Mystery of Greenland’s expanding ‘dark zone’ finally solved

Algal blooms triggered by windblown phosphorus dust are to blame.

Algal blooms darken the ice sheet and cause increased melting.(Image: © Jim McQuaid)

The mystery of a growing “dark zone” onGreenland‘s melting ice sheet has been solved.

Researchers have found thatphosphorus-rich dust blown across the ice may be the key to the phenomenon.

Greenland’s ice sheet is the second largest in the world. It covers around 656,000 square miles (1.71 million square kilometers), an area three times the size of Texas,according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). However, the ice sheet is now in a state of permanent retreat and is losing 500 gigatons (500 billion tons) of ice every year,Live Science previously reported.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.436.0_en.html#goog_14467798Volume 0%PLAY SOUND

That’s why thedark zoneis so worrisome. During the summer months, part of the…

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