The melting Arctic is a crime scene. The microbes I study have long warned us of this catastrophe – but they are also driving it

Description

A new study suggests the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer as soon as the 2030s – around a decade earlier than previously predicted. Scientists have become forensic pathologists, processing crime scenes in our Arctic field sites. In some areas, red-coloured microbes even create an effect known as “blood snow”. In this complex criminal investigation, however, the invisible witnesses are also responsible for the damage being done. Microbes testify to the vulnerability of their Arctic habitats to the changes that humans have caused. But they also create powerful climate feedback loops that are doing ever-more damage both to the Arctic, and the planet as a whole.