Blood Falls in Antarctica

"When the lake was trapped under the glacier some 1.5 – 2 million years ago, some simple life forms were trapped in it. The sub-glacial lake contains no oxygen, but is home to at least 17 different types of microorganisms."

clipped from webecoist.com Blood Falls is a waterfall in Antarctica that spews blood-red water from five stories up. It was first discovered in 1911, but it wasn’t until recently that scientists have begun to dig into just how significant the location really is. Blood Falls, a naturally-occurring outflow of saltwater from the lake beneath Taylor’s Glacier, offers a unique opportunity to look at what might be going on under the surface of the ice. The waters beneath Taylor’s Glacier are a kind of ancient time capsule where a community of microorganisms was able to develop and evolve in an environment not found anywhere else on Earth. The sub-glacial lake contains no oxygen, but is home to at least 17 different types of microorganisms. The water is hyper-salinated (very salty), and its unusual coloring is due to its high iron content which instantly rusts upon being exposed to air creating the blood red waterfall. The working theory is that the organisms evolved to use sulfate to “breathe” the ferric iron.