A viral Google Maps image of a supposed 'doorway' in Antarctica has been explained by a discovery of red-hued water caused by iron-rich nanospheres. The unusual phenomenon has shed light on the formation of a large polynya, a seasonal area of open water surrounded by sea ice.
A Google Maps image of Antarctica went viral in October for supposedly revealing a secret doorway in the snow. The unusual structure was spotted by a Reddit user on Google Maps at the co-ordinate 69°00'50'S 39°36'22'E - a barren, icy area just southeast of the Japanese-run Showa Station. Wild theories about the purpose of the door began to snowball online - from theories of Nazi bunkers to a secret city in the Earth's crust.
That is, until last summer, when a US research team found tiny spheres in the water that were turning it red as soon as it came in contact with air. Inside abandoned Antarctic clifftop ‘ghost station’ where Soviet boffins battled -90C gales 1000s of miles from anywhere Nanospheres composed of iron, silica, calcium, aluminium, sodium and other elements, individually, contributed to turning the meltwater an eerie shade of reddish orange.The high salinity and presence of chlorine, magnesium and sodium played an important role in forming yellow-to-orange-colour iron-phases.The polynya - an area of open water surrounded by sea ice - has puzzled scientists since it was first spotted on a satellite image half a century ago. The massive cavity can't always be found, as it appears in the ice sporadically - sometimes decades apart.The giant ice hole then wasn't seen until 2016 and 2017, when it roughly the size of Portugal.A strong current moving around the underwater Maud Rise Mountain in the Weddell Sea had created turbulent eddies - a reverse current that pushed salt to the sea's surface. Once the salt reached the surface, a process called Ekman transport occurred which moved the water at a 90-degree angle in the direction of the wind. This then made it easier for the salt to mix with heat at the surface and melt the ice, allowing a large hole the for
Antarctica Polynya Red Water Nanospheres Science Discovery
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