Posted on 04/08/2019 11:06:29 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Deep in the Gulf of California, scientists have discovered a fantastical expanse of hydrothermal vents, full of crystallized gases, glimmering pools of piping-hot fluids and rainbow-hued life-forms.
Punctuating it all are towering structures made of minerals from the vents, looming as tall as 75 feet (23 meters). A decade ago, scientists visiting this spot saw nothing unusual; this psychedelic seascape seems to have built up around an increase in hydrothermal venting — spots in the seafloor where mineral-laden and superhot water jets out — in the last 10 years.
"Astonishing is not strong enough of a word," said Mandy Joye, a marine biologist at the University of Georgia, who led the team that discovered the vents.
Among the other surprises at the site were bizarre methane hydrates — natural gas bubbles trapped in a crystalline framework of ice. The methane hydrates at these vents, though, looked strangely irregular, with almost a melted appearance, Joye said.
The researchers don't yet know why the features looked like that. It could be the high pressure and extreme temperatures at the site, Joye said. The ocean water is just 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius), while the hydrothermal fluids are a toasty 690.8 F (366 C). Or there may be impurities in the methane gas that cause the strange shapes.
"I've never seen a purple microbial mat, ever, anywhere," Joye said. The researchers are now using genetic sequencing to study the microbes and to learn whether temperature, water chemistry or some other factor determines their color.
The researchers are also delving deeper into the composition of the hydrothermal fluid, which they've already found to be rich in manganese and iron. Finally, Joye said, the team's virologist is studying the viruses that infect the microbes at the site.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
“Was this close to shore?”
“No, man. It was far out. Really far out.”
Once you get a relatively short distance from the surface, the only way you are going to see “vibrant colors is with artificial light. The sea water won’t let much of anything but aqua blue through beyond a dozen feet or so.
...I never hope to see one...
:: “I’ve never seen a purple vent...” :
...which they’ve already found to be rich in ^^manganese^^ and iron.
Well, DUH!
Were they in a Yellow Submarine? Blue Meanies perchance?
thanks!
“The [Gulf of California] ocean water is just 35.6 degrees F.”
I find it hard to believe the Gulf of California could be that cold.
Thanks BenLurkin.
Humbolt Current southbound equivalent of the Gulf Stream. Brings cold water from the north.
Yellow Submarine was a documentary.
“Who lives in a pineapple under the Sea.....”
Aw, that’s nothing. We saw that in Burbank yesterday with these.
Brings cold water from the north.
But the Gulf of California is closed at the top, right?
I read the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf I saw 6,500 feet deep. That’s far deeper than I expected.
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