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00:00Antarctica is Earth's most remote and enigmatic continent, known for its extreme cold and
00:06vast frozen wilderness.
00:08But this icy frontier is more than just a desolate landscape.
00:12From blood-red waterfalls and hidden mountain ranges to ancient fossils and unknown meteorites,
00:18Antarctica is a treasure trove of the strange and unexplained.
00:23This is Unveiled, and today we're taking a closer look at 13 Bizarre Discoveries in
00:29Antarctica.
00:30Do you need the big questions answered?
00:32Are you constantly curious?
00:34Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?
00:37And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content.
00:40Number 13.
00:42Blood Falls
00:43Discovered in 1911, this eerie natural phenomenon features a vibrant red waterfall, starkly
00:49contrasting the surrounding ice.
00:51Long has its color puzzled experts, with algae long thought to be the cause, but actually
00:56the color is due to a steady stream of iron-rich hypersaline water, which has been trapped
01:01beneath the ice for millions of years.
01:05When this water reaches the surface and comes into contact with the air, it oxidizes like
01:09rust, which is what gives it such a haunting blue-red tint.
01:13Researchers believe that this particular ecosystem may have been isolated for so long that it
01:17could be home to a wholly unique microbial life that's adapted to the extreme conditions.
01:24Experts believe that the blood falls offer a crucial glimpse into potential life-forms
01:28that could exist beyond Earth, as well.
01:30That's how unusual they are.
01:39Number 12.
01:40Lake Vostok
01:42This vast, sub-glacial lake, the largest of all such lakes in Antarctica, is roughly the
01:47size of Lake Ontario.
01:49It's also been sealed off for more than 15 million years.
01:53Since then, experts think it could harbor ancient and unique microbial life, which again
01:58makes it another hotspot for astrobiological research.
02:01Vostok was discovered in the 1970s, using ice-penetrating radar.
02:07Before then, it had been entirely hidden.
02:09In the time since, the lake has been delicately drilled into, with great emphasis on avoiding
02:14contamination.
02:15Retrieved samples provide a glimpse into an ancient, untouched ecosystem, while also offering
02:21hints to the conditions of habitats on icy solar system moons like Jupiter's Europa.
02:26Number 11.
02:27Gambertsev Mountain Range
02:29It isn't only sub-glacial lakes on Antarctica, but also sub-glacial mountains.
02:35The Gambertsev Range is made up of hidden mountains comparable in size to many of the
02:39peaks in the Alps.
02:41They were discovered in the 1950s, and they reach to more than 11,000 feet high in some
02:46places.
02:47But they dramatically challenge our understanding of continental geology, because they are completely
02:52covered in ice.
02:54On the surface, there are no discernible peaks.
02:57One theory is that the Gambertsevs could be remnants of a supercontinent that existed
03:02around a billion years ago, and to continue the theme, their isolation means that they
03:07are preserved in an almost pristine state.
03:10Number 10.
03:12Ancient Fossils
03:13So few people have explored Antarctica that every fossil found there has a high chance
03:18of being something previously unknown.
03:20Paleontologists have unearthed dinosaurs like the Cryolophosaurus, which lived about 170
03:26million years ago.
03:28Additionally, plant fossils are indicative of a previously temperate climate and diverse
03:33ecosystems.
03:34These are interesting in the modern day as they offer direct evidence of the continent's
03:38dramatic shift in climate and conditions over the years, centuries, and millennia.
03:44Fossils and their distribution also offer support for the wider continental drift theory.
03:49They tell us that Antarctica was once connected to Earth's other landmasses, at a time when
03:54this land of ice actually wasn't so isolated.
03:58Number 9.
03:59Crocodile Icefish Here swims a remarkable family of fish, as
04:03they are found in the icy depths of the Southern Ocean.
04:07Crocodile Icefish have evolved some extraordinary traits to survive what would be lethal temperatures
04:11for most others.
04:13One of their most striking features is their transparent blood, void of hemoglobin, the
04:18protein that's typically responsible for carrying oxygen.
04:21Usually hemoglobin is considered essential for life, but not here.
04:25Instead, these fish absorb oxygen directly through their skin, using the brutally cold
04:31water's high oxygen content to power themselves.
04:34Their blood also carries what is essentially antifreeze, to prevent it literally turning
04:40to ice.
04:41Number 8.
04:42Wilkes Land Anomaly Detected via airborne surveys and satellite
04:46data, there are regions all over Antarctica where the planet's magnetic field unexpectedly
04:52deviates.
04:53The most famous anomaly of all, though, is in a region known as Wilkes Land, which contains
04:59a massive circular magnetic disturbance.
05:02This suggests the presence of a giant impact crater buried beneath the ice, likely to have
05:07been the result of a major meteorite collision in ancient times.
05:12Some have linked this particular probable impact zone to the onset of the Permian-Triassic
05:16extinction event, which is thought to have occurred almost 252 million years ago.
05:22It also ranks as Earth's most severe extinction event of all time, and Antarctica might have
05:28been the epicenter.
05:30Number 7.
05:31Whale Fossils In 2011, a 49-million-year-old whale fossil
05:35was discovered in Antarctica.
05:37It was a jawbone of a member of the Basilosauridae family, which were the first whales to live
05:43entirely in water.
05:44Previously, it had been believed that fully aquatic whales first evolved roughly 40 million
05:49years ago, but that idea was challenged by this find.
05:53Fossil records show that whales were fully terrestrial about 50 million years ago, so
05:58it could be that their switch to the water happened very quickly.
06:02Of course, probably the weirdest aspect of the whole thing is that whales once walked
06:06on land in general.
06:08In this case, it's extremely bizarre, but definitely true.
06:12Number 6.
06:13Lake Ellsworth Close to the mountains in western Antarctica,
06:16there's another major subglacial lake.
06:19Again, it's captured the interest of scientists around the world for the pristine and isolated
06:24ecosystem that it offers.
06:26It was first discovered in 1996, while in 2012, a team embarked on a years-long mission
06:32to drill down into it.
06:34However, that mission proved fruitless and was ultimately called off.
06:37It's suspected that many microbial extremophiles should be present in Lake Ellsworth, and many
06:43of which may never have been seen before.
06:45But today, it mostly exists as a telling reminder of just how difficult it is to explore in
06:50this part of the world.
06:52Number 5.
06:53Hundreds of Volcanoes It may be the land of ice, but there are at
06:57least 138 confirmed volcanoes on or under Antarctica.
07:02Most of them are dormant, but not all of them.
07:04One of the most significant and active is Mount Erebus on Ross Island.
07:09Erebus is the most southerly active volcano on Earth, and is one of the world's only
07:13volcanoes to contain constantly molten lava in its central crater.
07:18This burning lava lake is at total odds with the rest of the continent, yet it serves as
07:23an extreme reminder of Antarctica's unique geology.
07:26All around Erebus, there are unique cave and tower formations as well, offering yet more
07:31insight into unique places that are entirely untouched by humans.
07:36Number 4.
07:38Mummified Seals What's clear is that life on Antarctica is
07:41brutal, and the unfortunate truth is that the elements claim countless lives every day.
07:47Even on a continent that perhaps isn't so heaving with life to begin with, mummified
07:51seals have been found all over, but most notably in the McMurdo Dry Valleys.
07:57The extremely dry and cold conditions in the region mean that seals' bodies don't decompose,
08:03which results in remarkably intact specimens scattered across the landscape.
08:07These are unsettling, no doubt, but they also offer a vital opportunity for study, with
08:12their skin, fur, and internal organs all generally intact.
08:17Scientists can learn about the seals' diet, but also about the history of Antarctic life
08:21in general, with some of the mummified remains being hundreds, even thousands, of years old.
08:27Number 3.
08:29Ozone Hole When it works as it should do, the ozone layer
08:32acts like sunscreen for the planet, absorbing ultraviolet light.
08:37If and when the layer gets depleted, the light blazes unchecked onto the surface, leaving
08:42us without protection.
08:43It's unsettling, then, that in the 1980s, a severe thinning of the ozone layer was discovered
08:49over a large area of Antarctica in the spring.
08:52At the time that it was found, the Antarctic ozone hole served as a stark reminder of the
08:56fragility of our world.
08:58Today, unfortunately, it's one of many such reminders, but science still tracks it closely
09:04to gauge the health of our planet.
09:07Number 2.
09:08Fossil Forests Not all fossil hunters are focused on the
09:11dinosaurs.
09:12Among the most revealing of discoveries made on Antarctica are many petrified tree stumps,
09:17logs, and leaf impressions, preserved in sedimentary rock formations.
09:21They're not as headline-grabbing, but so-called fossil forests have been extensively studied.
09:27They suggest that Antarctica was once a much warmer place, covered in vibrant vegetation,
09:33and in many ways similar to modern temperate forests.
09:36Again, conclusions can be drawn regarding continental drift in the ancient past, and
09:41specifically around a past supercontinent called Gondwana.
09:45Gondwana was also made up of modern-day South America, Africa, India, and Australia, and
09:51the ties between those places and Antarctica are still traceable thanks to fossil forests.
09:57Number 1.
09:58Ellsworth Pyramids Over the years, Antarctica has proven a hotspot
10:02for conspiracy theory and controversy.
10:05When pyramid-like structures were found peeking out of the ice, then, the watching world asked
10:10questions.
10:11These unusual formations came to light in the mainstream in the 2010s, when satellite
10:16images revealed four-sided, apparently pyramidal structures breaking out of the Ellsworth mountain
10:21range.
10:22Theories range that the structures were artificial and built by some form of ancient advanced
10:27civilization, or perhaps even a visiting alien group.
10:30Nevertheless, and no matter how unnatural they appear, the more widely accepted theories
10:35are that the seeming pyramids are naturally formed.
10:39Which of these do you find the most unusual, or concerning?
10:42Let us know in the comments, and watch out for part two of this video coming soon.
10:48What do you think?
10:49Is there anything we missed?
10:50Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you
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