What are hydrothermal vents?
Resources: 4, 6, 7, 11, 14 17 Clues: Hydrothermal vents are remarkable features of the sea floor. Found at mid-ocean ridges, where there is a great deal of volcanic activity, they are formed when seawater percolates deep down into the oceanic crust. Heated by magma or hot rock, the now very hot water streams upward through the crust, leaching minerals from the surrounding rocks, before breaking out the sea floor in mean-looking “black smokers”, so called because of the black color of the water bubbling out of them. The color comes from the precipitation of various metals and mineral compounds out of the vent water as it interacts with the cold surrounding seawater. The vent water can be as hot as 375 degrees Celsius (707 degrees Fahrenheit), but it is prevented from boiling by the extreme pressure. Hydrothermal vents are a major part of the circulation of the world’s oceans; it is estimated that the entire volume of the world sea is recycled through hydrothermal vents in about 10 milli
