In the frozen landscape of Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valley, a bloody waterfall known as 'Blood Falls' has baffled scientists for more than a century since its discovery in 1911. Discovered by Australian geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor, the five-story-high waterfall slowly cascades down the Taylor Glacier, staining the ice below it a deep, blood-red color.
For decades, people thought the strange color came from red algae in the water. It seemed like a reasonable explanation for such an unusual sight. But the truth is even more intriguing. The water flowing from the glacier is actually hypersaline brine, saltier than ocean water, and it has been trapped under the ice for millions of years.
When this ancient, iron-rich water finally reaches the surface and comes into contact with oxygen for the first time, the iron oxidizes—that is, it rusts. This rust is what gives the water its striking red appearance. Even more remarkable is what's inside this trapped water. Scientists have found a type of microbial ecosystem that has survived for eons in complete darkness and without oxygen.
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