Can snow have different colours?
Snow can appear to be many different colours. Most often, it appears white due to the equal reflection of all wavelengths of sunlight off the ice crystals and air pockets within snow. However, snow can contain much more than ice and air. Pollen, single-celled organisms, specks of dust, dirt, sand, ash and traces of pollution are sometimes in sufficient quantities to affect the colour. Additionally, colonies made up of algae, fungi, and bacteria living among the crystals feed on the nutrients in the snow. Over the centuries, there have been reports of different coloured snowflakes from around the world. In 1818, Arctic explorer Sir John Ross discovered large deposits of red-coloured snow in Greenland. It was found to contain red-tinted, microscopic plants and animals. Yellow snow from can be created from pollen in a nearby pine forest; pink snow has fallen on Vancouver Island; and pale-blue snow has been seen in the French Alps presumably coloured by copper salts in the dust from the Sa
