Articles | Volume 20, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3959-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3959-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Local-scale variability in snow chemistry drives distinct microbial communities in Alpine seasonal snowpack
Anastasiia Kosolapova
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Microbiome Adaptation to the Changing Environment (MACE) laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Centre (ALPOLE), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion, 1951, Switzerland
Romain Castro
Microbiome Adaptation to the Changing Environment (MACE) laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Centre (ALPOLE), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion, 1951, Switzerland
Ferran Romero
Microbiome Adaptation to the Changing Environment (MACE) laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Centre (ALPOLE), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion, 1951, Switzerland
Catherine Larose
Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement (IGE) CNRS, UGA, IRD, INRAE, Grenoble INP, 38058, Grenoble CEDEX, France
Ianina Altshuler
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Microbiome Adaptation to the Changing Environment (MACE) laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Centre (ALPOLE), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion, 1951, Switzerland
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Sławomir Sułowicz, Krzysztof Zawierucha, Anna Markowicz, Krystyna Kozioł, Wiktoria Zientak, Adam Nawrot, Krzesimir Tomaszewski, Christoph Keuschnig, Bartłomiej Luks, and Catherine Larose
Biogeosciences, 23, 3023–3038, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3023-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3023-2026, 2026
Short summary
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Our research shows that animals such as birds and mammals shaping the bacteria community structure found in Arctic snow. By analyzing snow samples from coastal Spitsbergen, we found that microbes linked to animal waste were common and influenced the types of bacteria present. This suggests that wildlife, not just wind or air, helps bring microbes into snow. Understanding this helps us better predict how Arctic ecosystems respond to environmental change and how life adapts in extreme conditions.
Nora Bergner, Grace Marsh, Kevin Barry, Larissa Lacher, Alexander Böhmländer, Joanna Alden, Carina Ahlqvist, Ianina Altshuler, Lisa Bröder, Daniel Farinotti, Lionel Favre, Coline Guillosson, Benjamin Heutte, Kristina Höhler, Roman Pohorsky, Julian Weng, and Julia Schmale
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-484, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-484, 2026
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Dust from Greenlandic glacial outwash plains can form ice in clouds, a process relevant for climate. Its ice-nucleating activity varies strongly and is largely controlled by small amounts of biological material. During summer, the influence on atmospheric ice-nucleating particles is mostly local. Lower activity compared to other high-latitude dust sources highlights the need to account for regional differences in Arctic dust.
Lisa Ardoin, Catherine Larose, Jean-Louis Tison, Christoph Keuschnig, Vasileios Gkinis, Saïda El Amri, Pierre-Henry Blard, Paul Bierman, Thomas Blunier, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Charlotte Maistriau, Jørgen-Peder Steffensen, Thomas Röckmann, and François Fripiat
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6204, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6204, 2026
Short summary
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We investigated gas dynamics at the ice–bed interface of two Greenland ice cores to assess methane and carbon dioxide behaviour beneath ice sheets. At Camp Century, methane diffuses into the ice and is partly oxidized. At GRIP, methane remains preserved despite oxygen. These contrasts suggest that methane oxidation is controlled by local basal conditions, including ice thickness and substrate availability.
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Short summary
Seasonal snow acts as a dynamic medium, accumulating atmospheric particles and microorganisms, creating unique microbial habitats in alpine environments. At the local scale, snow depth, not valley location, mainly drives chemical composition and bacterial community structure, while elevation predicts community differences across sites. Diversity drops within just 10–15 cm depth, reflecting distinct atmospheric sources and rapid post-depositional selection at centimetre scales.
Seasonal snow acts as a dynamic medium, accumulating atmospheric particles and microorganisms,...