Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents may be Window into Life on Other Planets
Rhonda Moniz
October 10, 2012
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution recently ran an expedition lead by geochemist Chris German to explore hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. Researchers originally found the vents on an expedition in 2009 aboard the research vessel Atlantis using the ROV Jason. During the expedition samples were collected using specialized sampling equipment in an effort to study biology, chemistry, and geology on the vents. The Mid-Cayman Rise is part of the mid-ocean ridge mountain range. Volcanic eruptions create new oceanic crust that pushed tectonic plates apart. Seafloor spreading can also happen without volcanic eruptions, and in this area are spreading apart along faults allowing one plate to slide under another resulting in a convergent boundary.