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The giant volcanic chimneys, up to two stories tall, are named for the black iron sulfide compound that they spew out of their tops. White smokers are cooler and often contain white compounds. Experts say the superheated waters inside the vents can reach 750 degrees F (400 C) - hot enough to melt lead - and could contain undiscovered marine species and perhaps even clues to the origin of life on earth. Hot enough to melt lead. And we wonder what is heating our seas. Intense pressure 500 times stronger than the earth's atmosphere keeps the water from boiling. The pressure is equivalent to the weight of a large car pushing down on every square inch of the creatures that live there, the researchers say. Even though the heat and pressure combine with toxic metals to form a highly acidic environment, the vents host lush colonies of exotic animals such as blind shrimp, giant white crabs, and tubeworms. "We've only seen a tiny fraction of the deep sea floor so there are undoubtedly many more vents and other amazing things to discover," said expedition leader and marine biologist Dr Jon Copley. "We know more about the surface of the Moon and Mars than we do about our own planet because two-thirds of our planet is covered by ocean making it very hard to explore."
Right on, Dr. Copley! We know more about the surface of the Moon
And yet, our so-called leaders are hell-bent on passing laws to control
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See more about this new discovery at any of these sites: http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100411/sc_livescience/worldsdeepestunderseaventsdiscovered
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8611771.stm
Hydrothermal Vents Found in Arctic Ocean Deep-Sea "Smoker" Vent's Rumble Reveals Ocean Clues Hydrothermal 'Megaplume' Found in Indian Ocean Earth's Hottest 'Bods' May Belong to Worms Pictures of hydrothermal vents
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