Back to Search
Start Over
Cryoconite: The dark biological secret of the cryosphere
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- SAGE Publications, 2016.
-
Abstract
- Cryoconite is granular sediment found on glacier surfaces comprising both mineral and biological material. Despite long having been recognised as an important glaciological and biological phenomenon cryoconite remains relatively poorly understood. Here, we appraise the literature on cryoconite for the first time, with the aim of synthesising and evaluating current knowledge to direct future investigations. We review the properties of cryoconite, the environments in which it is found, the biology and biogeochemistry of cryoconite, and its interactions with climate and anthropogenic pollutants. We generally focus upon cryoconite in the Arctic in summer, with Antarctic and lower latitude settings examined individually. We then compare the current state-of-the-science with that at the turn of the twentieth century, and suggest directions for future research including specific recommendations for studies at a range of spatial scales and a framework for integrating these into a more holistic understanding of cryoconite and its role in the cryosphere.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Ecology
Earth science
Geography, Planning and Development
Biogeochemistry
Glacier
Albedo
01 natural sciences
Biological materials
The arctic
03 medical and health sciences
030104 developmental biology
Cryoconite
Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Cryosphere
Anthropogenic pollutants
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 14770296
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....d483f0137c556cce5a9dd289e970040b