A black smoker in the Atlantic Ocean

Black smokers are a type of hydrothermal vent found on the ocean floor. The vents are formed in fields hundreds of meters wide when superheated water from below the Earth's crust comes through the ocean floor. It can also be known as a Sea Vent. The superheated water is rich in dissolved minerals from the crust, most notably sulfides, which crystallize to create a chimney-like structure around each vent. When the superheated water in the vent comes in contact with the cold ocean water, many minerals are precipitated, creating the distinctive black color. The metal sulfides that are deposited can become massive sulfide ore deposits in time. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1220x1804, 532 KB) en: Black smoker at a mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal vent de: Black Smoker im Atlantischen Ozean Taken from http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1220x1804, 532 KB) en: Black smoker at a mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal vent de: Black Smoker im Atlantischen Ozean Taken from http://www. ... A hydrothermal vent A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planets surface from which geothermally heated water issues. ... The seabed (also sea floor, seafloor, or ocean floor) is the bottom of the ocean. ... In physics, superheating (sometimes referred to as boiling retardation, boiling delay, or defervescence) is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature higher than its standard boiling point, without actually boiling. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... Formally, sulfide is the dianion, S2−, which exists in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions formed from H2S or alkali metal salts such as Li2S, Na2S, and K2S. Sulfide is exceptionally basic and, with a pKa > 14, it does not exist in appreciable concentrations even in highly alkaline water. ... Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits or VMS are a type of metal sulfide ore deposit, mainly Cu-Zn, associated with certain types of volcanism. ...

Black smokers were first discovered in 1977 around the Galápagos Islands by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They were observed using a small submersible vehicle called Alvin. Today, black smokers are known to exist in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, at an average depth of 2100 meters. The temperature of the water at the vent can reach 400 °C, but does not usually boil at the seafloor due to the high pressure it is under at that depth. The water is also extremely acidic, often having a pH value as low as 2.8 — approximately that of vinegar. Each year 1.4 × 10¹⁴ kg of water is passed through black smokers. Orthographic projection centred over the Galápagos. ... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a scientific agency of the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere. ... Alvin in 1978, a year after first exploring hydrothermal vents. ... “Atlantic” redirects here. ... The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the largest body of water on Earth – at 165. ... The metre (or meter, see spelling differences) is a measure of length. ... Celsius is, or relates to, the Celsius temperature scale (previously known as the centigrade scale). ... Acidity redirects here. ... The correct title of this article is . ... Vinegar is sometimes infused with spices or herbs—as here, with oregano. ...

Black smoker ecosystem

Deep sea vent biogeochemical cycle diagram

Although life is very sparse at these depths, black smokers are the center of entire ecosystems. Sunlight is nonexistent, so many organisms — such as archaea and extremophiles — must convert the heat, methane, and sulfur compounds provided by black smokers into energy through a process called chemosynthesis. In turn, more complex life forms like clams and tubeworms feed on these organisms. The organisms at the base of the food chain also deposit minerals into the base of the black smoker, thus completing the life cycle. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2199x1278, 1201 KB)Black smoker (deep sea vent) http://oceanexplorer. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2199x1278, 1201 KB)Black smoker (deep sea vent) http://oceanexplorer. ... The field of biogeochemistry involves scientific study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the hydrosphere, the pedosphere, the atmosphere, and the lithosphere), and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earths chemical... An ecosystem, a contraction of ecological and system, refers to the collection of biotic and abiotic components and processes that comprise and govern the behavior of some defined subset of the biosphere. ... Phyla / Classes Phylum Crenarchaeota Phylum Euryarchaeota     Halobacteria     Methanobacteria     Methanococci     Methanopyri     Archaeoglobi     Thermoplasmata     Thermococci Phylum Korarchaeota Phylum Nanoarchaeota Archaea (; from Greek αρχαία, ancient ones; singular Archaeum, Archaean, or Archaeon), also called Archaebacteria (), is a major division of living organisms. ... An extremophile is an organism, usually unicellular, which thrives in or requires extreme conditions that would exceed optimal conditions for growth and reproduction in the majority of mesophilic terrestrial organisms. ... Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula CH4. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Standard atomic weight 32. ... Chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of 1-carbon molecules (usually carbon dioxide or methane) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic molecules (e. ... Littleneck clams; the pictured mollusks are of the species Mercenaria mercenaria. ... Binomial name Riftia pachyptila M. L. Jones, 1981 Giant tube worms are marine invertebrates in the phylum Annelida (formerly grouped in phylum Pogonophora) related to tubeworms commonly found in the intertidal and pelagic zones. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A life cycle is a period involving one generation of an organism through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction. ...

A species of phototrophic bacterium has been found living near a black smoker off the coast of Mexico at a depth of 2500 m. No sunlight penetrates that far into the waters. Instead, the bacteria, part of the Chlorobiaceae family, use the faint glow from the black smoker for photosynthesis. This is the first organism discovered in nature to use a light other than sunlight for the photosynthetic process (Beatty, et al., 2005). Green sulfur bacteria - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The leaf is the primary site of photosynthesis in plants. ...

New and unusual species are constantly being discovered in the neighborhood of black smokers: for instance, the Pompeii worm in the 1980s, and, in 2001, during an expedition to Indian Ocean's Kairei hydrothermal vent field, an armor-plated gastropod. The latter uses iron sulfides (pyrite and greigite) for the structure of its dermal sclerites (hardened body parts), instead of calcium carbonate. The extreme pressure of 2500 m of water (approximately 25 megapascals or 246.73 atmosphere) is thought to play a role in stabilizing iron sulfide for biological purposes. This armor plating probably serves as a defense against the venomous radula (teeth) of predatory snails, co-existing in the same community. This snail, which is unique in its kind, has not yet been named to date. Binomial name Alvinella pompejana The Pompeii worm (Alvinella pompejana) is a deep-sea polychaete worm found only at hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean. ... Subclass Subclass Eogastropoda     Patellogastropoda Subclass Orthogastropoda   Superorder Cocculiniformia   Superorder Hot Vent Taxa     Neomphaolida   Superorder Vetigastropoda   Superorder Neritaemorphi     Neritopsina   Superorder Caenogastropoda     Architaenioglossa     Sorbeoconcha   Superorder Heterobranchia     Heterostropha     Opisthobranchia     Pulmonata The gastropods, or univalves, are the largest and most successful class of mollusks, with 60,000-75,000 species, and second largest class... This article is about the mineral Pyrite or Fools Gold. ... Sclerites are hardened body parts. ... Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound, with chemical formula CaCO3. ... The megapascal, symbol MPa is an SI unit of pressure. ... Standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure. ... Radula is the scientific name for the toothed chitinous ribbon in the mouth of gastropods. ... This snapping turtle is trying to make a meal of a Canada goose, but the goose is too wary. ... The name snail applies to most members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells. ...

See also

• Cold seep
• Hydrothermal vent
• Alvin submersible
• Lost City

Tubeworms, soft corals and chemosynthetic mussels at a seep located 3,000 metres down on the Florida Escarpment. ... A hydrothermal vent A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planets surface from which geothermally heated water issues. ... Alvin in 1978, a year after first exploring hydrothermal vents. ... An actively venting calcium carbonate chimney in the Lost City hydrothermal field Lost City is a field of hydrothermal vents in the mid-Atlantic ocean that differ significantly from the black smoker vents found in the late 1970s. ...

External links

• Hydrothermal Vent Systems Information from the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• How to Build a Hydrothermal Vent Chimney

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is devoted to scientific research and science- and engineering-education leading to MS and PhD degrees in oceanography and related fields. ...

References