Work

Glacier surface lowering and subglacial outflow coincide with Blood Falls discharge in the McMurdo Dry Valleys

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Blood Falls is a unique feature that appears at the snout of the Taylor Glacier in the upper Taylor Valley, East Antarctica. It is an iron-rich brine that occasionally gets expulsed from a subglacial source due to the weight and movement of the overlying glacier. The brine that emanates stains the glacier as it oxidizes at the surface and flows towards the West Lobe of Lake Bonney (WLB). Recent work (Spigel et al. 2018, Lawrence et al. 2020) has shown that, besides the Blood Falls contribution, the brine enters the WLB all along the front of Taylor Glacier, creating cold water anomalies at the depth where this subglacial brine’s density is matched by the surrounding lake water. Mikucki et al. (2015) detected substantial brine at the base of Taylor Glacier using an airborne transient electromagnetic sensor. Badgeley et al. (2017) used radio echo sounding to delineate the brine further and to show that there are subglacial flow pathways that direct the brine to the centre and south side of Taylor Glacier’s snout, in addition to what flows from Blood Falls.

Source: Antarctic Science

DOI: 10.1017/s0954102025100527

Authors: Peter T. Doran, Matthew R. Siegfried, Hilary A. Dugan, Kayla A. Hubbard, Jade P. Lawrence

Institutions: Louisiana State University, Colorado School of Mines, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Colorado Boulder

Language: English

Topic: Cryospheric studies and observations

Subfield: Atmospheric Science

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,550

Funders: National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs, Division of Antarctic Sciences