00:46 The Secret of Blood Falls Revealed The mystery surrounding Antarctica's 'Blood Falls' is over. Matt Sampson has the details.

At a Glance Scientists say a massive source of salty water is trapped underneath Antarctica's Taylor Glacier, contributing to the Blood Falls.

They tracked the movement of the brine coming from the falls and discovered its path, which had been a mystery since 1911.

The scientists also discovered it is possible for liquid water to exist inside an extremely cold glacier. The Blood Falls in Antartica have long been a mystery for researchers, but a new study proved everything they need to know has been beneath their feet this whole time.

New evidence links the falls to a massive source of salty water that has likely been trapped underneath Taylor Glacier for more than a million years , according to a release on the study.

The Blood Falls are famous for their sporadic releases of brine – iron-rich salty water that turns bright red when the iron makes contact with air. The scientists tracked the water’s movement and discovered a 300-foot trail feeding from underneath the glacier to the site of the waterfall. This path has baffled scientists since the falls were first discovered by geoscientist Griffith Taylor in 1911.

"The salts in the brine made this discovery possible by amplifying the contrast with the fresh glacier ice," lead author Jessica Badgeley said in the release.



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The team used radio-echo sounding, a method that uses radar technology with two antennas, one for transmitting electrical pulses and one that receives signals, to follow the brine’s path, according to the study.

While they studied the falls, the scientists also discovered liquid water can exist inside a frigid glacier, which they previously believed was almost impossible.

"While it sounds counterintuitive, water releases heat as it freezes, and that heat warms the surrounding colder ice," glaciologist Erin Pettit said in the release. The heat and the lower freezing temperature of the brine make it possible for the liquid to move freely.

"Our findings suggest that cold glaciers could support freshwater hydrologic systems through localized warming by latent heat alone ," the researchers wrote in the study.

Scientists first touched on this finding in 2015, when they learned the salty sea water underneath the Taylor Glacier connects surface lakes that look separated on the ground, making a much more widespread ecosystem under the ice’s surface.

"Taylor Glacier is now the coldest known glacier to have persistently flowing water," said Pettit in the release.

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