Microbes from the Gilkey Glacier, Alaska
Alaskan mountain glaciers are experiencing significant mass loss. With solar radiation being a primary driver of melting glacial ice and snow, glaciers and high-elevation mountain snowpacks are especially sensitive to changes in the concentration of light absorbing particles. Impurities such as mineral dust, black carbon, microbes and organic matter have been shown to reduce the surface albedo, increasing the absorption of solar radiation and accelerating melt to downstream ecosystems. Partnering with the Juneau Icefields Research Program we isolated and sequenced microbes from the Gilkey Glacier, Alaska.