Sea-ice algae can engineer ice to its advantage using own antifreeze
Monday, March 7, 2011 - 00:31
in Earth & Climate
Sea-ice algae -- the important first rung of the food web each spring in places like the Arctic Ocean -- can engineer ice to its advantage. The same gel-like mucus secreted by sea-ice algae as a kind of antifreeze against temperatures well below minus 10 C is also allowing algae to sculpt microscopic channels and pores in ice that are hospitable to itself and other microorganisms.