THE RED SNOW OF ARKHANGELSK
I’ve heard of yellow snow, sure. We all know about that. But red snow? Nope.
And in this connotation, it has more than one meaning, being that the snow in question is from the realm of the world where the Red Army dominated for most of the 20th century, Russia.
Red Snow would make an excellent title for a book or film.
Scientists from Poland have helped by analyzing samples and explaining the phenomenon. The redness can come from lichens and mountain ash, but most often is because of algae. It is called Chlamydomonas snow, the scientific name of the species is Chlamydomonas nivalis.
This plant can grow on the surface of water, snow and ice. It blooms after the dark and cold of winter. As soon as the deep cold weather clears up, it blooms, turning pink or red and any permeable material around it the same.
ajh
