Deciphering the blood waterfall 'mystery in Antarctica

In the process of exploring the red waterfalls in Antarctica, American scientists discovered many chemical compounds that created their strange colors.

A red waterfall flows from the Antarctic Taylor glacier.Photo: Reuters.

The Taylor Glacier is one of the most sought after by scientists and explorers in Antarctica, because there are some waterfalls flowing out from here in the summer. A special feature of these falls is that they are very cold, super salty and red like blood. Therefore, people call them "blood fall".

Scientists from Darthmouth University and Harvard University (USA) decided to explore the secrets of blood cascades. They claim the water supply for the blood cascade is a saline lake below the ice. Thanks to modern techniques, they determined that the salt lake is about 400 meters away from the ice surface without deep drilling.

The team believes that several million years ago, saltwater lakes were once part of the ocean at the southernmost end of the globe. When the water level in the ocean falls sharply, the lake is separated. After many evaporation with high speed, the salinity of the lake is 4 times higher than the ocean. Thanks to that salinity, it does not freeze despite being in the South Pole. About 1.5-2 million years ago, the Taylor glacier moved through the lake and sealed it. In summer, the temperature in Antarctica is warm enough for the water in the lake to rise to the surface of the ice.

To find out why the blood cascades are red, the researchers analyzed their water samples. The results show that there are sulfur and iron compounds in the water. When the compound of iron dissolves in the liquid, iron ions produce a red color for the solution.

'It was a great moment, just like when Archimedes found the law of fluid propulsion. Iron ions themselves have created red for bloodfalls, 'said Jill Mikucki, a scientist at Darthmouth University. He said he and his colleagues will continue to find out where iron and sulfur compounds come from.