Three mysterious facts about Antarctica you probably don’t know

Antarctica is an interesting location with lots of interesting features, and holds some of the world’s greatest mysteries.

It has the most extreme climates with temperatures falling as low as -89 degree Celsius. The place is also known for its untouched and natural landscape, which makes it a tourist attraction.

What many people don’t know are some shocking mysteries locked in the isolated place. In this guide, we discuss three of the mysterious facts about Antarctica that you probably don’t know.

Underground lake

Your first visit to Antarctica will give you the first and generally correct impression that the entire place is covered in thick ice.

While this is true from a physical inspection, the ice holds more mysteries than you can imagine. There are several lakes — about 400 precisely — under a 3 km stretch of ice sheet.

The largest of these lakes is Lake Vostok, which was discovered in the 1990s by Russian scientists. Lying 3.5km below the ice, it is also the third largest lake in the world by volume.

One intriguing thing about these subglacial lakes is that they never freeze despite the extreme cold temperatures that characterize Antarctica. 

Scientists believe the lake does not freeze for a few reasons, one of which is that the bottom absorbs enough heat from the earth’s core to prevent freezing. 

Initially, it was believed that the lake could not support any form of life. However after drilling through the ice, scientists believe it may be full of life as more than 3,000 different DNA sequences have been identified from ice in contact with the lake’s surface.

Blood falls

Another major mystery of Antarctica is its ‘blood falls’. They are bright-red waterfalls found in Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys, and originate from Taylor Glacier. 

The liquid comes out of fissures in the glacier’s surface, and flows at a mean temperature -17 degrees Celsius without freezing because of the high salt concentration.

Antarctica’s blood falls aren’t really waterfalls of blood, but are described so because of the color of the flow. 

Scientists investigated and found that the water has such color due to the high iron content which is what gives blood its red color as it oxidizes when it mixes with air. 

Unfortunately, one can only see this wonderful sight by using a helicopter or a cruise ship, and so it is not easily accessible by everyone.

The Gamburtsev Mountain Range

Antarctica also has an invisible mountain range that was discovered in 1958 by Russian scientists. 

It was named after a Soviet geophysicist, Grigoriy A. Gamburtsev and has since been a wonder to the world of science. 

The Soviets were travelling across Antarctica when they noticed an unusual gravity fluctuation. Upon further investigation, they found the massive 1,200 kilometres long and 3,000 metres high mountain range.

Using radars, scientists have further explored the mountains and studied their physical features using gravitational and magnetic force.

One question that is yet to be answered is how the mountains were formed and why they haven’t disappeared after the geological changes that have occurred for over a billion years.

Final thoughts 

As far as history is concerned, Antarctica is one of the places in the world holding the greatest mysteries. 

The subglacial lakes especially Lake Vostok, the blood falls, and the mountain range buried under ice thousands of kilometers thick are indeed a wonder. 

With the extreme climate which makes it incredibly cold however, not many are able to explore these mysteries in their lifetime, but we hope that this article has helped you appreciate Antarctica a little more and sparked your curiosity. 

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