1. ROSCOE Vicki Ferrini: Data Representative/Team Leader Breea Govenar: Research Scientist/Data Representative Laishona Vitelli: K-12 Educator David Reeder: Curriculum Developer Karin Block: Data Representative Research at Oceanic Spreading Centers: Outreach in Education

2. Life in extreme environments: exploring underwater volcanoes at oceanic spreading centers The Big Ideas: No one expected to find abundant life in the deep ocean bottom thriving in hot fluids along plate boundaries, but the surprise discovery in 1979 of a rich biologic ecosystem in an environment of high pressure, toxic chemicals, frequent eruptions, and complete darkness completely changed our understanding of how life can exist. Research in the 30 years since the first discovery has helped us better understand how heat from the earth's interior is released through underwater hydrothermal vents, and how the complex interaction of geology and chemistry create an environment where life can be supported through chemosynthesis. Students will recreate the process of discovery and understanding of hydrothermal vents using data and tools available through GeoMapApp, including GMRT and ABE bathymetry data, MediaBank images, and PetdB chemical data.

3. Outline of major parts of the activity Part 1: Explore the Galapagos spreading center using GeoMapApp – introduce basic functions of the tool using the location of the first discovery and underwater images from the site. Part 2: Create a topographic profile across the East Pacific Rise – explore relationships between locations of hydrothermal vents and the topography of a spreading center using high-resolution data from the Ridge2000 research project at EPR. Part 3: Investigate the life forms that populate the East Pacific Rise – view images taken at the site, make observations, and explore relationships between location, species concentration and diversity, vent structures, and water temperature. Part 4: Dig deeper into the chemistry that supports life on the East Pacific Rise – use chemistry data from rock samples to identify elements that are used by bacteria for chemosynthesis.