Greenland’s Crystal Blue Lakes Turn Brown: A Climate Warning
Greenland’s Crystal Blue Lakes Turn Brown: A Climate Warning. A groundbreaking study has revealed that more than 7,500 lakes in western Greenland, once known for their crystal blue waters, have turned brown and begun emitting significant amounts of carbon dioxide. This alarming transformation, driven by extreme weather events in 2022, has turned these lakes from carbon sinks into major sources of CO₂, with emissions surging by 350%. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, underscore the accelerating impacts of climate change on fragile ecosystems.
What Happened?
Greenland typically experiences snowfall from late August to late September. However, in 2022, unusually warm temperatures caused snow to turn into rain. This heat also triggered the thawing of permafrost—frozen ground rich in organic carbon—releasing carbon, iron, magnesium, and other elements into the environment. Record-breaking rainfall then washed these elements into the lakes, drastically altering their composition.
The study attributes the extreme temperatures and precipitation to atmospheric rivers—long, narrow bands of moisture in the atmosphere that transport water vapor. While atmospheric rivers are essential for freshwater supplies, intense ones can cause flooding and heatwaves. Research, including a 2018 NASA study, predicts that atmospheric rivers will become longer, wider, and more frequent as global temperatures rise. By the end of the 21st century, their frequency in Greenland and other regions could increase by 50–290%, according to a report by Phys.com.
The Impact on Greenland’s Lakes
The influx of organic carbon and other elements transformed the lakes’ physical, chemical, and biological properties. By July 2023, the changes were stark: the lakes’ color, odor, and taste had dramatically shifted, severely impacting water quality.
Jasmine Saros, lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Maine, explained to Earth.com that the increased dissolved organic material can interact with drinking water treatment processes, producing potentially carcinogenic byproducts like trihalomethanes.
The lakes’ brown hue also reduced sunlight penetration, disrupting the growth of phytoplankton—microorganisms that absorb CO₂ through photosynthesis. With less light, phytoplankton activity declined, reducing the lakes’ ability to sequester carbon. Meanwhile, the breakdown of organic matter by other organisms increased, turning the lakes into significant CO₂ sources.
“Because the lakes turned so brown, it reduced the light coming into the system, favoring organisms that use organic carbon pathways instead of photosynthesis,” Saros told Earth.com.
Why This Matters
The study’s findings come just three months after research revealed a temporary collapse in the amount of carbon absorbed by land ecosystems. In 2023, forests, plants, and soil absorbed only 0.23 to 0.65 gigatonnes of carbon—the lowest since 2003 and more than three times below the decade’s average.
Earth’s natural carbon sinks, including oceans, forests, and soils, absorb about half of all human-emitted CO₂. As these sinks weaken or become carbon sources, atmospheric carbon levels are expected to rise sharply. This is particularly concerning as global CO₂ emissions continue to climb, reaching 40.6 billion metric tonnes in 2023 and projected to hit 41.6 billion in 2024, according to the Global Carbon Budget report.
A Broader Climate Warning
The transformation of Greenland’s lakes is a stark reminder of the cascading effects of climate change. Extreme weather events, driven by atmospheric rivers and rising temperatures, are not only altering ecosystems but also undermining their ability to mitigate global warming. As natural carbon sinks falter, the urgency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the climate crisis becomes ever more critical.
The study serves as a wake-up call: the planet’s delicate balance is shifting at an unprecedented pace, and the consequences of inaction could be irreversible.
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