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Scientists Unravel the Mystery of Antarctica’s Blood Falls!

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posted on May, 1 2017 @ 11:29 PM
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Remember this photo from a while back?








That's Blood Falls in Antarctica - First discovered in the early 1900 by geologist Griffith Taylor. At first it was theorized to be some form of algae that caused such a discoloration, but upon a deeper look we now know what it is!



An analysis in 2003, which laid the groundwork for the most recent discoveries, confirmed it was not algae that caused the red flow into West Lake Bonney. The water was found to contain extremely high levels of iron. The iron atoms in the water turned red when exposed to air — they actually become iron oxide, also known as rust. So, this isn’t blood or algae, but water with rust dissolved in it.


It's a pretty cool find, but what they found after was even more amazing!




Researchers suspected that the iron-rich water was coming from an ancient source, at least 5 million years old. There didn’t appear to be any liquid water around that would be a match. The answer turns out to be under the glacier’s surface.

Using radio-echo sounding, researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks were able to scan the area around Blood Falls. No drilling was necessary. The team found not just a subsurface lake, but an entire network of flowing water with high salt content in addition to iron. The high salinity of the water (also known as brine) prevents it from freezing, like when you sprinkle salt on your icy steps during the winter. The salt content of the water made this discovery possible due to its high contrast in radar reflections.

Researchers now say that Taylor Glacier represents the oldest known example of flowing water in a glacier. This research could help us understand the way water can persist inside other extremely cold glaciers.

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Go science go!



posted on May, 1 2017 @ 11:44 PM
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My first thought is "paint pigment." Top shelf stuff.



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 12:48 AM
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The first thing I thought was "iron".

Yay science?



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 01:41 AM
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a reply to: NthOther

First thing I thought was satanic sacrificial ice temple, then algae, then some sort of bacteria.

*hands sciency hat to you*



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 01:58 AM
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So is there some huge iron deposit under the glacier ?




posted on May, 2 2017 @ 02:37 AM
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My guess is there's an ancient sight with iron equipment buried deep under the ice...

there's likely a heat source from something like working machinery or a power plant, creating liquid water that runs over and through the ancient technological site...

a sight crafted with a higher dimensional geometry sourced from the ancient ones who lay frozen in contorted poses in crooked halls that once echoed with the screams of mortals and now lay silent ...

silent, that is, until the dreaming Old Ones slowly awake ... hail Cthulhu!

Hey, might as well guess big, right? A deposit of iron ore is so dull...



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 04:07 AM
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originally posted by: badw0lf
a reply to: NthOther

First thing I thought was satanic sacrificial ice temple, then algae, then some sort of bacteria.

*hands sciency hat to you*




Avatar of the week award.



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 05:03 AM
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a reply to: Miracula2

good movie, btw. Piggy. if a bit violent


As to the underground iron machine, well, some places have a lot of rust on land from the iron content being exposed to the elements. Gives Australia the red land touch. So under the ice, we know millions of years ago, it could have been a rusting desert. makes sense when you think about it, deposits now flowing over the ice?

idk, the kid next door is screaming her head off and the grandmother is yelling back, so it's hard to think.. :/



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 05:43 AM
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originally posted by: badw0lf
a reply to: Miracula2

Piggy. if a bit violent


I don't watch many movies now like I did in the past.

However. Pigs can be violent. Not just boars. They killed an old farmer out west a few years ago.

www.nydailynews.com...

2012 Oregon.

2004 Romania



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 05:44 AM
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a few obervations - in no particular order :

1 - disolved minerals = lower freezing point [ the physics varies - but a saturated salt [ sodium chloride ] soln -= -30 celcius freezing point ] - thats why the use it as road de-icer


2 - why is this " new news " i am certain that iron = the causal factor has been well known for decades - hint - 5 minuites with a sample and microscope would show that its not a bilogical effect - and simple titration would reveal IRON

3 - natural iron rich deposits are nothing remarkable - we mine " iron stone " to produce 99.99 % of the worlds iron // steel production [ so no " lost machines " fantasies needed ]

but hey - carry on



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 06:42 AM
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originally posted by: NthOther
The first thing I thought was "iron".

Yay science?


Lol, that's the easy part, what I find more interesting is that they were able to determine that there was waterflow inside and under the ice, determine its age, and the contents within it without needing to disturb, and in hand possibly distort, the source itself



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 08:12 AM
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And all this time I was convinced that it was the blood of the tormented victims of Cthulhu flowing from the lost ruins of R'lyeh.



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 08:13 AM
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Iron would be the obvious answer, I guess, but it's something else to be able to prove it! Good find!



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 04:41 PM
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The fact that it is flowing non-stop. So much iron. It is hard to believe that it could be an iron vein. An ancient spacecraft on the other hand, like the one from "Thing"...



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 04:59 PM
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I Never understood why this was such a mystery in the first place...

Yay Science...


Common sense is hard to come by these days



posted on May, 2 2017 @ 06:56 PM
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It's been known for a while that the colour is caused by high iron content, but that network of rivers is really cool discovery.

If there's not some weird, ancient leviathan dwelling in a blood red lake deep beneath the frozen wasteland of the Antarctic, I'll campaign to ban science I swear to God

Seriously though, I think Antarctica can tell us a lot about our Earth.

Does anybody know what the effect of this mineralisation would be upon fossils?




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