vents

‘Dragon’ and ‘Tree of Life’ Hydrothermal Vents Discovered in Arctic, Scientists Thought They Were Geologically Dead

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A deep sea hydrothermal vents appears to shimmer as it bubbles out hot water

Scientists have discovered a never-before-seen hydrothermal vent system located in an unlikely place on the Arctic ocean floor. The deep-sea vents, which pump out scorching water and mysterious metals, are in an area that researchers thought was geologically dead. The newly discovered vents, named after various entities from Norse mythology, lie at a depth of … Read more

Research into recently discovered hydrothermal vents at a depth of 3,000 meters off the coast of Spitsbergen

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The temperature reading at the outlet of the black smoker showed fluid temperatures in excess of 300°C. Credit: University of Bremen Hydrothermal vents are found all over the world at the intersections of floating tectonic plates. But there are still many hydrothermal fields yet to be discovered. During a 2022 MARIA S. MERIAN expedition, the … Read more

If alien life exists on Europa, we could find it in hydrothermal vents

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closeup of an icy moon, whose white surface is crisscrossed by reddish-brown lines

Low-temperature hydrothermal vents could potentially survive for billions of years on the dark ocean floors of moons such as Jupiter’s Europa, new computer simulations have shown, as astrobiologists strive to find out whether these alien oceans could be habitable. Hydrothermal vents are a source of chemical energy as well as heat, and represent one of … Read more

Hydrothermal vents on the seafloor of ‘ocean worlds’ could support life, says a new study

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This article was reviewed according to Science fact checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread OK! Field system on Earth and basis for simulations used in this study. Credit: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2023JE008202 × close to Field system on Earth and basis for simulations used in this study. Credit: Journal of Geophysical … Read more

Hydrothermal vents on the seafloor of ‘ocean worlds’ could support life, says a new study

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Artistic rendering of seafloor vents on Enceladus

We’ve all seen the surreal images in nature documentaries showing hydrothermal vents on the frigid ocean floor – roaring black plumes of superheated water – and the life forms that cling to them. Now, a new study by researchers at UC Santa Cruz suggests that the lower-temperature vents, which are common on Earth’s seafloor, could … Read more