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Antarctic Blood Falls mystery explained


Still Waters

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Blood Falls may sound like the title of a thriller novel, but it's actually an Antarctic mystery that has puzzled scientists for over a century. The origin of the blood-red water that flows from Taylor Glacier in East Antarctica has puzzled explorers since it was first seen in 1911, but researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Colorado College say that they have discovered the source.

http://newatlas.com/million-year-blood-falls/49204/

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  • The title was changed to Antarctic Blood Falls mystery explained
 

I'm wondering what the thing on the far lower left is in the pic UM used for their news article...

Looks like a ball, or maybe some kind of buoy.

news-blood-falls.jpg

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9 hours ago, DieChecker said:

I'm wondering what the thing on the far lower left is in the pic UM used for their news article...

Looks like a ball, or maybe some kind of buoy.

 

Glad I'm not the only one ... looks like a buoy to me.

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  • 3 weeks later...

  This bit is interesting...  https://www.deviantworld.com/world/travelling/blood-falls-antarctica/2/

 

Quote

A unique ecosystem.  The spectacular Blood Falls of Antarctica!

Chemical and microbial analyses both indicate that a rare subglacial ecosystem of autotrophic bacteria developed that metabolizes sulfate and ferric ions. According to geomicrobiologist Jill Mikucki at the University of Tennessee, water samples from Blood Falls contained at least 17 different types of microbes, and almost no oxygen.

An explanation may be that the microbes use sulfate as a catalyst to respire with ferric ions and metabolize the trace levels of organic matter trapped with them. Such a metabolic process had never before been observed in nature.

 

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This has me thinking about the various icy moons and dwarf planets.... 

Some say that there'd be no life there, because of no sunlight, and no surface oxygen source. But right here under these glaciers we have almost the same environment, no sunlight, no oxygen... and it has many different types of microbes living in it.

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