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Hi Tanya, yes, hydrothermal chimneys do go out. The chimneys form when cold sea water migrates several hundred feet beneath the seafloor and reacts with hot rock that underlies the submarine volcanoes. The fluids draw heat from the hot rock, cooling them down.

Over hundreds to thousands of years, the volcanoes are so cool that they can no longer heat the fluids up. When this happens, venting stops and entire vent fields may go extinct. On a much shorter time period, the plumbing system for hydrothermal chimneys may change because of earthquakes or volcanic activity. New cracks may open in the seafloor and old ones may close or become filled with minerals. Closing of cracks causes chimneys to stop venting. Formation of new cracks or channels, however, lets hot fluids escape from the seafloor, causing growth of new chimneys. Hydrothermal environments are very dynamic and they change all the time.

This cruise we visited the black smoker chimney called Puffer in the Main Endeavour Field and almost 30 feet of it had fallen over and collapsed. A new, much smaller chimney now stands in its place. The birth and death of hydrothermal fields and individual chimneys is part of the life cycle of these wonderful systems, which have been present for as long as there have been oceans on our planet.

Deb Kelley
Chief Scientist and Marine Geologist
University of Washington

How many different vent sites have the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists been to in the past year?
Lilli Janney
Lexington, Massachusetts

Hi Lilli-
There are many scientists here at Woods Hole, including biologists, chemists and geologists who study hydrothermal vents all over the world. Over about the last 12 months, scientist have visited vents at the TAG hydrothermal field at the Mid Atlantic Ridge near 26degN and the East Pacific Rise near 9deg50'N.

Several years ago, in 2001, scientists from Woods Hole and a number of other institutions got to visit and discover vents in the Indian Ocean using the Jason remotely operated vehicle.

Thanks for Diving and Discovering with us.

Best Regards
Dan Fornari
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution