What is a hydrothermal vent?
Q: What is a hydrothermal vent?
A: A hydrothermal vent is an opening in the seabed of the Earth by which geothermal energy escapes.
Q: What happens when sea water enters a hydrothermal vent?
A: Sea water enters a hydrothermal vent, becomes very hot, and rises.
Q: What are black smokers?
A: The hottest vents carry many black chemicals and are called black smokers.
Q: What are white smokers?
A: Scientists have found fewer white smokers than black smokers.
Q: What other geothermal features are found on land?
A: If geothermal features are on land, they are usually hot springs, geysers, or fumaroles.
Q: What organisms live near hydrothermal vents?
A: Many archaea and bacteria live near hydrothermal vents, which support giant tube worms, clams and shrimp, and many other eukaryotes.
Q: What do scientists believe about the earliest known life forms?
A: Scientists believe that the earliest known life forms are thought to have lived near hydrothermal vents.
