Hydrothermal Vent

Hydrothermal vents are created when water filters through cracks in the planetary crust and ultimately collides with hot magma. As a result, superheated water is propelled upwards, bursting through the ocean floor.

The water temperature at the vent opening was once hot enough to melt lead; the application of temperature and pressure over time resulted in the emerging rock structure.

Despite the intense temperatures, these vents are home to their own ecosystems of life. At the bottom of the food chain, chemosynthetic microorganisms are found - lifeforms that feed off of the vent’s chemical emissions.