Recently, a group of researchers from two American universities, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Colorado, claimed they had cracked the centuries-old mystery of the “Blood Falls” in Antarctica.

Discovered by English geologist Griffith Taylor (1880-1963) in 1911, Taylor Valley (named after him) in southeastern Antarctica has become one of the most challenging regions for explorers and scientists.

In this isolated valley, there is a strange blood-red waterfall, which many scientists call “Blood Falls.” Over the past 100 years, many explanations have been proposed.

At the time of discovery, geologist Griffith Taylor believed that the red color of the water was due to a type of algae. Later, explorers and scientists theorized that about 1.5 million years ago, there was a saltwater lake containing iron, which was covered in ice.

New discovery at “Blood Falls” in Antarctica

But the story has changed with the discovery of researcher Jessica Badgeley (from the University of Colorado), glaciologist Eri Pettit and their colleagues (from the University of Alaska Fairbaks). Using specialized equipment, researchers have discovered a completely new secret in a lake located 400 meters under the ice.

Jessica Badgeley explains: “Red salt water is an ecosystem of beneficial microbes that have been trapped for millions of years beneath the Earth’s surface. Despite the poor light, temperatures reaching -5°C and a salinity three times higher than that of seawater, these microbes are rare aυtotrophic bacteria on Earth.”

The red color of “Blood Falls” is the result of the precipitation of iro oxide when salt water containing stable iro oxide comes into contact with oxygen in the air.

During the summer, the temperature in Antarctica is warmer, allowing the lake water to rise. This is the reason why we can see the strange and constant flow of “Blood Falls” to this day.

Glaciologist Eri Pettit adds: “With equipment listening to lake echoes beneath a 400-meter-thick layer of ice, similar to how bats use their ears to ‘see’ things in the dark, we ‘saw’ what “It was happening in this dark, salty lake.”

It is surprising to discover a liquid lake that exists beneath a layer of frozen ice that is below 0°C. The interesting thing is that this iron-containing lake is extremely salty, which prevents it from freezing. And that liquid lake has become an ecosystem for autotrophic bacteria to live.”

This discovery helps astronomers evaluate the conditions for life on other planets.