Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hotspots. [1]

Hot springs on the ocean floor are called hydrothermal vents. The most numerous and spectacular hydrothermal vents are found along world’s mid-ocean ridges. The heat source for these springs is the magma (molten rock) beneath the volcanic ridge system.

Between June and September 2021, the Joint Arctic Scientific Mid-Ocean Ridge Insight Expedition (JASMInE) carried out the first wide-angle reflection/refraction seismic experiment along the Gakkel Ridge, from 75° to 102°, to map lithospheric structure (Ding et al., 2022).

The newly formed seafloor ejects hot, high-pressure water that is rich in minerals and gases. The fissures where this water is ejected are called hydrothermal vents. Hydrothermal vents can potentially be found near every mid-ocean ridge in the world.

Hydrothermal vents are the result of sea water percolating down through fissures in the ocean crust near spreading centers or subduction zones. The cold seawater is heated by hot magma, and re-emerges to form the vents.

Jan 20, 2016 · Since the first discovery of seafloor venting, a sustained body of exploration has now prospected for one form of hydrothermal activity in particular – high temperature “black smoker” venting – along > 30% of the global mid-ocean ridge crest.

Volcanic heat at the mid-ocean ridge axis drives hydrothermal circulation and chemical exchange between the ocean crust and seawater. Microbes are known to harness chemical energy from this volcanic system at temperatures as high as 121°C.

Jun 6, 2007 · Like hot springs and geysers on land, hydrothermal vents form in volcanically active areas—often on mid-ocean ridges, where Earth’s tectonic plates are spreading apart. In these areas, magma wells up to the surface or just below the seafloor.

Oct 13, 2024 · Deep within the ocean’s depths, where sunlight never penetrates, lies one of the most extreme and fascinating environments on Earth—hydrothermal vent ecosystems. These underwater hot springs, located along mid-ocean ridges and volcanic areas, are teeming with life despite the absence of sunlight.

Since their discovery in 1977, hydrothermal vents have been found along mid-ocean ridges on the seafloor of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. These natural, deep-sea plumbing systems ventilate heat and minerals from the interior of the Earth, while supporting complex ecosystems of exotic organisms.