Hydrothermal Vents

Hydrothermal Vents In 1977, scientists in Alvin dove to the Mid-Ocean Ridge in the eastern Pacific. A spectacular sight greeted them. Clouds of what looked like black smoke were billowing from tall chimneys on the ocean floor.

Vent Basics 1) Cold seawater (36°F) seeps down through cracks into the ocean floor

Vent Basics 2) Energy radiating up from molten rock deep in the earth raises the seawater temperature (600-750°F).

Vent Basics 2) A chemical reaction changes to water in the following ways: all the oxygen is removed; it becomes acidic; it picks up metals, iron, copper, zinc, and hydrogen sulfide.

Vent Basics 3) Hot hydrothermal fluids rise up through the ocean crust (like a hot-air balloon). The fluids carry the dissolved metals and hydrogen sulfide with them

Vent Basics 4) The hydrothermal fluids exit the chimney and mix with the cold seawater.

Vent Basics 4) The metals carried up in the fluids combine with sulfur to form black minerals and give the hydrothermal fluid the appearance of smoke.

Draw this picture in the box in your notes.

Vent Vocab Chimney are made of minerals rich in metals and sulfur grow bigger as long as fluid continues to flow out of them and minerals continue to form can grow as fast as 30 cm a day very fragile and often collapse if they grow too big

Vent Vocab White Smoker cooler fluid (480-570°F) flows slower than black smoker fluid smaller in size than black smokers white smoke comes from the minerals that form when the fluid exits the chimney and mixes with seawater minerals do not contain metals

Vent Vocab Black Smoker smoke does not come out of the black smoker chimney hydrothermal fluid is hot enough to melt metal (600-750°F) dissolved metals come from deep beneath the ocean floor when the fluid mixes with seawater, metals combine with sulfur to form tiny black particles; this gives the appearance of smoke

Chemosynthesis and Vent Life Watch the following video and fill out the last two sections of your notes. NOAA Video

Hydrothermal Vent Life Look at the following link and discuss the biological life found around the hydrothermal vent. Hydrothermal Vent Life