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Deep-sea hydrothermal vents more abundant than thought

New search tool detects seawater changes from spewed chemicals

hydrothermal vents

SMOKE IN THE WATER  Ecosystem-supporting hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean are much more common than previously thought, new research shows.

Ocean Networks Canada/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

By Thomas Sumner

- More than 2 years ago

The deep, dark ocean bottom teems with far more oases of life than once thought.

Searching along the sunless seafloor where tectonic plates pull apart, regions known as spreading ridges, researchers discovered that heat-spewing hydrothermal vents are at least three to six times as abundant as previously assumed.