LONDON – Scientists using a remote-controlled submarine have discovered the deepest known volcanic vent and say the superheated waters inside could contain undiscovered marine species and perhaps even clues to the origin of life on earth.
Experts aboard the RRS James Cook said they found the vent more than three miles (five kilometers) beneath the surface of the Caribbean in an area known as the Cayman Trough, a deep-sea canyon that served as the setting for James Cameron's underwater thriller "The Abyss."
Volcanic vents are networks of small cracks that penetrate deep into the earth's crust, where temperatures can reach 750 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius). Sea water seeps into the openings, where it's heated to extreme temperatures and expelled into the icy cold of the deep ocean. Minerals in the water precipitate as it cools, creating a smoke-like effect and leaving behind towering chimneys. The spectacular pressure — 500 times stronger than the earth's atmosphere — keeps the water from boiling.
Geologist Bramley Murton, the submersible's pilot, said the exploring the area was "like wandering across the surface of another world," one complete with towers of mineral deposits and thick collections of microorganisms thriving in the slightly cooler waters around the chimneys.
"The rainbow hues of the mineral spires and the fluorescent blues of the microbial mats covering them were like nothing I had ever seen before," Murton said.
Scientists exploring other vents have discovered host lush colonies of exotic animals such as hairy worms, blind shrimp and giant white crabs.
"The deep sea is full of surprises," a statement posted to the expedition's Web site said. "We may find species unlike any seen before."
Other scientists said they were excited by the find...
a cloud of smoky water billowing from the top of a tower of metal ore at a volcanic vent five kilometers (more than three miles) beneath the surface of the Caribbean
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