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Antarctic Blood Falls: A Century-Old Mystery Solved, Life Without Light Discovered

Blood Falls in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica — a thick red saltwater flow from beneath the Taylor Glacier — was first seen in 1911. A full scientific explanation emerged in 2014: the color comes from iron oxidation in ancient saline water over 1.5 million years old; within it, anaerobic microorganisms live without light or oxygen, offering new insights for astrobiology on Mars and Europa.