What Happens After Glaciers Recede?
Seemingly barren soil can be seen at the foot of the Puca glacier, Peru, which is retreating by 20 metres per year (Image: Sasha C Reed)
By now we should have all seen those great pictures Mr Gore passed around the planet, showing retreating glaciers like the one above. Whilst no doubt catastrophic n one way, few (if any of us) have given thought to what happens next?
At Puca glacier, (shown above) the researchers found that soil shear strength was nearly double in the oldest soil relative to the youngest soil samples.
To investigate what is happening, Steve Schmidt of the University of Colorado and a few of his colleagues examined the soil at the retreating edge of the Puca glacier. Between 2000 and 2005, his team sampled the top 10 centimetres of ground that was revealed as the glacier moved uphill at an astonishing rate of about 20 metres per year!
*gulp*
Schmidt analysed the chemical structure of the samples screening specifically for bacteria. The findings have been very interesting in that over the years the "oldest" soil [the dirt taken from the point that was revealed at the glacier edge in 2000], had changed rapidly.
It seems that the first organisms to appear in dead soil are cyanobacteria (more commonly known as Blue-green algae). Far from being the modern day pests of civilisation, these bacteria are to be thanked for pumping oxygen into Earth's atmosphere 3.4 billion years ago, allowing land life to evolve.
Cyanobacteria - more commonly, Blue Green Algae
By running DNA analyses on the soil, Schmidt and his colleagues were soon able to show how the bacteria population changed over the first five years. It is clear that whilst young soil contained just three distinct genetic strains of cyanobacteria, the older four-year-old soil already harboured up to 20 colonial strains.
Simply put, cyanobacteria increases the amount of carbon available in the soil, through photosynthesis and, along with other types of bacteria, it also boosts the nitrogen levels in the soil, all essential nutrient building blocks in allowing land life to develop [..enabling vegetation to form later on].
Journal reference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0808)
Earths Earliest Life (cyanobacteria) Found In Australian Desert
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Infognito
lets hope the ancient glacial slime doesn't develop a brain and take over the Earth when it hits the oxygen!
Well, actually, it could be a vast improvement, come to think of it! tee hee!
cheers and another fascinating and informative post gurrlish!!
fog
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I have to agree .. it might well have a better system in mind for running the place than the one we cooked up, thats for sure *chuckle* nature seems to me, to possess an innate wisdom we obviously lack, perhaps why we keep trying to control it .. if only we would learn to give credit where it was due, hey?
Thanks for the visit and the compliment.
Lilla ...
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Thank you for the lovely compliment, that is extra special coming from someone who always has such interesting posts of her own to ponder.
I also found this so interesting, and am thinking that the discovery will really help scientists with their plans to vegetate Mars, perhaps?
Who knows where the future will blow us all?
Thanks for stopping by.
Lilla ...
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..aint that the truth.
Hope you also had good news whilst visiting certain VIPs?
Thanks for your comment.
Lilla ...
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I noticed this when i was in New Zealand in January - tried to upload the photo but for some reason my computer has gone on strike. Where the glaciers (Fox and Franz Josef) have most recently retreated there is this barren, rocky land, but where it covered the land many, many decades before is now lush jungle.
Quite fascinating and most definitely worth the visit should you find yourself in that part of the world.
ash
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I have now put that on the To See list (it seems more likely than Puca glacier at this stage - well in this lifetime, anway) *smile* I would add that now you know the science too!
Glad you found the info interesting... going off now on the fascinating trail of finding God particles...*wink*
Thanks
Lilla ....
Fascinating research and it's great to hear of positive effects when it really is so terrifying at times when we think about climate change. It makes me wonder about the future and what role the earth will play in self restoration?
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frightening is the word, but this did seem like a breath of fresh air... and if there is one thing to be said about life, it is that it is tenancious... I think life will survive .. but perhaps not as we know it now. I was reading about extinctions on Morgan's post of the same name, and from it realised how life changes to suit conditions ... but life does depend on being able to survive in certain conditions and the question always reamains, what happens when it can't and will we push it that far?
No doubts that our kidies will play a big role in how it plays out.. take them to see Wall.E. a great tale full of hope and realsations for our future humans to see.
Lovely to see you too...
Lilla ...
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Thanks for the lovely compliment.
Always a pleasure in learning about our precious planet and the wondrous way that mother nature nurtures us, regardless of our abuse!
Simply amazing ..
Thanks too for always taking the time to enjoy and comment ...
Lilla ...