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Determining Likely Vent Locations
Finding active hydrothermal vents takes a combination of leading-edge, multi-disciplined scientific detective work and good, old-fashioned luck. Clues include increased seawater temperature, certain chemical markers, creation of megaplumes, and recent volcanic or tectonic activity. Sites along the Mid-Ocean Ridge are most promising. It is a nearly 60,000-km (37,000-mi)-long, broken chain of mountains and valleys that runs around the earth under the oceans like the seam of a baseball.
The Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) is the light blue, serpentine mountain chain on this map that winds its way between the continents. See, for example, the S-shaped Mid-Atlantic Ridge that runs from 55 degrees S to 70 degrees N. The ridge forms a demarcation line between the earth's tectonic plates and is the location of most hydrothermal vents.
Image courtesy of NOAA.
Hydrothermal vents have been observed in all of the world's oceans. Hydrothermal vents have also been studied in isolated seamounts and even in Siberia's Lake Baikal.
Scientists have an array of tools to help them locate likely vent locations. They can map and photograph the ocean floor to check for changes such as seafloor spreading and volcanic activity. Sensitive thermometers can measure temperature changes as small as 1/500th of a degree. Sensors can detect minute concentrations of vent-associated chemicals, and listen for earthquakes.
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