Lab Activity 12.4
Hydrothermal Vents

  Directions

Study the instructional material below. Be sure to click on each of the photographs for an enlarged view in a separate window. The larger version is necessary to complete the assignment. It opens in a separate window which can be resized by grabbing the bottom right corner and dragging it. It can also be moved by grabbing the top heading bar and dragging it. Be sure to close the extra window by using the X in IBM, or the close box in MAC when you are finished using them.

  Introduction


Marine scientists have recently discovered the presence of an entirely different kind of ecosystem associated with underwater geysers in the deep sea. The geysers create warm water oases in the frigid darkness of mid ocean ridges where thickets of giant tube worms live in association with primitive bacteria. In this lab activity you will study these strange deep sea hydrothermal vent systems and discover how oceanographers are exploring them.

Top  Instruction

Answer the following questions about hydrothermal vents by visiting the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Dive and Discover Expeditions to the Seafloor Web Site and searching Expedition 4 to the Indian Ridge for the answers. Prepare an answer for each of the questions listed below. You can print out the charts and fill them in or create similar charts in your notebooks.

Be sure to write about what you are learning in the lab section of your notebook. You will be expected to answer questions about the lab activity during the lab self test and lab quiz. It helps to have your text and coloring books open beside you for support.

 
Supporting Information
Refer to the Assigned Readings Below:
Marine Biology Textbook Chapter 16, pages 377 and 378
Marine Biology Coloring Book Plate 17
 

Introduction
Questions Answers
1. What's a black smoker and where were they first discovered?  
2. Why is WHOI mounting an expedition to the Kairei Hydrothermal Field in the Indian Ocean?  
3. Which WHOI research vessel will be used during the expedition?  
4. How will the ROV Jason and Argo II be used?  
5. How will the DSL-120 be used?  

 

Hydrothermal Vents
Questions Answers
1. What is a hydrothermal vent?  
2. Where do vents form?  
3. How do vents form?  
4. How do vents affect ocean chemistry?  
5. Why is the boiling point of seawater higher in the deep sea than at the surface?  

 

Vent Biology
Questions Answers
1. What is strange about the anatomy of vent tubeworms and how do they gain their nurishment?  
2. What is a dandelion and what does the presence of many of them tell scientists about a vent?  
3. Which of the vent animals are predators?  
4. What is chemosynthesis and why are vent microbes so important in vent food webs?  
5. How are vent clams and mussels similar and how are they different?