<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/15/arctic-glaciers-face-terminal-decline-as-microbes-accelerate-ice-melt>
"“It felt really scary … like being in the middle of a burning city during a
night raid.” Dr Arwyn Edwards is not describing urban warfare but a recent hot
and foggy day on a Svalbard glacier, where record-breaking summer heat turned
his workplace into a cascade of meltwater and falling rocks.
Edwards is a leading researcher in glacier ecology – the study of life forms
that live on, within and around glaciers and ice sheets. Over two decades of
polar research, he has always felt “relaxed and at home” on ice. But the
accelerating climate breakdown is beginning to erode that sense of security.
While mean global temperatures have not yet breached the 1.5C Paris target, the
Arctic blew past that landmark long ago. Svalbard is heating seven times faster
than the world average.
Time is running out to understand these fragile ecosystems and the trillions of
dollars in climate costs they could unleash.
Edwards describes the cold-adapted microbes he studies as “the watchkeepers and
arch-agitators of Arctic demise”. Recent research implicates snow and
ice-dwelling microbes in positive feedback loops that can accelerate melting.
With more than 70% of the planet’s freshwater stored in ice and snow – and
billions of lives sustained by glacier-fed rivers – this has profound
implications everywhere.
Yet not all polar microbes amplify global heating. Emerging evidence suggests
that certain populations are – for now – applying a brake to methane
emissions."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
