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3 min read<\/p>\n3 min read<\/p>\n
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Antarctica\u2019s McMurdo Dry Valleys<\/a> collectively form one the most inhospitable places on Earth. In fact, it\u2019s so terrestrially miserable there that it\u2019s basically extraterrestrial, as NASA uses the location\u2019s extreme cold and dryness\u2014an area where it hasn\u2019t rained for two million years<\/a>\u2014as our planet\u2019s closest Mars<\/a> analog. And also like the Red Planet, these famous valleys are host to their own well-known red-hued display. <\/p>\n First discovered in 1911 by British geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor\u2014whose name now graces the nearby Thomas Glacier\u2014Blood Falls is exactly what its bone-chilling moniker suggests: an icy waterfall with an ominous-and-undeniable red tint. While its unnerving appearance has puzzled geologists\u2014not least among them Taylor himself\u2014for more than a century, scientists haven\u2019t pinned down the exact mechanism behind this glacial gorefest, but a new study in the journal Antarctic Science<\/a> thinks it might\u2019ve cracked the case. <\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n This new discovery dates back to September 2018 when Louisiana State University Baton Rouge\u2019s Peter Doran recorded a \u201cserendipitous alignment\u201d of several sensor readings near the falls, including GPS data on the glacier<\/a> from which it emerges, thermistor strings measuring the West Lobe of Lake Bonney (WLB), and a time-lapse camera focused on Blood Falls itself.<\/p>\n \u201cThis sensor cluster recorded a ~15 mm down drop of Taylor Glacier that was coincident with a Blood Falls outflow event and a cold-temperature anomaly in the WLB,\u201d Doran, lead author of the study, along with his co-authors, wrote. \u201cThe serendipitous recording of three different datasets provides a rare, coherent signal of a subglacial brine drainage event.\u201d<\/p>\n So why exactly does this turn Antarctica<\/a>\u2019s Blood Falls red? Well, in a way, this outflow is almost like a pressure release point for the lake, the overlying glacier, and the underlying rock. The downward pressure of the glacier has created pressurized brine that acts as a \u201chydraulic brake<\/a>\u201d slowing the glacier\u2019s movement, according to Wired<\/a>. <\/p>\n That brine is actually composed of nanospheres<\/a> containing iron (along with silicon, calcium, aluminum, and sodium), and much like the oxidative engine behind Mars\u2019 famous red color, they lend the glacial outflow a crimson hue. <\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough limited in spatial resolution by data coming from only a single GPS station, a single time-lapse camera and a single thermistor string, this synchronous record highlights the importance of multi-sensor monitoring for resolving short-lived but high-impact subglacial processes,\u201d the authors write. \u201cSuch events perturb lake temperature stratification and may alter nutrient transport, underscoring the tight coupling between glacier dynamics, subglacial hydrology and ecosystem processes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys.\u201d<\/p>\n So, while Blood Falls\u2019 sanguine origin story is less murderous than it might appear, the iron oxide reaction behind its blood-red color is, fittingly, the very same process that gives the Red Planet its moniker\u2014as if this remote corner of Earth were quietly auditioning for a role on another world.<\/p>\n Built to Work \u2014 Under $100 Best Flashlight<\/p>\n Best Stud Finder<\/p>\n Now 24% Off<\/p>\n Best Pocket Knife<\/p>\n Now 11% Off<\/p>\n Best Compact Power Bank<\/p>\n Now 23% Off<\/p>\n Best Budget Bluetooth Speaker<\/p>\n Best Value Shop Vac<\/p>\n Now 11% Off<\/p>\n Best Slim Wallet<\/p>\n![\"Chevron](\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/arrow-left-regular.dc4f48a.svg?primary=%2523D4D4D4\"){kind=icon}
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