12 July 2001

Hydrothermal vents: The 'Lost City'

A huge new type of hydrothermal vent field has been discovered at 30° North near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These structures stand up to 60 metres above the seafloor, making them the largest hydrothermal chimneys of their kind ever observed. Most known hydrothermal fields are found on young crust, driven by hot basaltic material, but the newly discovered 'Lost City' field is located on 1.5-million-year-old crust and fuelled by vent fluids much cooler than the norm for 'black smokers'. This discovery implies that the area of oceanic crust supporting hydrothermal activity and abundant microbial life is much greater than was previously thought.

An off-axis hydrothermal vent field near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at
30° N
DEBORAH S. KELLEY, JEFFREY A. KARSON, DONNA K. BLACKMAN, GRETCHEN L. FRÜH-GREEN, DAVID A. BUTTERFIELD, MARVIN D. LILLEY, ERIC J. OLSON, MATTHEW O. SCHRENK, KEVIN K. ROE, GEOFF T. LEBON, PETE RIVIZZIGNO & THE AT3-60 SHIPBOARD PARTY
Nature 412, 145-149 (12 July 2001)
| Summary | Full Text | PDF (255 K) |