red snow

American  

noun

1. snow that has acquired a red color either from airborne particles of red dust or from a type of alga that contains a red pigment.

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Etymology

Origin of red snow

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

British explorer Sir John Ross brought back samples of red snow from Greenland after his disappointing search for a northwest passage in 1818, setting off a lively debate among Europe’s gentlemen scientists as to what the stuff actually was.

From Seattle Times

But S was not available, and when I saw the letter L — it was immediately a ladybug made out of a big red snow saucer.

From Washington Post

“You would go around, you’d see department stores that have everything — red, snow, beautiful ribbons, bows. Everything was there, but they wouldn’t say ‘Merry Christmas.’”

From Washington Times

“You’d go around, you’d see department stores that have everything red, snow, beautiful, ribbons, bows. Everything was there. But they wouldn’t say Merry Christmas. They’re all saying Merry Christmas again. You remember?”

From Salon

“This is increasingly a problem in the Arctic, Alpine and Himalayan glaciers. Blooms of red snow and brown ice are turning up in Antarctica also. What we hope to do is spread our research out further because we believe this is a significant factor in ice melt. This is why we are back here in Greenland but we believe the work also needs to be done elsewhere.”

From The Guardian