word
Hydrothermal vent
hy-droh-THER-mul VENT
/ˌhaɪdroʊˈθɜːrməl vɛnt/Listen
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Syllable breakdown
hydrothermalvent
Dictionary meaning
A fissure on the seafloor from which geothermally heated water issues, supporting unique ecosystems based on chemosynthesis and inhabited by organisms such as tube worms, chemosynthetic bacteria, and deep-sea shrimp, independent of sunlight.
Examples
- Hydrothermal vent communities were first discovered in 1977 near the Galápagos Rift.
- Astobiologists study hydrothermal vent life as a model for potential life on icy moons.
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