Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents
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. Seawater circulates deep in the ocean’s crust and becomes super-heated by hot magma. As pressure builds and the seawater warms, it begins to dissolve minerals and rise toward the surface of the crust. The hot, mineral-rich waters then exit the oceanic crust and mix with the cool seawater above. As the vent minerals cool and solidify into mineral deposits, they form different types of hydrothermal vent structures.
Environmental Adaptation
The animals in this ecosystem come as a shock to most. The wildlife survives on chemical energy instead of sunlight which is the reason for the lack of pigmentation in most animals at this depth.
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