Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hotspots. [1]

2024年6月16日 · Underwater volcanoes at spreading ridges and convergent plate boundaries produce hot springs known as hydrothermal vents. Scientists first discovered hydrothermal vents in 1977 while exploring an oceanic spreading ridge near the Galapagos Islands.

Changes in temperature and the cloudiness of the water may be a sign of a hot spring site or erupting underwater volcano. The discovery of these vents and volcanoes has revealed new ecosystems we didn’t know existed, and has taught us new things about how the Earth works.

2024年2月15日 · Hydrothermal vents typically form along mid-ocean ridges where tectonic plates diverge, allowing magma to rise and create new seafloor. The interaction between the cold ocean water and the hot magma leads to the formation of these unique underwater hot springs.

2025年1月22日 · The vents primarily form along mid-ocean ridges, which are underwater mountain chains that stretch 46,000 kilometers where tectonic plates pull apart. While they appear throughout the oceans, the Pacific Ring of Fire contains a high concentration, especially along the East Pacific Rise and Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

2024年4月30日 · At mid-ocean ridges, ocean vents help cool new oceanic crust. At volcanic arcs, they contribute to the geology of the seafloor and even underwater mountains. Temperatures at vent fields range from below 50° Celsius (122° Fahrenheit) to more …

Hydrothermal vents are fissures found on the seafloor, where cold water trickles down to meet hot magma, resulting in dramatically heated water. This hot water then moves back up and through the vent, picking up mineral particles along the way.

When the super-hot vent fluid meets the very cold water (2°C) of the deep sea, minerals that are carried in the fluid precipitate out of solution, forming spectacular vent chimneys (Figures 1, 2). This chemical-rich vent fluid is also the source of life for much of the vent biota.

2019年3月1日 · Hydrothermal vents are essentially underwater geysers created by tectonic plates. These huge plates in the Earth’s crust move and create cracks in the ocean floor.

Hot springs on the ocean floor are called hydrothermal vents. The heat source for these springs is the magma (molten rock) beneath submarine volcanoes. Circulating seawater deep in the ocean crust gets very hot because of the high pressure and can dissolve many chemicals from the rocks.