Antarctica Blood Falls Mystery Solved: For as long as a century, scientists have been trying to figure out the mystery behind the bloody falls that stream down Taylor Glacier in Antartica. In 1911, Griffith Taylor, a geoscientist discovered the Blood Falls but the reason behind the red ooze was a mystery until now. Thanks to the joint research by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and Colorado College we finally have an answer.
The water of the falls is being fed from a large source of salty water trapped underneath Taylor Glacier for over a million years. The study was published in the Journal of Glaciology.
In a press release, the study’s lead author, Jessica Badgeley explained, “The salts in the brine made this discovery possible by amplifying contrast with the fresh glacier ice.”
Blood Falls is a famous tourist spot and known for its irregular flow of iron-rich salty water that turns a bright red as the iron reacts to the surrounding air, it flows down the Taylor Glacier.
Jessica Badgeley and her team used radio-echo sounding to track the brine inside the glacier. This method uses a radar with two antennas, one for transmitting electrical pulses and the other to receive the signals.
Erin Pettit, glaciologist, and Chrisina Carr, a doctoral candidate from University of Alaska, Fairbanks worked alongside Jessica Badgeley to unravel this mystery. The team moved the antennas in a grid like pattern to see what was under the ice explained Chrisina Carr, co-author of the study.
Not only did the team discover the origin of the blood falls but also discovered that water in liquid form can exist inside glaciers, this was considered impossible in nature by a number of scientists.
Erin Pettit explained, “While it sounds counterintuitive, water releases heat as it freezes, and that heat warms the surrounding colder ice. Taylor Glacier is now the coldest known glacier to have persistently flowing water.”
