Scientists Uncover Deepest Vents Under the Caribbean Ocean

Geo Beats 2013-02-27

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Scientists uncover the deepest vents under the Caribbean Ocean.

Scientists have found the deepest hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor at nearly 5 thousand meters or about three miles under the surface of the water in the Cayman Trough in the depths of the Caribbean Sea.

Water coming out of the vents was measured at over 750 degrees Fahrenheit.

A British research ship is conducting the study with funds from the Natural Environment Research Council.

Doctor Jon Copley of the National Oceanography Centre, the chief scientist said: “The beauty of working in the deep oceans is that you're always stumbling over things that are completely new. It's teaching us how little we know and for a few minutes it's not about the science, it's about the wonder of the planet, something that's been hidden for so long."

An unmanned submersible has retrieved samples of water from the vent and some animals that have evolved to live in the unique environment created by the vents.

Among the unique deep sea wildlife is a shrimp that scientists think is blind, with an organ on its back that can tell when its getting too close to the hot water.

There have been about 200 hydrothermal vents discovered in oceans around the world.

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