charismaticmicrofauna

The black smokers are hydrothermal vents that happen at the bottom of the ocean due to the disruption of the ocean floor as a consequence of spreading (divergence) or closing (convergence) of tectonic plates. They are rich with metals like iron and sulfur, so when the super heated material from the bottom of the ocean meets the super cooled ocean bottom waters of which their ambient temperature is about 4 degrees celsius, the metals precipitate out and form these black plumes which flow from the mouths of the vents releasing metals in to the water. As the core material hits the water and cools a small amount instantly solidifies, creating the chimney as we see it.

The chimneys are fascinating because they represent geochemically what is roiling around in the center of our planet. Which is mostly hot, molten metals. In addition, they harbor a fascinating population of organisms that use the metals as it cools to survive. This is primarily considered to be possible due to the microbes that live within the organisms that use the heat of the volcanic vents as a heat and energy source. Essentially the microbes are facilitating the use of metals within the higher level organisms to help them to grow and reproduce.  The microbes living inside of the tissues of their host are called symbionts.

During a research cruise that I participated on in October of 2012, I traveled along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and visited 3 sites Tag, Rainbow, and Snakepit. Because of the depth of these sites, we used a robotically operated vehicle (ROV) from Wood’s Hole called the Jason. the Jason has mechanical arms and an operating platform that holds all of the tools it needs to measure and sample the vents once we find some that are suitable for investigation.

On my next cruise in November we will be using a manned submersible called the Alvin, and with any luck I will get to visit the bottom of the ocean personally.