The Living Snow Project

Have you seen pink snow? We need your help collecting pink snow samples while you are out skiing, climbing, or hiking this spring and summer for The Living Snow Project. The project studies snow algae communities using DNA samples from alpine snow. Snow algae are pink or red cells that live in/on the snow and are often called ‘watermelon snow’. The algae’s dark color increases the rate that snow and ice melt, which are a stress on the rapidly receding glaciers of the Cascades Mountains. Making observations and collecting samples is super easy (see our website for details). To sign up to participate, fill out a google form on the project website (https://wp.wwu.edu/livingsnowproject/). You can contact the team at livingsnowproject@gmail.com.