What are hydrothermal vents and how do they support life?
Entire ecosystems thrive in boiling, toxic water where sunlight never reaches.
The answer
Hydrothermal vents are fissures in the ocean floor that release geothermally heated water at temperatures up to 400 degrees Celsius. Instead of photosynthesis, organisms here rely on chemosynthesis, where specialized bacteria convert hydrogen sulfide and other chemicals into energy. Giant tube worms up to 2 meters long, eyeless shrimp, and ghostly white crabs all depend on this chemical energy, forming one of the most alien ecosystems on Earth. Their discovery in 1977 near the Galapagos Rift fundamentally changed our understanding of where life can exist.
Source: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- hydrothermal vents
- chemosynthesis
- deep sea life
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