Blood Falls in Antarctica could harbor microorganisms similar to primitive alien life found on Mars or other worlds. This same area could also assist scientists in identifying damage done by global climate change, according to researchers.
A salty aquifer network was found laying as far as 1,150 feet beneath the surface of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. This region, extending at least 7.5 miles inland from the coast, is the driest and coldest desert found anywhere on Earth and is ice-free
Researchers examined the features using an electromagnetic sensor flown above the area, carried beneath a helicopter. The magnetic coil detector was able to detect the presence of salty lakes under the frozen ground.
These interconnected salty lakes may be home to hardy microbes living in one of the least hospitable regions on Earth. Many investigators believe these lifeforms could be similar to those that might still exist beneath the frozen desert surface of Mars.
"It may change the way people think about the coastal margins of Antarctica. We know there is significant saturated sediment below the surface that is likely seeping into the ocean and affecting the productivity of things that feed ocean food webs. It lends to the understanding of the flow of nutrients and how that might affect ecosystem health," Jill Mikucki of the University of Tennessee said.
Biologists want to study how organisms that may live in the salty lakes adapt to living in one of the most lifeless regions on Earth. Learning the telltale signs of life in this environment could assist researchers in developing new ways of recognizing alien life beneath the surface of the Red Planet. The high salt content in the water may be preventing the liquid from freezing, possibly allowing primitive life to exist in the system. Investigators believe that a similar process could assist alien life sheltered beneath the dry desert surface of Mars.
Blood Falls is located in Taylor Glacier, one of the most-investigated glaciers on the planet. Brine, rich in iron, is released from the subsurface over the front of the glacier at the falls. Microbial life, feeding on sulfur and iron, is known to emanate from this geological feature, recognized as a hotspot of microbial life.
The method of identifying salty lakes located underground using a magnetic coil was developed by researchers at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. This was the first time the technique was utilized in Antarctica.
Discovery of the first evidence of subterranean salty lakes beneath the surface of Antarctica was detailed in the journal Nature Communications.
