The eerie blood falls pour from Taylor Glacier then foams up on the surface of Antarctica. Research found that the color is due to oxidized iron.
In 1910, Captain Robert Falcon Scott led the ‘Terra Nova’ expedition to Antarctica. The mission was officially called the British Antarctic Expedition and lasted until 1913.
The crew included 65 men of different specialties. Among them was Thomas Griffith Taylor, an English explorer and senior academic geographer.
Taylor was the leader of the geological team, in charge of mapping and interpreting the geological aspects of the continent.
In January 1911, he led a separate expedition to a remote area between McMurdo Dry Valleys and the Koettlitz Glacier. It was in that area of East Antarctica that he discovered the Blood Falls.
The waterfall pours from Taylor Glacier then foams up on the surface with its eerily red color.
At first, scientists attributed the color to red algae. But in 2017, a study published in the Journal of Glaciology found that it was rather due to oxidized iron.
Researchers used radio echo sounding technology to scan the ice from which the red water pours.