A group of scientists trolling the depths of the North Atlantic to study an undersea mountain range has unexpectedly discovered the largest hydrothermal vent system ever seen, with structures so tall and dramatic, they have been dubbed "The Lost City."
"If this vent field was on land, it would be a national park," said Jeff Karson, a Duke University geologist who got the first close-up view of the towers last week while diving in the submersible Alvin.
Hydrothermal vents are ocean floor fissures that spew superheated, acidic water and support luxuriant colonies of undersea life at great depths. Most such structures are less than 80 feet tall and many appear to be mounds. The tallest vent previously found was a 135-foot monster vent dubbed "Godzilla," 200 miles off the western coast of Canada, that was discovered in 1991.
"We thought the altimeter was broken. We could not believe something was that tall," said Veronique Robigou, co-discoverer of that vent and a marine geologist at the University of Washington. Godzilla has since toppled to half its original height, and Robigou, happy to see the height record broken, said of the new finding: "Every time we think we understand the system, something else comes up and forces us to rethink everything we know."
The new vents tower more than 180 feet above the sea floor, making typical vents "look like a dollhouse in comparison," the scientists said Tuesday, when they announced their findings. Some of the cones in the structure were clearly active, they said, spewing hot water that appeared to shimmer.
The dramatic field of hot springs is composed of numerous towering vents with multiple spires, some wide-mouthed, others needle thin. Many are capped with feathery deposits of minerals that precipitated from fluids flowing through the vents. The sides of the vents are covered with delicate white mineral ledges intertwined with stalagmites. The site, researchers said, was awesome.
"The best way I can describe my feelings are how I felt the first time I walked into a redwood grove with a group of friends or visited the Grand Canyon at sunrise," said Debbie Kelley, a University of Washington expert on hydrothermal vents who was the only other person to dive to the structures. "There is something that happens in places like this--quiet, odd feelings mixed with awe and excitement that stay with you for a long time."
