NASA Earth Observers showed photos of a “bleeding” Earth. They were made by astronauts on board the International Space Station. It turns out that they have encountered a phenomenon that can terrify Antarctica.
The photos were taken in September this year by crew members of the International Space Station. Astronauts twice caught the Earth in a phenomenon that visually resembles streams of blood.
Photos of the “bleeding Earth”
The first photo was taken on September 7. It depicts the Red Lagoon, located on a plateau in the Bolivian Andes.
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The second photo was taken on September 30 and shows Madagascar. We can see the Betisboka river delta.
Their colors have not undergone any processing. The observer may therefore come up with the idea that the Earth is flooded with blood or that it is a symptom of some massive pollution. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Both photos show a phenomenon that is not very common, but natural to Earth. Some bodies of water on our planet can take on an appearance that resembles blood. Red algae, bacteria or sediments are responsible for this.
Algae in the Red Lagoon
The Red Lagoon owes its color to algae. These are shallow waters with a high salt content. In this environment, algae feel great and grow so abundantly that they seem to “flood” the surroundings.
This phenomenon can be observed in many shallow and salty water bodies. Algae behave similarly in Kazakhstan, in the area of Lake Aralsor. There is also no shortage of them in the American Great Salt Lake.
Settlements in the Betisboka River
The bloody color of the waters of the Betisboka River has another reason. Iron-rich sediments are responsible for it. This element, if oxidized, turns red. Its high concentration in water makes it resemble blood.
This phenomenon occurs in many parts of the world, but it took its most spectacular form in the region of East Antarctica. The Blood Falls there seem to ooze streams of blood from beneath the edge of the glacier. Meanwhile, it is water that contains a lot of iron oxide. Its source is a salt lake that has been trapped in ice for several million years.
Katarzyna Rutkowska, journalist of Wirtualna Polska
