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Mystery Solved: Antarctic Blood Falls.

Scientists have always been confused by the origins of the mysterious waterfall, blood-red flowing down Taylor Glacier, in Antarctica. Discovered for the first time by geoscientist Griffith Taylor in 1911, the mysterious red mud fountain of Blood Falls finally has an explanation, thanks to new research from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Colorado.

The falls are fed by a large source of salt water trapped beneath the glacier for over a million years, the research team says in a study published in the Journal of Galciology. The salts in the brine made this discovery possible by amplifying contrast with the fresh glacial ice, lead author of the study, Jessica Badgeley, in a press release.

Blood Falls is famous for its sporadic releases of iron-rich salt water, which turns bright red - like something out of a horror movie - once the iron reacts with the surrounding air. For his research, Badgeley and his team traced the brine with radio-echo sound, a method of studying glaciers and ice sheets with radar using two antennas - one for transmitting electrical impulses and the other for receiving signals.

Following the completion of the research, Badgeley was a college student at Colorado College and worked with the University of Alaska Fairbanks UAF glaciologist Erin Pettit and UAF PhD student Chrisina Carr. The team moved around the Taylor Glacier antennae grid patterns -like the purpose of seeing what was beneath the ice.