在南极洲麦克默多干燥谷（McMurdo Dry Valleys）中，位于泰勒冰川（Taylor Glacier）上的“Blood Falls”会间歇性喷出一股鲜红色液体；自1911年由地质学家Thomas Griffith Taylor发现以来，这一现象曾引发长达一个世纪的讨论。这次发表于《Antarctic Science》的研究（2026年）整合了近期观测，进一步解释了颜色成因与低温流动性，同时补上促使血色瀑布持续“喷发”的物理机制。

研究前曾普遍认为红色来自红藻，但现代证据指出，红色主要来自含铁纳米球（nanospheres）中的铁颗粒，并伴随矽、钙、铝、钠等元素；这些成分被认为与埋藏于地下的古菌群活动相关。液体暴露于空气后，铁会被氧化，产生铁锈般的红褐色，这也是Blood Falls外观的核心来源。

关于「为何不结冰」问题，血色瀑布实际上是高盐度咸水（hypersaline brine），其形成可追溯到约200万年前，与当时南极洋退却导致的古水体环境有关；极高盐度可显著降低冰点，允许水体在接近摄氏-20度的条件下仍保持液态。

In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the Blood Falls on Taylor Glacier periodically discharge a crimson liquid, and since Thomas Griffith Taylor first documented them in 1911 they have fueled a century of debate. A study in Antarctic Science (2026) built on recent observations to refine two core mysteries—why the flow is red and why it can remain liquid near –20°C—and adds a final explanation of the process that drives the eruptions.

Early interpretations blamed red microalgae, but current work identifies the color as iron-rich particles trapped in nanospheres, mixed with elements such as silicon, calcium, aluminum, and sodium, likely linked to ancient bacteria trapped underground. When this material contacts air, iron oxidizes into a rust-like red hue, creating the characteristic appearance of the Blood Falls.

For persistence in liquid form, Blood Falls are fed by hypersaline brine thought to have formed about 2 million years ago as the Antarctic Ocean retreated from valley systems. The new mechanism links eruptions to pressure dynamics: as Taylor Glacier moves downstream, ice compression in subglacial channels builds high pressure, and when stress exceeds a threshold, brine is forced into fractures and expelled in short pulses. This outflow can act as a hydraulic brake, briefly reducing glacier motion, though long-term climate warming impacts on this system remain uncertain. (Key numbers: 200, 20)