A hopeful discovery: Giant viruses on Greenland's ice may slow global warming

Scientists have discovered giant viruses living on the surface of ice and snow for the first time, where there is a vast amount of microalgae. Similar viruses were previously observed in oceans, soil, and even humans. For now, researchers know little about their specific nature. Still, they believe that controlling these viruses may help reduce the melting of parts of Greenland's ice, aiding the fight against global warming.

The ongoing spring in Greenland brings many different species to life. As reported by Eureka Alert, among them are algae that, when blooming, darken large areas of ice. This process reduces the ice's ability to reflect sunlight, which accelerates ice melting and contributes negatively to global warming. However, scientists hope their latest discovery will help combat the algae growing on Greenland's ice.

Laura Perini from the Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University, along with her colleagues, is credited with this discovery of giant viruses. "We don't know a lot about the viruses, but I think they could be useful as a way of alleviating ice melting caused by algal blooms. How specific they are and how efficient it would be, we do not know yet. But by exploring them further, we hope to answer some of those questions," she stated in a press release.

Eureka Alert reminds us that such viruses were discovered back in 1981 in oceans (where they infected green algae) and in soil, but they had never been found on the surface of ice and snow before. Despite being considered giant, these viruses cannot be seen with the naked eye. They were detected in samples taken from areas with algae presence in Greenland.

Gigantic viruses reach a size of about 0.0025 millimetres, meaning they surpass the size of most bacteria. Typically, the situation is quite different. Regular viruses range from 0.02 to 0.2 micrometres, while a typical bacterium is about 2 to 2.5 micrometres. In other words, a normal virus is about 1000 times smaller than a bacterium, as explained by Eureka Alert.

Giant viruses are a relatively discovery, so little is known about them. Research shows that, unlike most other viruses, they have many active genes that allow them to repair, replicate, transcribe, and translate their DNA. Researchers hope expanding knowledge on this subject will reveal their exact role in the Greenland ecosystem and how they infect algae growing on the ice's surface.