Mineral phosphorus drives glacier algal blooms on the Greenland Ice Sheet

Jenine McCutcheon (), Stefanie Lutz, Christopher Williamson, Joseph M. Cook, Andrew J. Tedstone, Aubry Vanderstraeten, Sasha Wilson, Anthony Stockdale, Steeve Bonneville, Alexandre M. Anesio, Marian L. Yallop, James B. McQuaid, Martyn Tranter and Liane G. Benning
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Jenine McCutcheon: School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane
Stefanie Lutz: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
Christopher Williamson: Bristol Glaciology Centre, University of Bristol
Joseph M. Cook: Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University
Andrew J. Tedstone: Bristol Glaciology Centre, University of Bristol
Aubry Vanderstraeten: Environment and Society, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Sasha Wilson: University of Alberta
Anthony Stockdale: School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane
Steeve Bonneville: Environment and Society, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Alexandre M. Anesio: Aarhus University
Marian L. Yallop: School of Biosciences, University of Bristol
James B. McQuaid: School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane
Martyn Tranter: Bristol Glaciology Centre, University of Bristol
Liane G. Benning: School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet is a leading cause of land-ice mass loss and cryosphere-attributed sea level rise. Blooms of pigmented glacier ice algae lower ice albedo and accelerate surface melting in the ice sheet’s southwest sector. Although glacier ice algae cause up to 13% of the surface melting in this region, the controls on bloom development remain poorly understood. Here we show a direct link between mineral phosphorus in surface ice and glacier ice algae biomass through the quantification of solid and fluid phase phosphorus reservoirs in surface habitats across the southwest ablation zone of the ice sheet. We demonstrate that nutrients from mineral dust likely drive glacier ice algal growth, and thereby identify mineral dust as a secondary control on ice sheet melting.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20627-w

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