--- title: "Bright-Red “Blood Snow” Is Falling From the Sky in Antarctica" description: "A Facebook post by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine shows a research station in antarctica covered in \"raspberry snow.\"" date: "2020-02-27" modified: "2020-02-27" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/bright-red-blood-snow-falling-from-sky-antarctica" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "antarctic ice melting" - "Antarctica" - "snow" - "the digest" --- # Bright-Red “Blood Snow” Is Falling From the Sky in Antarctica ![A Facebook post by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine shows a research station in antarctica covered in "raspberry snow."]() *\Image: Ukraine Ministry of Education and Science\* ## Blood Snow A [Facebook post]() by Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science shows a research station on an island just off the coast of Antarctica's northernmost peninsula covered in "blood snow." The gory-looking scene is not the result of a seal hunt gone wrong — it's an astonishingly red-pigmented, microscopic algae called Chlamydomonas nivalis, which thrives in freezing water as the ice melts during Antarctica's [record-breaking warm summer](). ## Algae Bloom When summer hits the polar regions, the algae bloom, staining the snow and ice around it in blood-resembling red, as [*Live Science* explains](). The phenomenon was first noticed by Aristotle thousands of years ago and is often referred to as "watermelon snow" thanks to its subtly sweet scent and color. What makes the blooming algae red is the same stuff that give carrots and watermelons their reddish tint — carotenoids. ## Feedback Loop It's a stunning display of a natural phenomenon — but it also creates a nasty feedback loop that causes the ice to melt faster. The red color causes less sunlight to be reflected off the snow, causing it to melt faster, as the Ukrainian team explains in its post. The accelerated melting then causes more algae to grow, completing the cycle. It's not the only surreal display in the world caused by such a feedback loop, as *Live Science* points out. Blooming algae caused [sea foam to swallow up]() the coast of a Spanish town in January. Similar algae blooms even caused shores around islands in the East China Sea to [glow blue](). **READ MORE:** [Spooky 'blood snow' invades Antarctic island]() \[*Live Science*\] **More on algae:** *[A New Bioreactor Captures as Much Carbon as an Acre of Trees]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()