EXPLORE EARTH’S DEEP-SEA CHIMNEYS
How hydrothermal vents form and why life thrives in these seemingly hostile environments
WORDS AILSA HARVEY
Over 2,000 metres below the ocean’s surface, Earth’s fiery centre is leaking into its crust. As our planet’s tectonic plates move, small gaps can appear, providing a passageway for molten rock called magma to pass through. As this happens, minerals are transported into the oceans, cooling upon contact with the cold water to produce impressive, towering chimneys.
These chimneys direct the continuous eruption of scalding, mineral-rich water upwards from the dark depths.
Because they’re far from the influence of the Sun’s rays, deep-sea environments are usually cold, dark and gloomy.
But in the areas surrounding hydrothermal vents, temperatures can reach a searing 400 degrees Celsius.