Northern Vents: Arctic shows surprising hydrothermal activity

A recent survey along a midocean ridge beneath the Arctic icepack unveiled an unexpected abundance of hydrothermal activity. Besides casting doubt on current theories about where such vent systems can arise, the wayward vents could harbor ecosystems that are dramatically different from those found in other oceans.

Midocean ridges are seams where material wells up from Earth’s interior to form new seafloor, explains Hedy Edmonds, a marine geochemist at the University of Texas’ Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.