- About
- People
- Faculty
- Tim Audas
- Christopher Beh
- Lorena Braid
- Fiona S.L. Brinkman
- Mark Brockman
- Jack Chen
- Jonathan Choy
- Lisa Craig
- Sharon Gorski
- Nicholas Harden
- Nancy Hawkins
- Robert Holt
- William Hsiao
- Valentin Jaumouillé
- Irina Kovalyova
- Mani Larijani
- Amy Lee
- Michel Leroux
- Ryan Morin
- Ingrid Northwood
- Mark Paetzel
- Frederic Pio
- Lynne Quarmby
- Jenifer Thewalt
- Glen Tibbits
- Peter Unrau
- Esther Verheyen
- Stephanie Vlachos
- David Vocadlo
- Dustin King
- Edgar Young
- Sophie Sneddon
- Emeritus Faculty
- Associate Members
- Adjunct Faculty
- Research Personnel
- Graduate & Postdocs
- Staff
- Department Committees
- Faculty
- Undergraduate
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Advising
- Courses
- Course Offerings
- Summer (1234)
- Spring (1231)
- Fall (1227)
- Summer (1224)
- Spring (1221)
- Fall (1217)
- Summer (1214)
- Spring (1211)
- Fall (1207)
- Summer (1204)
- Spring (1201)
- Fall (1197)
- Summer (1194)
- Spring (1191)
- Fall (1187)
- Summer (1184)
- Spring (1181)
- Fall (1177)
- Summer (1174)
- Spring (1171)
- Fall (1167)
- Summer (1164)
- Spring (1161)
- Fall (1157)
- Summer (1154)
- Spring (1151)
- Course Descriptions
- Course Offerings
- Degree Programs
- MBB Co-op Program
- Research Opportunities
- Scholarship & Funding
- Student Resources
- Graduate
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Manage Your Program
- Courses
- Course Descriptions
- Course Offerings
- Spring (1231)
- Summer (1234)
- Spring (1221)
- Summer (1224)
- Fall (1227)
- Fall (1217)
- Summer (1214)
- Spring (1211)
- Fall (1207)
- Summer (1204)
- Spring (1201)
- Fall (1197)
- Summer (1194)
- Spring (1191)
- Fall (1187)
- Summer (1184)
- Spring (1181)
- Fall (1177)
- Summer (1174)
- Spring (1171)
- Fall (1167)
- Summer (1164)
- Spring (1161)
- Fall (1157)
- Summer (1154)
- Spring (1151)
- Forms And Resources
- Events
- Graduate Student Caucus
- Research
- Research Labs
- Audas Lab
- Beh Lab
- Braid lab
- Brinkman Lab
- Brockman Lab
- Chen Lab
- Choy Lab
- Craig lab
- Gorski Lab
- Harden Lab
- Hawkins Lab
- Holt Lab
- Hsiao lab
- Jaumouillé lab
- King Lab
- Larijani Lab
- Lee Lab
- Leroux Lab
- Morin Lab
- Paetzel Lab
- Pio Lab
- Quarmby Lab
- Sen Lab
- Thewalt Lab
- Tibbits Lab
- Unrau Lab
- Verheyen Lab
- Vocadlo Lab
- Young lab
- Undergraduate Research Opportunities
- Research Labs
- Resources
- News & Events
- MBB Calendar
- Colloquia
- Honours & Awards
- News Archives
- 2023
- 2022
- Congratulations to Dr. Amy Lee: The Recipient of The Banting Research Foundation's 2022 Discovery Award
- Meet Our Newest Faculty: Dr. Dustin King on His Exploration of Weaving Western Science with Indigenous Ways of Knowing
- MBB Alumnus Profile: Meet Cory Macklin Who Overcame Challenges to Win Governor General's Silver Medal
- MBB Alumnus Profile: Meet Dr. Razvan Cojocaru, The Recipient of Governor General’s Gold Medal
- Congratulations to Dr. Razvan Cojocaru and Cory Macklin: Governor General Medal Recipients at Summer 2022 Convocation
- Congratulations to our June 2022 Graduands
- Dr. Lynne Quarmby and Her Book "WaterMelon Snow: Science, Art, and a Lone Polar Bear" is Featured in SFU Knowledge Mobilizers Series
- Congratulations to our May 2022 Graduands
- Congratulations to Dr. Mani Larijani for Being Awarded a Prestigious New Frontiers in Research Fund Grant
- A New Paper from Beh Lab on ER-PM membrane contact site regulation by yeast ORPs and membrane stress pathways has been published in Plos Genetics Journal
- Congratulations to Dr. Razvan Cojocaru, the recipient of Dr. Bruce Brandhorst Prizes for Best Publication and Best PhD Thesis
- Dr. Lorena Braid is featured among new and renewed Canada Research Chairs
- Learn more about Dr. King's new lab that focuses on natural ‘carbon capture’ solutions
- $2 Million Gift From SFU Professors Emeriti Helps Seed New Ideas at SFU Science
- Congratulations to Dr. Tim Audas on The Renewal of Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Cellular Stress
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
- Support
- Faculty + Staff Portal
Quarmby Lab
Summertime blooms of microalgae on snow cause "watermelon snow." We use the tools of genomics, bioinformatics, ecology and cell biology to study the algae, fungi, bacteria and other organisms comprising the the snow algae microbiome.
If you’ve hiked in the mountains or travelled to one of the poles, you’ve likely seen Watermelon Snow. Large swaths of orange, green, or most often, watermelon-red snow is a sign of a thriving microscopic community dominated by single-celled algae. Watermelon snow is not new: It appears in Captain John Ross’ report of the 1818 expedition in search of the NW Passage and in Charles Darwin’s report of his 1835 hike over the Andes. Because algal blooms reduce the albedo of snow, they accelerate the melting of seasonal snow fields. Alpine snow fields provide an important store of water for cities around the world. We want to understand the blooms and learn whether they are increasing in scope, duration, and intensity with global warming.
For more details, visit our lab website.
Selected Publications
- Quarmby, L. (2020) Watermelon Snow: Science, Art, and a Lone Polar Bear, McGill-Queen's University Press.
- Engstrom, CB, KM Yakimovich, and LM Quarmby. (2020) Variation in snow algae blooms in the Coast Range of British Columbia. Frontiers in Microbiology 11: #569
- Hilton et al. The kinases LF4 and CNK2 control ciliary length by feedback regulation of assembly and disassembly rates. Current Biology 2013
- Parker et al. Centrioles are freed from cilia by severing prior to mitosis. Cytoskeleton 2010.