> Listen to an Underwater Volcano Erupt!
> ROVs, AUVs, and ABE?
> Our Destination
> Here We Go!
> The Vent!
The Vent!
And there it is: a black smoker hydrothermal vent!
SCsmoker2.mpg (820 K)
You may view a movie of the vent we are visiting!
Click here or on the image itself.
The movie will open in a new window.
Close the window when you are finished.
Movie and image courtesy of NOAA.
We need to get close, but not too close, or the hot water will melt our equipment. How hot is this spring on the ocean's floor? Our temperature probe registers an amazing 342°C, yet the water doesn't boil because of the tremendous pressure from the weight of the seawater above us. Pressure also may offset some effects of the intense heat on vent organisms.
You can determine yourself the incredible pressure on the submersible at our depth of 2222 meters (7280 feet). Just visit the InterActivities page.
At 342°C, this is definitely one hot vent! You can learn how to calculate its temperature on the Fahrenheit scale at our InterActivities page as well.
The incredible mechanical arm!
We'll take some samples of the hot water. Researchers on board the support ship hope to find new species of heat-loving thermophiles for use in medical research.
In the next section, we'll meet the scientists on our cruise!
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