New EGU podcast
What influences the growth of colorfully pigmented algae on the Greenland Ice Sheet? How can this be researched? And what contribution do algae make to the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet? Dr Helen Feord, postdoctoral researcher from the GFZ Section “Interface Geochemistry”, reports on this in the new podcast launched by the Biogeosciences Division of the European Geosciences Union (EGU).
In a 25-minute conversation with host Bikem Ekberzade, Helen Feord talks about her research that is part of the European Research Council funded project called DEEP PURPLE.
Due to their variable dark colors, glacial ice and snow algae exacerbate the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet caused by climate change. Therefore, a precise understanding of their growth behavior is important for more accurate modelling of future Greenland glacier melt, which has a significant impact on sea level rise.
The DEEP PURPLE project started in 2020 and runs to the end of 2026, funded by an ERC Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) with a total of €11 million, €3.3 million of which came to the GFZ. The project is led by Prof. Liane G. Benning, head of the “Interface Geochemistry” section at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, and Prof. Alexandre Anesio and Prof. Martyn Tranter, both from Aarhus University, Denmark.
Listen to the podcast here: On ice: algal blooms and the Greenland Ice Sheet
Recent research by Helen Feord and team is summed up in this paper which has just been published in npj biofilms and microbiomes (from the nature partner journals series):
Feord, H.K., Trautwein-Schult, A., Keuschnig, C. et al.
Algae-dominated metaproteomes uncover cellular adaptations to life on the Greenland Ice Sheet. npj Biofilms Microbiomes 11, 181 (2025).
doi.org/10.1038/s41522-025-00770-2
The study gives novel insights into the cellular biology of both, ice and snow algae on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Helen and her research team shed light on different proteins that enable the algae’s respective adaption to this harsh environment which is characterized by low temperatures, high light, and low nutrient availability. This is the first time proteins have been quantified from sample collected from glaciers.
The results in brief:
The streptophyte glacier ice algae have a relative enrichment in proteins involved in environmental signaling and nutrient transport. This indicates that the cells are able to dynamically respond to extreme environmental cues on the Greenland Ice Sheet, linked, for example, to photoprotection and the rapid update of scarce nutrients.
The chlorophyte snow algae have a high abundance of proteins linked to lipid and nitrogen metabolisms, providing evidence for the biological processes sustaining the cellular carbon and nitrogen stores necessary for survival in a nutrient-poor environment.
For further insight into the Arctic fieldwork within the Interface Geochmistry section, please also read a new EGU Cryospheric Sciences blog article by PhD student Mirjam Paasch. In February 2025, Mirjam participated in a fieldwork campaign to Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, to look for glacier ice algae under the snow. She wrote a travel diary about her experiences during the journey:
https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/cr/2025/09/12/cryo-adventures-discovering-the-beauty-of-polar-winter/
