{"id":1961573,"date":"2023-06-30T14:45:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T18:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/strange-watermelon-snow-seen-in-us-mountains\/"},"modified":"2023-06-30T14:47:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T18:47:33","slug":"strange-watermelon-snow-seen-in-us-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/strange-watermelon-snow-seen-in-us-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Unusual &#8216;Watermelon Snow&#8217; Spotted in US Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstrange-watermelon-snow-seen-in-us-mountains%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1961573&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Strange &#8216;Watermelon Snow&#8217; Seen in US Mountains<\/h2>\n<p>High up in the mountains, amid pinyon pine and quaking aspen trees, the remnants of the winter snow are dotted with hues of pink, purple and orange.<\/p>\n<p>Hikers, campers and church youth groups journeying through grasp it in their palms and liken it to flavored snow cones, Flamin\u2019 Hot Cheetos, pink lemonade, dissolved blood or if a passerby conducted an art project using red food coloring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s almost like it\u2019s been sprinkled with Himalayan salt or even Kool-Aid powder,\u201d Jana Brough, a mother hiking with friends and family at Tony Grove Lake in Utah\u2019s Logan Canyon, said this week. \u201cBut when you scrape it you can tell it\u2019s just on the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From the roads that traverse mountain passes above Park City to the Bear River Range near the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/radical-tries-using-alinskys-rules-utah-school-board-bible-backing-parents-get-upper-hand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Utah<\/a>\u2013<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/oregon-liberals-risk-ugly-legacy-another-county-joins-greater-idaho-movement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Idaho<\/a> border, last winter\u2019s record snowfall is heating up, baking under the sunlight and turning hues of red.<\/p>\n<p>The presence of so-called \u201cwatermelon snow\u201d \u2014 referred to unofficially due to its pinkish tint \u2014 is piquing the curiosities of photo-seeking visitors and raising a host of questions about nature, health and climate.<\/p>\n<p>Its prevalence this summer is particularly striking on ridges and in mountain ranges, where snow would have melted by now in drier years.<\/p>\n<p>The technicolor snow appears in high-altitude environments throughout the globe, including the French Alps and Japan\u2019s Mountains of Dewa, when a perfect storm of conditions \u2014 water content, sunlight, temperature and the presence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/strange-watermelon-snow-seen-in-us-mountains\/\" title=\"Unusual 'Watermelon Snow' Spotted in US Mountains\">nutrients \u2014 awaken dormant green algae called chlamydomonas nivalis<\/a> that thrive in cold temperatures.<\/p>\n<p>The algae swim to the surface of the snow, where they bloom and divide.<\/p>\n<p>Upon arrival, when they\u2019re hit by the sun and ultraviolet rays, their color changes to absorb radiation and protect themselves from damage.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Hotaling, a Utah State University ecologist who studies biodiversity in cold and high-altitude environments, likened the algae\u2019s ability to produce a secondary pigment to humans, whose skin uses pigmentation to absorb ultraviolet radiation and protect from the sun.<\/p>\n<h3>Would you travel to see this snow?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Yes<\/li>\n<li>No<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThey need some kind of pigmentation to prevent damage related to the high UV of the environment they\u2019re in. So they produce the secondary pigment largely for that purpose to protect themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Hotaling said the algae poses little risk to human health or to animals like cattle, dogs or fish, should they encounter it as it melts into water.<\/p>\n<p>But even though it\u2019s not a risk to clean water supply, the \u201cwatermelon snow\u201d phenomenon does cause snow to melt more quickly, raising environmental concerns about seasonal snowmelt patterns and the longevity of the glaciers where the algae are known to thrive.<\/p>\n<p>Though snow becoming water makes it available to nourish the algae, the exposure of the bare ground changes how much light is reflected versus absorbed. Darker colors absorb more sunlight, turning snow banks and glaciers into liquid more quickly.<\/p>\n<p>The changes in the magnitude and timing of the melting \u2014 the exposure of bare ground earlier in the season \u2014 can cause problems in the Mountain West, affecting ecosystems and species that rely on cool water downstream and reservoirs designed to accommodate more gradual snowmelt.<\/p>\n<p>In places like the Arctic, glacier melt can cause <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/secstate-blinken-on-bidens-climate-agenda-americans-that-relied-on-old-industries-will-be-hit-hard\/\" title=\"SecState Blinken On Biden\u2019s Climate Agenda: Americans \u2018That Relied On Old Industries Will Be Hit Hard\u2019\">sea level rise<\/a>, threatening flooding on coastlines and in lakes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we add light-absorbing particles that essentially darken the snow \u2014 like snow algae, black carbon or dust \u2014 it reduces its ability to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/everything-wrong-with-covid-science-has-been-wrong-with-climate-science-for-longer\/\" title=\"Everything Wrong With COVID \u201cScience\u201d Has Been Wrong With Climate Science for Longer\">reflect solar radiation<\/a>,\u201d said Alia Khan, a biogeochemist who studies glaciers at Western Washington University.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic\">The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-strange-watermelon-snow-seen-us-mountains\/\">Strange &#8216;Watermelon Snow&#8217; Seen in US Mountains<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>other vibrant and tantalizing treats. The colorful snow, a rare phenomenon known as &#8220;watermelon snow,&#8221; adds a touch of whimsy to the serene landscape, captivating all who encounter it. Nature&#8217;s own artistry, it leaves a lasting impression on those fortunate enough to witness its beauty in the secluded mountain haven.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":1961574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1961573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1961573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1961574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1961573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1961573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1961573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}