Cryoconite – From minerals and organic matter to bioengineered sediments on glacier's surfaces
Abstract
Cryoconite is a mixture of mineral and organic material covering glacial ice, playing important roles in biogeochemical cycles and lowering the albedo of a glacier surface. Understanding the differences in structure of cryoconite across the globe can be important in recognizing past and future changes in supraglacial environments and ice-organisms-minerals interactions. Despite the worldwide distribution and over a century of studies, the basic characteristics of cryoconite, including its forms and geochemistry, remain poorly studied. The major purpose of our study is the presentation and description of morphological diversity, chemical and photoautotrophs composition, and organic matter content of cryoconite sampled from 33 polar and mountain glaciers around the globe. Observations revealed that cryoconite is represented by various morphologies including loose and granular forms. Granular cryoconite includes smooth, rounded, or irregularly shaped forms; with some having their surfaces covered by cyanobacteria filaments. The occurrence of granules increased with the organic matter content in cryoconite. Moreover, a major driver of cryoconite colouring was the concentration of organic matter and its interplay with minerals. The structure of cyanobacteria and algae communities in cryoconite differs between glaciers, but representatives of cyanobacteria families Pseudanabaenaceae and Phormidiaceae, and algae families Mesotaeniaceae and Ulotrichaceae were the most common. The most of detected cyanobacterial taxa are known to produce polymeric substances (EPS) that may cement granules. Organic matter content in cryoconite varied between glaciers, ranging from 1% to 38%. The geochemistry of all the investigated samples reflected local sediment sources, except of highly concentrated Pb and Hg in cryoconite collected from European glaciers near industrialized regions, corroborating cryoconite as element-specific collector and potential environmental indicator of anthropogenic activity. Our work supports a notion that cryoconite may be more than just simple sediment and instead exhibits complex structure with relevance for biodiversity and the functioning of glacial ecosystems.
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BibTeX
@article{rozwalak2026cryoconite,
title = {{Cryoconite – From minerals and organic matter to bioengineered sediments on glacier's surfaces}},
author = {Piotr Rozwalak and Paweł Podkowa and Jakub Buda and Przemysław Niedzielski and Szymon Kawecki and Roberto Ambrosini and Roberto Azzoni and Giovanni Baccolo and Jorge Ceballos and Joseph Cook and Biagio Di Mauro and Gentile Francesco Ficetola and Andrea Franzetti and Dariusz Ignatiuk and Piotr Klimaszyk and Edyta Łokas and Masato Ono and Ivan Parnikoza and Mirosława Pietryka and Francesca Pittino and Ewa Poniecka and Dorota Porazinska and Dorota Richter and Steven Schmidt and Pacifica Sommers and Juliana Souza-Kasprzyk and Marek Stibal and Witold Szczuciński and Jun Uetake and Łukasz Wejnerowski and Jacob Yde and Nozomu Takeuchi and Krzysztof Zawierucha},
journal = {Science of the Total Environment},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150874},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-04893234v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Cryoconite – From minerals and organic matter to bioengineered sediments on glacier's surfaces
AU - Piotr Rozwalak
AU - Paweł Podkowa
AU - Jakub Buda
AU - Przemysław Niedzielski
AU - Szymon Kawecki
AU - Roberto Ambrosini
AU - Roberto Azzoni
AU - Giovanni Baccolo
AU - Jorge Ceballos
AU - Joseph Cook
AU - Biagio Di Mauro
AU - Gentile Francesco Ficetola
AU - Andrea Franzetti
AU - Dariusz Ignatiuk
AU - Piotr Klimaszyk
AU - Edyta Łokas
AU - Masato Ono
AU - Ivan Parnikoza
AU - Mirosława Pietryka
AU - Francesca Pittino
AU - Ewa Poniecka
AU - Dorota Porazinska
AU - Dorota Richter
AU - Steven Schmidt
AU - Pacifica Sommers
AU - Juliana Souza-Kasprzyk
AU - Marek Stibal
AU - Witold Szczuciński
AU - Jun Uetake
AU - Łukasz Wejnerowski
AU - Jacob Yde
AU - Nozomu Takeuchi
AU - Krzysztof Zawierucha
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Science of the Total Environment
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150874
UR - https://hal.science/hal-04893234v1
AB - Cryoconite is a mixture of mineral and organic material covering glacial ice, playing important roles in biogeochemical cycles and lowering the albedo of a glacier surface. Understanding the differences in structure of cryoconite across the globe can be important in recognizing past and future changes in supraglacial environments and ice-organisms-minerals interactions. Despite the worldwide distribution and over a century of studies, the basic characteristics of cryoconite, including its forms and geochemistry, remain poorly studied. The major purpose of our study is the presentation and description of morphological diversity, chemical and photoautotrophs composition, and organic matter content of cryoconite sampled from 33 polar and mountain glaciers around the globe. Observations revealed that cryoconite is represented by various morphologies including loose and granular forms. Granular cryoconite includes smooth, rounded, or irregularly shaped forms; with some having their surfaces covered by cyanobacteria filaments. The occurrence of granules increased with the organic matter content in cryoconite. Moreover, a major driver of cryoconite colouring was the concentration of organic matter and its interplay with minerals. The structure of cyanobacteria and algae communities in cryoconite differs between glaciers, but representatives of cyanobacteria families Pseudanabaenaceae and Phormidiaceae, and algae families Mesotaeniaceae and Ulotrichaceae were the most common. The most of detected cyanobacterial taxa are known to produce polymeric substances (EPS) that may cement granules. Organic matter content in cryoconite varied between glaciers, ranging from 1% to 38%. The geochemistry of all the investigated samples reflected local sediment sources, except of highly concentrated Pb and Hg in cryoconite collected from European glaciers near industrialized regions, corroborating cryoconite as element-specific collector and potential environmental indicator of anthropogenic activity. Our work supports a notion that cryoconite may be more than just simple sediment and instead exhibits complex structure with relevance for biodiversity and the functioning of glacial ecosystems.
SN - 0048-9697
SN - 1879-1026
ER -