Although initially viewed as oases within a barren deep ocean, hydrothermal vents and
methane seep chemosynthetic communities are now recognized to interact with surrounding …

The majority of life on Earth—notably, microbial life—occurs in places that do not receive
sunlight, with the habitats of the oceans being the largest of these reservoirs. Sunlight …

Seabed fluid flow involves the flow of gases and liquids through the seabed. Such fluids
have been found to leak through the seabed into the marine environment in seas and …

The discovery of metal-depositing hot springs on the sea floor, and especially their link to
chemosynthetic life, was among the most compelling and significant scientific advances of …

When Harry Hess first proposed the theory of seafloor spreading, he imagined that mantle
peridotite upwelling at midocean ridges reacted with water to form a serpentinite oceanic …

Hydrothermal circulation and alteration at mid-ocean ridges and ridge flanks have a key role
in regulating seawater chemistry and global chemical fluxes, and support diverse …

Seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits form in a suite of hydrothermal settings across a
range of depths. Many deposits are of a tonnage and mineral grade comparable to land …

Hydrocarbon seeps and hydrothermal vents are now known to be common at continental
margins and oceanic spreading centers worldwide, exuding fluids rich in CH4 and H2S, and …

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps are submarine springs where nutrient-rich
fluids emanate from the sea floor. Vent and seep ecosystems occur in a variety of geological …

Deep-sea hydrothermal-vent ecosystems have stimulated decades of scientific research and
hold promise of mineral and genetic resources that also serve societal needs. Some …