Blood Falls on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica.
No, that red substance you're seeing is not ACTUALLY blood, but it sure as hell looks like it!
The story goes like this: About 5 million years ago, the Taylor Glacier accumlated down Dry Valley in Eastern Antarctica and over a small lake, completely sealing the lake from the rest of the world. This lake's inhabitants consists of "an ancient community of microbes" that evolved and have miraculously survived there with no oxygen and minimal heat, recycling sulphate to survive all these years. The water in the lake is too salty for it to freeze (I wonder why? Must investigate the science behind this!), with an excessive amount of iron in it which gives it its red color (tah-dah!). 17 different kinds of microbes have been found so far! Makes me think: If global warming eventually brings this glacier to its demise, and scientists are actually able to get into this lake, what in god's icy earth will they find in there next?? I mean, think of the creatures they've found in the deep sea.. there must be some gems at the bottom of this one!
If you look on the bottom-left side of the picture up top you'll see a small half circle that looks kind of like a beachball. That is no beachball, it's actually a tent placed there so we can see the magnitude of this bloody waterfall. It's 5 stories high!
Some people are saying that the discovery of such a tenaciously adaptable ecosystem on Earth lends credence to the possibility of life on other planets. If Earth has held up for so long against all the abuse we put it through everyday, imagine how much more nature could thrive without our interference (like this lake here under the Taylor Glacier)!
Thoughts?
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