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| Antarctica is effectively a freezing time-capsule that contains clues about life on the planet before humans. Picture: Guy Williams |
IT’S the last great unexplored wilderness on the face of planet Earth and is shrouded in icy mysteries.
But what’s the truth about the frozen continent of Antarctica?
For scientists, it’s a freezing cold time-capsule that contains clues about life on the planet before meddling humans came along and ruined everything.
But for conspiracy theorists, the icy continent contains much, much more than just a few frozen bacteria and a hidden lake.
The wilder minds of the internet have made a series of sensational claims about the South Pole, suggesting it’s home to alien bases and even a lost human civilisation.
Few readers are going to have the chance to explore Antarctica any time soon, so we’ve collected together some of the mysteries which have intrigued scientists — and a few of the wild theories which have lit up the internet.
BLOOD FALLS
A wound-like gash that spurts red liquid out of the Taylor Glacier has puzzled scientists since its discovery in 1911.
An Australian geologist stumbled upon the Antarctic waterfall in 1911 and put forward the theory that the “blood” was just water that had been stained by microscopic red algae.
The Blood Falls have captivated scientists since their discovery.Source:Supplied
But researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Colorado College claimed that Blood Falls is flowing from a large lake which has been trapped under the ice for one million years.
This mystery is far from solved, however, because scientists haven’t been able to fully explore this lake, which has remained liquid when it probably should have frozen over.
It’s believed that oxidised iron gives the water its rusty tinge.
