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. 2003 Jan 21;100(2):562-6.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0235560100. Epub 2003 Jan 7.

Surface gas-exchange processes of snow algae

William E Williams  1 , Holly L Gorton, Thomas C Vogelmann
Affiliations

Surface gas-exchange processes of snow algae

William E Williams et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Erratum in

  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Apr 29;100(9):5573

Abstract

The red-colored chlorophyte Chlamydomonas nivalis is commonly found in summer snowfields. We used a modified Li-Cor gas-exchange system to investigate surface gas-exchange characteristics of snow colonized by this alga, finding rates of CO(2) uptake up to 0.3 micromol.m(-2).s(-1) in dense algal blooms. Experiments varying the irradiance resulted in light curves that resembled those of the leaves of higher plants. Red light was more effective than white and much more effective than green or blue, because of the red astaxanthin that surrounds and masks the algal chloroplasts. Integrating daily course measurements of gas exchange showed CO(2) uptake around 2,300 micromol.m(-2).day(-1) in heavily colonized patches, indicating that summer snowfields can be surprisingly productive.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The gas-exchange apparatus in place on the snow. Patches that appear dark in this black-and-white photograph are pink watermelon snow colonized by C. nivalis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Transmittance spectra of the Roscolene filters and the Plexiglas box.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of pink and white snow, and the pink snow patch darkened with a black velvet curtain.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Daily course of gas exchange over a single patch of algae-colonized snow obtained on June 21, 2000. (A) Area-specific rates of photosynthesis. (B) Photosynthetically active radiation outside the chamber. (C) Snow temperature.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Similar to Fig. 4, but taken on July 19, 2000.
Figure 6
Figure 6
White-light curve with superimposed points taken with red, blue, and green filters.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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