India, Oct. 22 -- A red stain flowing down a white glacier might look like a movie scene, but it is real. It is called Blood Falls, and it is in Antarctica. According toa 2026 Nature Geoscience study, genetic clues from this site led researchers to a marine microbial community associated with the brine below Taylor Glacier. The community appears to have survived for a long time after being cut off from the ocean.

Blood Falls pours out from the end of the Taylor Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The water is red and salty, and it is full of iron. It runs down the slope and flows into Lake Bonney. Previous studies provided some clues to the origin of this brine. They suggest it formed when seawater flooded Taylor Valley during warm perio...