As Andean glacier retreats, tiny life forms swiftly move in, study shows
Monday, September 8, 2008 - 12:42
in Earth & Climate
A University of Colorado at Boulder team working at 16,400 feet in the Peruvian Andes has discovered how barren soils uncovered by retreating glacier ice can swiftly establish a thriving community of microbes, setting the table for lichens, mosses and alpine plants.