Hydrothermal vent🌋🗻

sach96 (52)in Steem Geography • 3 years ago (edited)

What is the hydrothermal vent🤔?? Where it forms?

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This is discovered in 1977 at Galapagos rift by ALVIN submersible. Hydrothermal vent form in places where there is volcanic activities. This is volcanic process. Underwater volcanoes at shredding ridges and convergent plate bounder produce hot spring known as hydrothermal vents.
This is major source of Mn to ocean.
Hydrothermal vent formation🗺
As the first step cold sea water percolates into cracks and fissures in the crust. Then sea water circulates through recently erupted lava or magma under the crust. Therefore, sea water is heated to high temperature by the magma or molten rock. Due to high temperatures, it reacts with minerals in crust and, all oxygen is removed ant it become acidic. It pick up dissolved metals, including ion (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc(Zn). It can pick up sulfide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane.
After hot mineral enriched fluid is upwelled to surface as its density is lower now. Sudden mixing of hot vent fluid with cold oxygen rich sea water causes metals carried up to combine with sulfur to form black minerals called metal sulfides and also metal hydroxides and give the hydrothermal fluid the appearance of smokes and also form the chimneys. There are two types of appearance we can see the hydrothermal vents. They are black smokes and white smokes.

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Black smoker fluid is hotter (350c to 400c). It flows faster. It is consisting with hottest, darkest plumes, which are high in sulfur content. It is formed many tall chimneys and these hydrothermal vents are most common feature in sea. This black color water contains metals sulfur and silicon. Metals combine with sulfur to form tiny black particles. (iron mono sulfide). When they come out and solidify forms the black color chimneys. Mostly common in Fe, Cu, Zn sulfides.

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White smoker fluid is usually cooler (only 250-300c). It flows more slowly than black smokers. It is lightly colored and rich in barium, calcium, and silicon. It forms shorter chimneys. White smokers are less common in deep sea. White color water contains Ba, Ca, Si mostly that gives white color. When they solidify forms the white chimneys. Mostly common compounds of Ba, Ca, Si.