Blood Falls

Blood Falls Latest News

Salty water flowing through Antarctica’s Blood Falls contains a distinct community of marine-specific microorganisms, providing evidence that the brine system beneath the glacier has a marine origin.

About Blood Falls

• It is a bright red waterfall flowing through Antarctica’s icy landscape.
• It is located at the edge of the Taylor Glacier in Antarctica, where it appears as if blood falls from the mountains made of glaciers.
• What makes it red?
  • The water that flows from Blood Falls comes from an underground reservoir trapped inside the glacier and contains large amounts of iron and salt.
  • Tiny cracks and fractures within the glacier provide natural pathways through which iron-enriched salt water can move up.  
  • Once the water reaches the surface and gets in touch with the oxygen of the atmosphere, iron reacts with oxygen and turns into rust.
• Why isn’t the water frozen?
  • The most mysterious thing about Blood Falls is why liquid water exists in such an extremely cold area. 
  • It turned out that the water is incredibly salty, several times more than the sea water.
  • It prevents the water from freezing because of the low freezing point due to the high concentration of salts.

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Recent Findings

• Microbes in the Blood Falls suggest the brine is composed of ancient seawater that was trapped in a pool beneath the glacier when ocean levels fell and the glacier advanced. 
• However, it’s unclear exactly when that happened.

News: PHYS