NOVOSIBIRSK, August 1Scientists have recorded a violent bloom of blood-red algae Chlamydomonas nivalis on glaciers in the Altai Mountains this year, which is leading to their more active melting and may be an indicator of climate change, Tomsk State University (TSU) reported.
«Scientists and students from Tomsk State University and Moscow State University, while studying the glaciers of the Altai Mountains, noted a phenomenon — a violent bloom of Chlamydomonas nivalis algae (snow chlamydomonas). These single-celled plants are able to exist at low temperatures. Recently, their bloom has become increasingly active, which leads to the glacier turning blood-red,» the university said in a statement. 
During the expedition, scientists measured the glacier's reflectivity (albedo — the ratio of the amount of radiation reflected from the surface to the amount of radiation falling on this surface) and found that algae bloom reduces it, which means it leads to more active melting of ice and snow.
«The purpose of the expedition was to monitor the mass balance of the Aktru glaciers, which is being conducted as part of a study of their response to climate change. In particular, a study of the solar radiation regime in the Altai highlands was conducted. For this, an MSU device was used — a Kipp & Zonen field albedometer,» said the head of the expedition, head of the glacioclimatology laboratory of the TSU Geological and Geographical Faculty, Alexander Erofeev.
The research was conducted on the Left Aktru and Vodopadny glaciers, located at altitudes from 2,600 to 3,556 meters above sea level. Scientists noted that this year the algae are blooming more actively than last year
«In the absence of clouds, the «scarlet fields» on Vodopadnoye were visible even from the Bolshoy Levyy Aktru glacier, located 5 kilometers away. When measuring, it turned out that the value of reflectivity in areas covered with algae is noticeably lower than in areas without them… The «darkening» of the glacier surface leads to the activation of melting of ice and snow in such areas. This phenomenon, of course, should be studied by scientists,» noted Evgeniya Shkurinova, a master's student at the Department of Glaciology and Cryolithology of the Geography Faculty of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, who conducted the survey.
She explained that the increase in algae activity on the glacier may indicate a change in the conditions of existence of not only living organisms on the glacier, but also their impact on the existence of the glaciers themselves, which are one of the most sensitive indicators of climate change.