It is a combination of extreme climatic events started two years ago. It caused an ecological change that pushed the Lakes of the West of Greenland to cross a turning point. The Lakes of Greenland become brown. Because?
It was after two months of heat and record rainfall in the fall of 2022. It is estimated that 7,500 lakes became brown. They began to emit carbon and the quality of the water decreased, says the Institute of Climate Change of the University of Maine. By July 2023, less than a year later, the physical, chemical and biological properties of these lakes were altered. This generalized transformation usually occurs over hundreds of years.
More carbon
In Greenland it normally snows in autumn. But the increase in temperatures caused precipitation to fall in the form of rain. The heat caused the permafrost to defrost, releasing a large amount of carbon, iron, magnesium and other elements. The rain dragged these recently exposed metals and carbon from the soil to the lakes.
“The magnitude of this and the exchange rate had no precedents,” the investigators said in a statement. This promoted the growth of bacteria and an undesirable flavor and smell in the water, in addition to altering the color. This can generate health problems.
The lakes became more opaque and less light could penetrate their surface. Reduced the biodiversity of plankton. This absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The increase in heat and rainfall was caused by several atmospheric rivers. An atmospheric river is a long and narrow column of water vapor that produces rain or intense snow when it touches earth.
Recovery
Greenland lakes become brown and it is not known how fast this can be reversed. “It was such an overwhelming climatic force that it promoted all lakes to respond in the same way,” they say. “With regard to recovery, will it be the same in all lakes or different?”
The study was possible thanks to a wide collection of data obtained through an annual water sampling. Remote sensors in the lakes work throughout the year and completed the data.
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