The red color is still caused by iron oxide, but it is in a different form than expected. >Now a new study has examined samples of the water and found that the

The red color is still caused by iron oxide, but it is in a different form than expected. >Now a new study has examined samples of the water and found that the iron appears in an unexpected form. It’s not technically a mineral – instead it takes the form of nanospheres, 100 times smaller than human red blood cells. >“In order to be a mineral, atoms must be arranged in a very specific, crystalline, structure. These nanospheres aren't crystalline, so the methods previously used to examine the solids did not detect them.”