more.
Primary sources
American Geophysical Union · publisher · published 2026-10-07
JGR: Biogeosciences · journal · published 2026-10-07
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Script
Snow along the West Antarctic Peninsula can turn red or green because of algae living in it. A study in JGR: Biogeosciences says the algae stay green, and keep growing, when nutrients are abundant. When nutrients are scarce or conditions are harsh, they make red sunscreen pigments and pause growth. Researchers sampled snow across five degrees of latitude, near penguin colonies and far from them. Samples with green pigment had far more phosphate, a nutrient in penguin guano. Penguins and other seabirds carry marine nutrients onto coastal snow. The American Geophysical Union says this is the first direct link between that guano and the algae's color stages. Red snow absorbs about 20 percent more sunlight energy than clean snow. Green snow absorbs about 40 percent more. Melt projections do not include the effect yet. The authors say more data are needed. The publisher's statement is dated October 7.
Claims
Snow algae along the Antarctic Peninsula can make snow look red or green. With abundant nutrients the algae stay green and keep growing, using chlorophyll. When nutrients are scarce or conditions are harsh, they produce red sunscreen pigments and pause growth.
Samples came from the West Antarctic Peninsula, across five degrees of latitude, both near penguin colonies and away from them. Where green pigments dominated, the snow had far more phosphate, a nutrient in guano.
Penguins and other seabirds move marine nutrients, including phosphate, onto coastal snow. Khan's team is the first to show a direct link between penguin guano and the algae's color stages. Melt projections do not yet include it, and more data are needed.
Red snow absorbs about 20 percent more sunlight energy than clean snow. Green snow absorbs about 40 percent more.
The paper is Ryan and Khan, 2026, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, DOI 10.1029/2026JG009918. AGU says the paper is open access.