Blood Falls:
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.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.
- Blood Falls 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.
- 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.
- 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.
