The Lost City Hydrothermal Vents Notes
The Lost City Hydrothermal Field Revisited
Characteristics of Lost City never before seen in the marine environment venting temperatures around 40-91 degrees Celsius metal-poor hydrothermal fluids with high concentratons of dissolved hydrogen, methane, and other low molecular weight hydrocarbons all driven by reactions in the underlying basement of the ocean at temperatures of around 200 degrees Celsius; happening for more than 40,000 years
Fauna and living species
Microbiological communities thrive in porous warm interior chimney walls/outer surfaces
Organisms present in the fluids and chimneys are related to sulfur and methane oxidizing bacteria
Gastropods and amphipods (ex. Galatheid crabs, urchins, barnacles)
Lost City supports higher species diversity than any other Mid-Atlantic Ridge axial hydrothermal vent site
Fracture zones and associated mountains
One of a kind
Exploring expeditions to link together the geology, hydrothermal flow, and biology with in these seafloor ecosystems two major explorations since the first discovery
2003: 32 days, Alvin, sampling from ten of the most significant chimneys within the field
2005: 19 days, Hercules and Argus streamed video imaging through fiberoptic cable back to the Science Command Center at UW providing an “eye in the sky” of the fields.
Lost City and the Mountain
Located on the southern face of the Atlantis Massif, a mountain similar in size to mt. Rainer, near its summit
Faults near the summit of the massif are central to formation of the hydrothermal fields by serving as conduits that channel hydrothermal flow to the main edifices
Poseidon
Core of the field
Actively venting carbonate monolith
Edifice that rises more than 60 meters above the seafloor
Forms a massive east-west trending edifice that is about 100 meters across its base and hosts an array of chimneys
IMAX chimney: rises three stories from the north face of Poseidon
Stages of Formation
Five Stages of evolution of the
Characteristics of Lost City never before seen in the marine environment venting temperatures around 40-91 degrees Celsius metal-poor hydrothermal fluids with high concentratons of dissolved hydrogen, methane, and other low molecular weight hydrocarbons all driven by reactions in the underlying basement of the ocean at temperatures of around 200 degrees Celsius; happening for more than 40,000 years
Fauna and living species
Microbiological communities thrive in porous warm interior chimney walls/outer surfaces
Organisms present in the fluids and chimneys are related to sulfur and methane oxidizing bacteria
Gastropods and amphipods (ex. Galatheid crabs, urchins, barnacles)
Lost City supports higher species diversity than any other Mid-Atlantic Ridge axial hydrothermal vent site
Fracture zones and associated mountains
One of a kind
Exploring expeditions to link together the geology, hydrothermal flow, and biology with in these seafloor ecosystems two major explorations since the first discovery
2003: 32 days, Alvin, sampling from ten of the most significant chimneys within the field
2005: 19 days, Hercules and Argus streamed video imaging through fiberoptic cable back to the Science Command Center at UW providing an “eye in the sky” of the fields.
Lost City and the Mountain
Located on the southern face of the Atlantis Massif, a mountain similar in size to mt. Rainer, near its summit
Faults near the summit of the massif are central to formation of the hydrothermal fields by serving as conduits that channel hydrothermal flow to the main edifices
Poseidon
Core of the field
Actively venting carbonate monolith
Edifice that rises more than 60 meters above the seafloor
Forms a massive east-west trending edifice that is about 100 meters across its base and hosts an array of chimneys
IMAX chimney: rises three stories from the north face of Poseidon
Stages of Formation
Five Stages of evolution of the