# Cryoconite

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cryoconite
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cryoconite.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryoconite
> Source revision: 1322620707
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Cryoconite** is powdery windblown [dust](/source/Dust) made of a combination of small rock particles, soot and [microbes](/source/Microbes)[1] which is deposited and builds up on [snow](/source/Snow), [glaciers](/source/Glacier), or [ice caps](/source/Ice_cap). The darkening, especially from small amounts of [soot](/source/Soot), absorbs solar radiation melting the snow or ice beneath the deposit, and sometimes creating a cryoconite hole.[2] Cryoconite may contain dust from far away continental deserts or farmland, particles from [volcanic eruptions](/source/Volcanic_eruption) or [power plant](/source/Power_plant) emissions, and soot.[3] It was first described and named by [Nils A. E. Nordenskiöld](/source/Nils_A._E._Nordenski%C3%B6ld) when he traveled on Greenland's icecap in 1870.[4] During summer, cryoconite holes frequently contain liquid water and thus provide a niche for cold-adapted microorganisms like bacteria, algae and animals like [rotifers](/source/Rotifers).[5] Cryoconite typically settles and concentrates at the bottom of these holes creating a noticeable dark mass.

Soot decreases the reflectivity, or [albedo](/source/Albedo) of ice, increasing absorption of heat. Cryoconite is constantly being added to snow and ice formations along with snow. It is buried within the snow or ice, but as the snow or ice melts increasing amounts of dark material is exposed on the surface, accelerating melting.[4]

## Notes

1. ["The darkening of Arctic glaciers"](http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2013/01/title-125754-en.html). Aberystwyth University. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130131003521/http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2013/01/title-125754-en.html) 31 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 February 2013.

1. ["Cryoconite hole information"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091123124239/http://www-es.s.chiba-u.ac.jp/~takeuchi/cryoconite.html). Archived from [the original](http://www-es.s.chiba-u.ac.jp/~takeuchi/cryoconite.html) on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-07-08.

1. Rozwalak, Piotr; Podkowa, Paweł; Buda, Jakub; Niedzielski, Przemysław; Kawecki, Szymon; +18 authors (2022). ["Cryoconite – From minerals and organic matter to bioengineered sediments on glacier's surfaces"](https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85117815352?origin=resultslist). *Science of the Total Environment*. **807**. Elsevier B.V. [doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150874](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150874). [hdl:11250/3060180](https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3060180). Retrieved 2025-11-05.

1. Jenkins, M. ["Changing Greenland - Melt Zone"](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/06/melt-zone/jenkins-text/3) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175416/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/06/melt-zone/jenkins-text/3) 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine page 3, of 4, *[National Geographic](/source/National_Geographic_(magazine))* June 2010, accessed July 8, 2010

1. Buda, Jakub; Łokas, Edyta; Pietryka, Mirosława Pietryka; Richter, Dorota; Magowski, Wojciech; +58 authors. ["Biotope and biocenosis of cryoconite hole ecosystems on Ecology Glacier in the maritime Antarctic"](https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85083000594?origin=resultslist). *Science of the Total Environment*. **724**. Elsevier B.V. [doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138112](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138112). [hdl:20.500.12128/13887](https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12128/13887). Retrieved 2025-10-21.

## External links and further reading

- [Woods Hole Image of the Day: Attack of the cryoconites](https://www.whoi.edu/multimedia/attack-of-the-cryoconites/)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cryoconite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryoconite) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryoconite?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.