Melting glaciers, emerging pandemics?

Abstract

The world contains over 198,000 to 200,000 glaciers, covering in total over 726,000 square kilometers of Earth’s surface (Davies; “Glacier Quick Facts”). The repetitive cycle of snowfall forming layers and compressing into ice sheets over the course of centuries has allowed the formation of these unique, massive masses of ice. Apart from being huge reservoirs of water, glaciers are also hosts of many interconnected microbiomes, fostering active and dormant bacteria, fungi, viruses and other extremophiles. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), or the peak of the ice age around 23,000-19,000 years ago, the sea surface temperature was at its lowest accompanied by low atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2) concentration (“How Does Present Glacier Extent”; Quamar et al.). This was when glaciers covered over 32% of Earth’s total surface. However, today, glaciers account for just around 10% of land (“Glacier Quick Facts”). The rise of human choices, especially our indulgence in activities like industrialisation, consumerism and wastage have contributed to the emission of greenhouse gasses, which has in turn led to global warming. A consequence of this phenomenon is the melting of glaciers. Melting glaciers not only results in the release of water and rising sea levels, but also the unveiling of previously trapped microbiomes. This raised the hypothesis that melting glaciers, and other sections of the cryosphere can expose previously frozen, potentially pandemic-causing pathogens to the world. This descriptive research paper will serve the purpose of encapsulating existing research regarding whether the disintegration of the cryosphere can cause pandemics.