Download Hydrothermal Vents

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 (600750°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
Vent Life
Look at the following link and discuss the
biological life found around the
hydrothermal vent.
Hydrothermal Vent Life