Secrets Revealed By Melting Swiss Glaciers Could Eat Plastic And Cure Disease
(MENAFN- Swissinfo)
Melting glaciers caused by global warming release largely unknown bacteria and viruses into the environment. These microorganisms could help us tackle some major global problems, from plastic pollution to antibiotic resistance. A research team is looking for them for the first time in Swiss glaciers.
This content was published on
January 5, 2025 - 10:02
16 minutes
Luigi Jorio ,
Céline Stegmüller ,
Michele Andina
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The path to the glacier changes abruptly, demanding careful footing and steady nerves. What began as a serene stroll along the glacier lake has shifted into a climb over jagged, rocky fragments and large boulders.
We move forward carefully on the unstable terrain, made even more slippery by the streams of water flowing down the mountain. From far away, rumble echoes through the stillness – another boulder tumbling down.“It's pretty scary,” says our guide Beat Frey.
We're standing in front of
the Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps, overlooking an area that was still covered by a thick layer of iceExternal link until about 15 years ago.
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Frey, who works for the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), points out a newly-formed transverse crevasse – a gaping wound across the glacier's surface. Another piece of the white giant will soon be gone.
But the glacier's vanishing act extends far beyond ice.“Not only the glacier is disappearing, but also the organisms it contains,” says Frey. The loss of this biological heritage, he adds, deprives us of knowledge critical to understanding how life adapts to extremely cold conditions.
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