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HYDROTHERMAL VENTS

HYDROTHERMAL VENTS. According to some scientists, life on Earth was said to have originated in the deep oceans. The Discovery - 1977.

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HYDROTHERMAL VENTS

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  1. HYDROTHERMAL VENTS

  2. According to some scientists, life on Earth was said to have originated in the deep oceans

  3. The Discovery - 1977 • An expedition from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution using ALVIN, discovered communities of animals living around deep hydrothermal vents off the Galapagos Islands • Named – The Rose Gardens • Depths of 8000 – 8500 feet

  4. What We Know Today • Hydrothermal vent activity is known to occur at seafloor-spreading centers worldwide. • These communities are found between 9° and 21°N latitude along the East Pacific Rise, N. Fiji Basin, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and Gorda and Juan de Fuca Ridges in the NE. Pacific

  5. Environmental Conditions of the Deep Sea Vents • High water temperatures (68 -752°F) • High Pressure • High Concentrations of Sulfides • Lack of Oxygen • Acidic pH Levels • Absence of light • Located 100-1000 meters below surface

  6. What are Hydrothermal Vents? • Geysers of heated water from beneath the ocean surface • Generally found at the mid-ocean ridges or spreading plates • Seawater seeps down through cracks in the ridges to depths of 1.25 to 2mi • About halfway through the thickness of the oceanic crust

  7. More on Vents... • The water is super-heated to 400-450°C (750-840°F) • This superheated water then re-ascends to the center of the mid ocean ridge and emerges as a fast jet about 350°C. • As it mixes with cold ocean water (34-36°C), hydrogen sulfide precipitates instantly often coloring the jet black.

  8. Types of Vent Structures • Black Smokers • White Smokers • Warm Water Vents

  9. Black Smokers • Hottest of all vents (+350°C) • Emits high concentration of sulfide • Hydrogen Sulfide is usually toxic to life, but the specialized communities around the black smokers could not survive without it • Forms the largest chimneys

  10. White Smokers • Cooler temperature of water released (300°c vs. 350°C) • Lower sulfide concentration • Barium, calcium and silicone released forming white precipitate

  11. Warm Water Vents • Low ion content as compared with black and white smokers • Cool water temperatures (20-40°C) • Above Ground – Yellowstone Old Faithful

  12. Biological Communities • “An oasis in the deep” containing an astonishing assemblage of benthic organisms • More than 400 different species identified in vent communities

  13. Chemosynthetic

  14. Sulfur-loving Bacteria

  15. Grazers: Limpets

  16. Suspension Feeders Deep Sea Anemone

  17. Vent Clams

  18. Octopus

  19. Vent Crab

  20. Spider Crab

  21. Vent Shrimp

  22. Chemosynthetic bioluminescent bacteria

  23. Eel

  24. TUBEWORMS

  25. Key Players in a Hydrothermal Vent Community

  26. Fastest Growing Marine Invertebrate BIG Tube Worms

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