2024-01-02 05:13:00
The United States has the Yellowstone Park, larger than Corsica. Ecuador can now boast of being home to a hydrothermal source larger than a football field. If the dimensions of the two geothermal beauties differ significantly, their characteristics are similar.
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A volcanic environment in the Galapagos
After nearly seven years of exploration, scientists have revealed the existence of a field of hydrothermal vents nestled in the marine abysses of the Galapagos archipelago (Ecuador), in the Pacific Ocean.
These hot water springs are located 2,500 meters below the surface of the sea, in a significant volcanic environment, as indicated on Wednesday December 27 le Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) and the Charles Darwin Foundations (CDF), responsible for financing this expedition led by American and Ecuadorian scientists. The discovery was spotted by the site Ars Technica.
Santa didn’t go down these chimneys!????
Black smoker hydrothermal vents seen on #MappingGalapagosVents expedition. Some of these rocky chimneys can rise 50+ meters from the sea floor and grow as fast as 30 centimeters per day.
In collaboration w/ @parkgalapagos & @DarwinFound pic.twitter.com/Vhh7559I2j— Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) December 27, 2023
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Water at 288 degrees
This area of nearly 9,200 square meters presents elements essential to the creation of biodiversity. While diving into the deep sea, scientists aboard the submarine identified five chimneys and three hot springs.
A tiny sample compared to the hundreds of geysers present in Yellowstone, even microscopic compared to those of Iceland, a country studded with geothermal sources.
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The thermometer exploded. A temperature of 288 degrees was recorded in one of the chimneys. This phenomenon is explained by the presence of volcanic magma at this level of the Earth. Made up of hundreds of volcanoes, the Galapagos Islands are located at the crossroads of several tectonic plates.
Beneath the surface of the sea, peaks have never been able to emerge. But their presence proves explosive. Which does not prevent the fauna and flora from developing.
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Crabs, giant worms…
By approaching this hydrothermal field, researchers identified several crabs Galatheoidea. In the images revealed by the SOI, several fish are attached to membranes, which characterizes their mode of existence several hundred, even several thousand, meters under the sea. In homage to these species, the scientists named the field “crab trail”.
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But these are not the only living beings encountered during this expedition. Divers also spotted giant tube worms (Riftia pachyptila). As indicated the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer), these large tubes reside near hydrothermal vents, where the temperature is hot.
On the same topic :
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