Ocean Floor Vents
Hydrothermal deposits are rocks and mineral ore deposits formed by the action of hydrothermal vents.
Ocean floor vents. Seawater circulates deep in the ocean s crust and becomes super heated by hot magma. Water seeps through cracks in the earth s crust dissolving metals and minerals as it becomes super heated from nearby magma. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at spreading centers ocean basins and hotspots. This water which can reach temperatures of 400 c eventually rises back through the.
Hydrothermal vents are like geysers or hot springs on the ocean floor. Along mid ocean ridges where tectonic plates spread apart magma rises and cools to form new crust and volcanic mountain chains. A hydrothermal vent is a fissure on the seafloor from which geothermally heated water issues. The cold seawater is heated by hot magma and reemerges to form the vents.
New species are discovered in the ocean each year by marine biologists and other ocean scientists. Ocean vents are the product of tectonic activity beneath the ocean floor. Deep sea hydrothermal vents form as a result of volcanic activity on the ocean floor. Many of these newly discovered species live deep on the ocean floor in unique habitats that depend on plate movement underwater volcanoes and cold water seeps.
Tectonic activity describes the way tectonic plate s giant slabs of earth s lithosphere interact with each other.