Quantification of basal ice microbial cell delivery to the glacier margin

Toubes-Rodrigo, M, Cook, SJ, Elliott, D and Sen, R (2016) Quantification of basal ice microbial cell delivery to the glacier margin. Biogeosciences Discussions. pp. 1-8. ISSN 1810-6285

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Abstract

We present the first assessment of microbial cell discharge from sediment-laden glacier basal ice. At Svínafellsjökull, a temperate valley glacier in Iceland, approximately 1017 cells a−1 are transferred through basal ice to the proglacial environment, and between 101 and 106 cells g−1 basal ice were cultured from our samples under laboratory conditions. We suggest that the delivery of viable cells and dead microbial matter to proglacial ecosystems could be playing a crucial role in soil formation and primary succession during deglaciation, but further quantification of cell transfer from a range of glacier contexts is required.