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The Climate of Snow and Ice as Boundary Condition for Microbial Life

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Psychrophiles: From Biodiversity to Biotechnology

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Abstract

The microclimate and structure of snow and ice are a boundary condition as well as a matrix for a large spectrum of microbial life under alpine and polar conditions. Biological activity critically depends on the supply of energy, water and nutrients, with solar radiation as the prime source of energy, varying with latitude and altitude. The energy balance at the snow or ice surface provides the boundary condition for the fluxes of energy and water to the snow and ice, with important latitudinal differences from the temperate to the polar regions. The extreme situations of sunlit rocks surrounded by snow and the environment of Antarctic cryoconite holes, where ice, water, solar radiation and nutrients interact in particular ways, closes this review on ice and its effect on microbial life.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to F. Pellet and M. Olefs for their assistance in producing the figures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Michael Kuhn

  2. Department of Geology, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 97201, USA

    Andrew G. Fountain

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  1. Michael Kuhn
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  2. Andrew G. Fountain
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Correspondence to Michael Kuhn .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Rosa Margesin

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Kuhn, M., Fountain, A.G. (2017). The Climate of Snow and Ice as Boundary Condition for Microbial Life. In: Margesin, R. (eds) Psychrophiles: From Biodiversity to Biotechnology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57057-0_1

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