Discovered more than 100 years ago, the “Blood Falls” in Antarctica is one of the places of greatest interest to explorers and scientists.
Recently, a team of researchers from two US universities, Alaska Fairbanks and Colorado, claimed to have solved the century-old mystery of the “Blood Falls” in Antarctica.
Discovered in 1911 by British geologist Griffith Taylor (1880 – 1963), the Taylor Glacier valley (which bears his name) in East Antarctica has become one of the most inhospitable lands of explorers and explorers alike. science is most interested in.
Because in this isolated Taylor glacier valley appears a strange, blood-red waterfall that many scientists call “Blood Falls”. More than 100 years have passed, many explanations have been offered.
“Blood Falls” in Taylor Glacier Valley. (Image: Wikipedia.)
Immediately upon discovery, geologist Griffith Taylor thought that the red color of the water was caused by a type of algae. Later, scientists discovered that, about 1.5 million years ago, there was a salt water lake containing iron substances, this lake was covered with ice.
But the story changed when researcher Jessica Badgeley (of the University of Colorado) and glaciologist Erin Pettit and colleagues (of Alaska Fairbanks) made a completely new discovery. Using specialized equipment, scientists have discovered the secret in the lake located 400 meters deep of ice.
Jessica Badgeley explains: “The blood-red saltwater is an ecosystem of archaea trapped for millions of years underground. Without sunlight, the temperature reaches minus 5 degrees Celsius and the salinity is tripled. Sea water still can’t kill them. They are rare autotrophic bacteria on Earth .”
The red color of “Blood Falls” is the result of iron oxide precipitation when salt water carrying the less stable iron oxide is exposed to oxygen in the air.
The red color of “Blood Falls” is the result of iron oxide precipitation when salt water carrying the less stable iron oxide is exposed to oxygen in the air. (Image: WordPress.com.)
In the summer, temperatures in Antarctica are warmer, which gives the lake a chance to rise. That’s why we see the strange “Waterfall” flowing to this day.
Glaciologist Erin Pettit added: “With the device ‘listening’ for echoes from the lake below 400m of ice, just like bats use their ears to ‘see’ things in the dark, we ‘see’.” see what’s going on at this salt lake.
It is hard to believe that a lake of liquid water exists beneath the cold thick ice below 0 degrees. Interestingly, the lake containing these irons is so salty that it cannot freeze. And that liquid lake becomes an ecological environment for archaea autotrophic bacteria to live. The bacteria can live in super salty and extremely cold water, extremely high iron concentration, not knowing what sunlight is. It turns out that they have such strong vitality, that studying these microorganisms closely will give us a way to deal with extremely harsh environments, such as in space.”
“The first discovery led us to many more discoveries and many more explanations,” said researcher Martin. “The Antarctic girl has not revealed all the secrets she is still hiding.”
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The study results were published in the Journal of Glaciology.