UKH

Red snow on the hill… At the sight, the chest might tighten for a second - blood on the snow? Thankfully, no. This isn't the scene of some past grisly accident. The colouring instead indicates the presence of one of nature's more unusual mountain phenomena, the spectacle known as 'watermelon snow'. And we need your help to find it.

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In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I enjoyed reading this. Well-written, entertaining and informative. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Nice article! Might be worth checking out this group, they're pretty consistent at posting pictures of patches from all over Scotland- https://m.facebook.com/groups/snowpatchesscotland/ 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

It's the yellow snow you need to steer clear of

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

There's a group in the US who hauled a huge infra red gas analyser chamber up in the Sierras and showed 'red snow' was actively photosynthesising despite being cold (obviously) and ridiculously bright sunlight and UV. Life is remarkable.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Excellent article, many thanks! 

This is best display I have seen in Scotland: below the summit of Bidean nam Bian in late June 2014. 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

If you should fall and cut yourself near the algal colonised snow, can they cause problems with superficial skin infection? Are there bacteria seen in microscopic evaluations of coloured snow samples?

In reply to veteye:

The studies I've seen show relatively little microbial diversity in these systems (cryoconnite in glacier melt holes has much more). Nothing to worry about more than any other cut in the outdoors.

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Thanks for the comments and feedback! And apologies if you received a bounce back message from the email. I think that is fixed now. I should have checked that… 

Seán Fortune: Yes, I haven’t got facebook, but I have seen posts, and it seems a great group. What Adam Watson, Iain Cameron and the wider community have achieved in monitoring snow patches over the years is amazing. Its an incredible long term dataset, and I’d love to help add a biology twist to it. 

Mark Bull: Thanks for the sighting Mark, that is mega! An Alpine scale bloom!

Hang_about, veteye: Yes, they do have very active microbial and fungal communities, certainly towards the later stages of the bloom (a good reason not to eat it!), but as hang_about says, no evidence that its riskier than any other outdoor cut.

Lankyman: it cant be said enough.
 

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Exceptional! Thank you!

In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Thank you for this piece. Informative, eloquent, and enjoyable. Best of luck with the continued research.