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In 1980 Daniel Desbruyères and Lucien Laubier, just few years after the discovery of the first hydrothermal vent system, identified one of the most heat-tolerant animals on Earth — Alvinella pompejana, the Pompeii worm. [1] It was described as a deep-sea polychaete that resides in tubes near hydrothermal vents, along the seafloor.
The hydrothermal vents are recognized as a type of chemosynthetic based ecosystems (CBE) where primary productivity is fuelled by chemical compounds as energy sources instead of light (chemoautotrophy). [28] Hydrothermal vent communities are able to sustain such vast amounts of life because vent organisms depend on chemosynthetic bacteria for food.
These vents spew forth very large amounts of chemicals, which these bacteria can transform into energy. These bacteria can also grow free of a host and create mats of bacteria on the sea floor around hydrothermal vents, where they serve as food for other creatures. Bacteria are a key energy source in the food chain.
Hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean spit out liquids that can reach temperatures of over 750 degrees Fahrenheit, according to National Geographic. Some organisms—extremophiles—have ...
Life flourishes around the vents - including giant tubeworms reaching lengths of 10 feet (3 meters), mussels, crabs, shrimp, fish and other organisms beautifully adapted to this extreme environment.
This incredible active hydrothermal vent was imaged for the first time during the Marianas expedition. It was 30 meters high and gushing high-temperature fluid full of metal particulates. This vent was home to many different species, including Chorocaris shrimp, Munidopsis squat lobsters, Austinograea crabs, limpets, mussels, and snails. Date
The Dodo and Solitaire hydrothermal vent sites are much closer to the central Indian Ridge spreading center than the Edmond and Kairei vents and have much different fluid chemical compositions. [12] Rimicaris kairei shrimp are present in high numbers and are often the most populous animal on the Edmond and Kairei vent fields, with their highest ...
It was first discovered in 1997 in a black smoker hydrothermal vent at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, setting the upper-temperature threshold for known life to exist at 113 °C (235.4 °F) with an optimal temperature of 106 °C. [1] This species "freezes" or solidifies and ceases growth at temperatures of 90 °C (194 °F) and below. [3]