Why Antarctica's Blood Falls flow red has been revealed
Scientists have figured out why Antarctica's famous Blood Falls look so wild—turns out, pulses of super-salty, iron-rich water from under the Taylor Glacier are behind the red flow.
These brine bursts drop pressure beneath the glacier and even change how fast it moves.
The discovery comes from a Louisiana State University team led by Peter Doran.
But 1st, what is Blood Falls?
Blood Falls is basically salty, iron-packed water leaking out of a glacier into West Lake Bonney.
When this brine hits air, the iron rusts and turns bright red—hence the creepy name.
It was first spotted back in 1911 by geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor.
How the glacier changes
Between September and October 2018, researchers used GPS, cameras, and sensors to track changes at Blood Falls.
They saw the glacier's surface sink by 15mm and its speed slow down about 10%.
Cameras caught fresh red stains spreading just as temperature sensors picked up weird cold spikes.
Ancient microbes help scientists
The real stars here are tiny iron- and chlorine-rich nanospheres—about 1/100th the size of a red blood cell—left behind by ancient microbes.
These give Blood Falls its color and help scientists keep tabs on how glaciers behave in extreme conditions.