Antarctica has a bizarre, dark red waterfall nicknamed the 'Blood Falls'

It was first spotted in 1911 by the Australian geologist Griffith Taylor and has captivated explorers ever since. This crimson feature, known as Blood Falls, emerges from the pristine white surface of Taylor Glacier in East Antarctica and splashes onto the icy terrain below.

This strange spectacle has generated curiosity for over a century.

According to Chris Carr, a glaciologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and lead author of a recent study, experts are still working to uncover the exact trigger behind the waterfall’s unpredictable flow.

Water stays liquid at Blood Falls

Blood Falls does not flow year-round, but it stands out because the water beneath the glacier remains liquid, despite the intense cold of the surroundings.

Researchers have traced this salty water to a hidden reservoir below Taylor Glacier that retains heat more effectively than ordinary freshwater.

The high salinity also lowers its freezing point, which means that the water remains fluid in the harsh Antarctic temperatures.

Some investigators have suggested that the reservoir may be an ancient body of marine water, possibly trapped millions of years ago.

The water then seeps out through cracks and channels inside the glacier, and bursts onto the surface at irregular intervals.

An otherworldly color

It looks frightening, yet the color is not from blood. The hue is the result of oxidation, a chemical process that happens when the iron-rich brine meets oxygen in the open air. With each splash, more iron reacts and coats the ice with a rusty stain.

Researchers once attributed the crimson color to red algae, but that theory was eventually dismissed. Careful chemical analyses subsequently identified iron compounds that darken the flow of water, making it a deep, ruddy color.

A puzzle of seasonal flow

Winter is a hostile time in Antarctica, with temperatures that plummet far below freezing point.

Scientists were stunned to see that the water in Blood Falls continued gushing in these icy conditions.

There was hope that capturing the waterfall on camera would reveal some type of seismic activity linked to cracks in the ice. The sensors did record tiny shifts, yet none seemed to cause the brine flow.

That left experts scratching their heads. Erin Pettit, a glaciologist at Oregon State University and co-author of several Blood Falls investigations, commented on this anomaly. 

“We were just throwing out the most bizarre ideas because none of it made sense and we didn’t have very much data to draw from,” said Pettit.

The presence of wintertime flow has led researchers to guess that changes deep under the glacier might be involved.

Teeming with hidden life

The brine at Blood Falls is by no means lifeless. Scientists have learned that it contains microorganisms adapted to an environment where sunlight is scarce and nutrients are locked beneath layers of ice.

Studies show that some microbes can feed on the iron and sulfur compounds, and glean energy from these chemical reactions instead of from sunlight.

Some experts see parallels between these microbes and the types of life that might exist on other icy worlds.

The protective blanket of ice, combined with salty subglacial waters, offers a hint of how life could persist in hidden pockets far from the Sun’s reach.

Blood Falls, glaciers and other planets

The existence of brine in such a frigid place challenges older views about the limitations of cold glaciers.

“Researchers had assumed that any water would freeze solid, yet Taylor Glacier is known as the coldest glacier to have a steady flow of liquid water,” said Pettit in a press release.

Those observations carry weight for our broader understanding of subglacial hydrology.

Data gathered at Blood Falls can guide future exploration of other cold glaciers on Earth and spark new ideas about possible habitats beneath the ice caps on Mars or Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

Blood falls remains a puzzle

The exact cause of each outflow remains uncertain. Some propose that internal pressure builds in the subglacial reservoir until the water finds a weak point to burst through.

Others question if slight shifts in the glacier’s movement open narrow pathways that allow the brine to escape.

Either way, each sudden pulse of red fluid reminds us that certain glacial processes occur on unpredictable schedules.

New technologies such as specialized radar and melting probes are helping scientists view these hidden systems more precisely.

Each time the crimson water appears, additional observations could provide clues about what sparks each discharge.

For now, Blood Falls stands as a striking reminder of Earth’s many surprises.

Why Blood Falls research is important

Antarctica’s secrets extend well beyond the bright red flow in Taylor Valley. Studying Blood Falls takes grit, funding, and strict protocols for working in polar conditions.

Field camps must be set up, gear transported, and delicate instruments installed, all without contaminating the pristine environment or endangering the research team.

This waterfall may look like a small trickle in a gigantic frozen desert, but it represents a bigger story of geological persistence.

The briny discharge hints at a vast hidden water network and the remarkable endurance of life where few would expect it.

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Image credit: National Science Foundation (NSF)/Peter Rejcek

The study is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface.

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