Marine Technology Reporter Blogs - image: wikapedia

During a recent expedition researchers from England’s National Oceanography Center found the remains of an old "chimney," formed when the water is much hotter, according to a release from the institution. This suggests the vent was once more active and likely supported a variety of strange life, including the kind found near other hydrothermal vents. This time, however, the cameras didn't find any such life at the vent, found at a depth of around 3,900 feet. The underwater camera that found the vent is known as SHRIMP and was towed by the research vessel RRS James Cook. The scientists were towing the camera system in a little explored region south of the Shetland Islands and north of the Antarctic Peninsula known as the Bransfield Strait.

In 1845 two ships led by Sir John Franklin, the HMS Erebus, and the HMS Terror left England in search of the Northwest Passage. The vessels were centrally heated to combat the bitter winds and external temperatures of -40 °C or lower; their bows were reinforced with steel to cut through the ice; and each boat was powered by a steam engine and screw propeller, giving a speed of 3-4 knots, to aid progress when there was insufficient wind for sailing or when pack ice obstructed their course. Fuel for the engines was limited, and their power was to prove inadequate. The complement of officers and men, of whom four were cabin boys, was one hundred and twenty-nine. In Greenland stores were off-loaded to supply provisions for three years.