Diversity of Hydrothermal Systems on Slow Spreading Ocean Ridges

Abstract

In the past 3 decades, hydrothermal vents on the deep seafloor have captivated our imagination. The otherworldly vistas of vent ecosystems with chemosynthetic bacteria, animals new to science, billowing black smokers, and brightly colored polymetallic sulphide mineral deposits have changed our perception of the ocean's depths. In the new AGU monograph Diversity of Hydrothermal Systems on Slow Spreading Ocean Ridges, editors Peter A. Rona, Colin W. Devey, Jérôme Dyment, and Bramley J. Murton and participating authors take readers to the exciting exploration frontier of seafloor hydrothermal research on the slow spreading half of the 55,000‐kilometer‐long ocean ridge that spans the Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans. In this interview, Eos talks with Peter Rona.