Blood….pouring from an icy gash …. That really isn’t my kind of party… but luckily
the mystery of Antarctica’s blood falls has been solved …with SCIENCE!
Hello and welcome back to iO, I am your host Rebecca Felgate and today things are getting
kind of gross down in our mate Antarctica… stay tuned to hear the gory news but before
that I want to know if you are a hot or cold person – do you prefer sunshine or snow?
Let me know in the comments section down below.
Honestly I have tried to love snow more, especially is I live in cold cold cold Canada, but I
am definitely a summer sally…or…Rebecca… because that is my name.
Let me know!
LIKE SHARE…iO insta!
OKAY, Blood Falls!
For those of you who have never heard of the phenomena, Blood Falls is part of the Taylor
Glacier in East Antarctica.
Not many people have stepped foot in the South Pole, especially not at the time the Taylor
Glacier was stumbled upon by its namesake, Australian Geologist, Griffith Taylor, the
first explorer of the valley.
Imagine, not only being in a very unfamiliar place.
But also clapping eyes on this absolute monstrosity!
This was Griffith Taylor’s reality when he discovered in in 1911.
In those days geologists were already very scientifically minded rather than superstitious
so Mr Taylor was probably able to keep a level head, but still if I saw this I would run
in the other direction… and maybe cry.
Probably cry.
I’d literally cry.
It is a strange sight to see something bleeding in one of the most inhospitable and uninhabited
areas of the world!
In actual fact, the only living thing that can survive near the Taylor Glacier are microbes!
So, being a Science man, Griffith Taylor assumed that the bleeding bloody waterfall was as
a result of red algae, rather than a murdered ice giant, which is maybe what I would go
for.
Some people out there that saw the pictures of the waterfall did indeed think there was
a rather more macabre and sinister reason for its unusual appearance.
Imaginations and superstitions tend to run wild when it comes to out of the way, far
off places.
Indeed, it was hard for anyone to verify Taylors logical explanations as, like I said, hardly
anyone has ever set foot in Antarctica.
However now scientists do have a definitive answer… and it isn’t algae… so what
is it?
Are we circling back to the ice giant?
Is it like the statues that cry blood?
Well.. not quite… although it is kind of blood related.
Blood in our bodies is filled with iron, as we know, which gives it its red colour when
it interacts with oxygen.
This isn’t too far off what is happening at blood falls.
Basically iron deposits can be found in the surface of the ice.
When they come into contact with air, they oxidise, creating what is essentially a rust.
So when the soluable iron is released from the ice, meets the air and melts, it creates
what looks like flowing blood.
These findings were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences on
February 2….
Thus basically solving the mystery of Blood Falls!
This area of the world is so cool.
It is thought that the Taylor glacier was formed 5 million years ago and is home to
some of the worlds oldest ice…who knows what secrets that ice holds!
The average temperature in the south pole is -46 degrees Celsius, or -50 Fahrenheit…so
really If there is one thing we can say about the Taylor Glacier, it is that its bloody
cold..eh!
Does that only work if you’re british.
TROLOLOLOL.
OKAY… bleeding waterfalls, no thanks, I’d rather take a trip to the pink Spencer Lake
in Australia….
Isn’t nature weird and beautiful.
Weird and beautiful are my two favourite flavours!
Let me know which you would rather visit – the Spencer Lake or Blood Falls….
Also let me know if you’re a summer bae or a winter bae…of course do leave a nice
big thumbs up on this video too!
You know you want to!
Before I go I am just going to read some comments from my recent video – about the woman with
no forehead..
Avery Ritchot said: OMG this is so sad I’m in love with my forehead?
Steve Hunt Said: SAD AND DANGEROUS!!!! and trust me traumatic brain injury is FOREVER.
I can relate to this woman!!
JP said: The seat belt
is the first thing I put on in the car?
– Good on you.