Special: Hydrothermal vents map

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TOXIN TROUBLE

In the past few years, studies have suggested that arsenic from silt is getting into the water supply in Bangladesh and is potentially poisoning millions of people. Hydrothermal vents could provide clues on how to address such a problem.


Read more in the Nature special on hydrothermal vents.

  • Ambitle Island

  • Name: Ambitle Island, off Papua New Guinea
  • Characteristics: Shallow hydrothermal vents that spew more than a kilogram of arsenic a day into the surrounding waters.
  • Importance: Studies of how local microbes cycle arsenic through the ecosystem could shed light on how other microbes process arsenic in places such as Bangladesh, the site of massive groundwater poisonings.