Oceanic ridge crest processes

Rona, Peter A.

doi:10.1029/rg025i005p01089

Cited by 9 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 766 publications

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“…Hydrothermal activity, accounting for water temperature elevations ranging from a few degrees above ambient to 350ø-400øC, is now known to occur at seafloor spreading centers worldwide [Juniper et al, 1990]. The close proximity of heat-laden magma chambers to the seafloor, in conjunction with tectonic plate movement, deformation, and cooling of newly created oceanic crust, results in convective circulation of dense, cold seawater through the cracked and fissured upper portions of the lithosphere [Sleep et al, 1983;Edmond, 1986;Rona, 1987;Eberhart et al, 1988;Haymon, 1989;Haymon et al, 1991;Sleep, 1991]. This circulation promotes the formation of numerous hot springs that emanate from vents along seafloor spreading centers.…”

Section: Hydrothermal Vent Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of deep‐sea hydrothermal vent communities: A review

Lutz¹,

Kennish²

1993

Reviews of Geophysics

166

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Studies of the many active and inactive hydrothermal vents found during the past 15 years have radically altered views of biological and geological processes in the deep sea. The biological communities occupying the vast and relatively stable soft bottom habitats of the deep sea are characterized by low population densities, high species diversity, and low biomass. In contrast, those inhabiting the generally unstable conditions of hydrothermal vent environments exhibit high densities and biomass, low species diversity, rapid growth rates, and high metabolic rates. Biological processes, such as rates of metabolism and growth, in vent organisms are comparable to those observed in organisms from shallow‐water ecosystems. An abundant energy source is provided by chemosynthetic bacteria that constitute the primary producers sustaining the lush communities at the hydrothermal sites. Fluxes in vent flow and fluid chemistry cause changes in growth rates, reproduction, mortality, and/or colonization of vent fauna, leading to temporal and spatial variation of the vent communities. Vent populations that cannot adapt to modified flow rates are adversely affected, as is evidenced by high mortality or lower rates of colonization, growth, or reproduction. Substantial changes in biota have been witnessed at several vents, and successional cycles have been proposed for the Galapagos vent fields. Dramatic temporal and spatial variations in vent community structure may also relate to variations in larval dispersal and chance recruitment, as well as biotic interactions.

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