Hydrothermal Vents

By: Theresa Zajac and Kevin Kwong

Black Smokers

White Smokers

• From at 300-400°C

• Iron, copper, zinc, and lead

• Barium, calcium, and silicon

• White smokers are cooler

Extremophiles and the Hydrothermal Vent Community

Images courtesy of MDK12, ifremer and WHOI

Chemosynthetic bacteria

Microbial mats

These vent organisms are capable of living and reproducing under extreme conditions. A lot of these are primitive, single-celled microorganisms

Some new and unusual species in vent communities

The Pompeii Worm

The “Scaly foot” Gastropod

Image from University of Delaware College of Marine Studies

Discovered in the early 1980s off theGalapagos island

Suzuki et al , 2006

Discovered in 2001 in the Indian Ocean’s Kairei hydrothermal vent field