hydrothermal vent
nounDefinition of hydrothermal vent
: a fissure in the ocean floor especially at or near a mid-ocean ridge from which mineral-rich superheated water issues
Examples of hydrothermal vent in a Sentence
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Methane also spews forth from cracks in the seafloor known as hydrothermal vents, but scientists have been at a loss to explain the source of this deep-sea methane. — Tom Metcalfe, NBC News, "'Massive pool' of methane discovered hidden deep underground," 27 Aug. 2019 Researchers realized that there are microbes that, instead of using light to grow, use chemicals from the rocks at hydrothermal vents in a process called chemosynthesis. — Eva Botkin-kowacki, The Christian Science Monitor, "NASA eyes the ocean: How the deep sea could unlock outer space," 23 Aug. 2019 Marine scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who explore Earth’s hydrothermal vents have been working with NASA to devise autonomous underwater vehicles that could work in both the bottom of our oceans and on Europa. — Eric Niiler, WIRED, "Forget the Moon—We Should Go to Jupiter’s Idyllic Europa," 5 July 2019 Cassini evidence shows that the moon may have complex chemistry, including chemicals associated with earthly ocean floor features called hydrothermal vents, where life on our own planet may have started. — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, "Enceladus Has a Porous Core That Keeps Its Ocean Hot," 6 Nov. 2017 Matt Simon at Wired reports that the snail is known from just four hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Deep-Sea Snail Builds Its Own Ironclad Suit of Armor. But Even That Can’t Protect It From Ocean Mining," 26 July 2019 That environment could be an ideal place to find hydrothermal vents that spew minerals into the ocean and perhaps creatures that evolved to harvest them. — Eric Niiler, WIRED, "Forget the Moon—We Should Go to Jupiter’s Idyllic Europa," 5 July 2019 On Earth, water gets pulled into the seafloor around the flanks of hydrothermal vents—seafloor springs that spew water at superhot temperatures—before being jettisoned back out from the vents themselves. — Shannon Hall, Scientific American, "Water on Europa—with a Pinch of Salt," 12 June 2019 This has triggered speculation that the world might harbor life, perhaps similar to Earth’s hydrothermal vents. — Julissa Treviño, Smithsonian, "Super Salty Lakes Found Deep Below Canadian Ice Cap," 16 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hydrothermal vent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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