Black smoker vent sampling. View of a robot arm removing a piece of a hydrothermal vent on the mid-Atlantic ridge. These features are several kilometres beneath the surface of the Atlantic ocean. These vents,commonly called "black smokers",emit dark,sulphurous mineral-rich water at temperatures of hundreds of degrees Celsius. This water is heated by geothermal energy from the movement of the Earth's crust. Deep sea vents provide an unusual habitat to some primitive forms of extremophile bacteria and crabs (one at lower right,white) which can survive the immense pressure and huge range of temperatures | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Murton, B. / Southampton Oceanography Centre |
Taille de l’image : | 3552 px × 2480 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |