Big masses of snow have turned pink in the Italian Alps, creating a “watermelon” colour in parts of the Presena Glacier, located in the Italian mountain region of Trentino-Alto Adige.
Numerous photos from the area show a light-pink shade of snow, visible even on satellite photos.
Imporant clarification:
— Biagio Di Mauro (@DiMauro_b) July 6, 2020
1- The alga was probably Chlamydomonas nivalis (a snow alga), not Ancylonema nordenskioeldi (a glacier alga)
2- the phenomen is quite common in the Alps
3- the relationship with climate change has yet to be proven@guardian @afpfr https://t.co/mG6RARexTD
"The alga is not dangerous, it is a natural phenomenon that occurs during the spring and summer periods in the middle latitudes but also at the Poles", Biagio Di Mauro of the Institute of Polar Sciences (ISP) at Italy's National Research Council.
While this phenomenon is well-documented, as the algae appeas regularly, but this year the extent of the bloom is yet to be evaluated.
Sull'arco alpino italiano viene osservato in questi giorni il fenomeno della neve rosa, come testimoniano le immagini girate col drone sul ghiacciaio #Presena, ubicato al confine tra Lombardia e Trentino Alto Adige. Da cosa è determinato questo fatto? credits LocalTeam pic.twitter.com/ml5gJQKjdO
— meteo & radar (@meteoeradar) June 25, 2020
