The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are some of the most extreme desert regions on the planet. But new research indicates that the region may actually be full of salty, extremely cold groundwater. The water may even connect surrounding lakes into a massive network, and it probably hosts extreme microbial life.
The findings were reported Tuesday in Nature Communications.
Despite McMurdo's apparent dryness on the surface, it's always hinted at something more: The region is home to the magnificently creepy Blood Falls, a red ooze that shines bright against the otherwise desolate surface. For a while scientists believed that red algae gave this mysterious, bloody ooze its vibrant color. But even though iron oxide is responsible for the hue, analysis has shown that the feature does contain strange bacterial life.
Blood Falls seeps from the end of the Taylor Glacier into Lake Bonney. The tent at theleft provides a sense of scale for just how big the phenomenon is. (Peter Rejcek, National Science Foundation)
Credit to Washington Post
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