Antarctica snow turns red: Here is all you need to know

New Delhi, Feb 28: Pictures of snow around Ukraine's Vernadsky Research Base, located off the coast of Antarctica, reveal that the snow is seen turning red due to algae that develops in freezing weather. Also, this snow is often called as "watermelon snow".

However, the red snow, that is developed off the coast of Antarctica, raises eyebrows about the duration the glaciers take to melt and affect the rise in the sea-level.

According to a Greek philosopher, Aristotle is allegedly said to be one of the first individual to give a written account over 2,000 years ago.

In the "History of Animals", Greek philosopher has mentioned, "And, by the way, living animals are found in substances that are usually supposed to be incapable of putrefaction; for instance, worms are found in long-lying snow; and snow of this description gets reddish in colour, and the grub that is engendered in it is red, as might have been expected, and it is also hairy."

But, why is the snow turning red?

In 2016, a report in The New York Times said that such algae as found around the Ukrainian research base grow well in freezing temperatures and liquid water. During summer, when green algae get a lot of sun, they tend to produce a natural sunscreen that taints the snow of pink and red.

The sunscreen, that are produced by the algae, keeps themselves in keeping warm. The report further said that because the snow gets darker, it absorbs more heat, and hece result in melting faster.