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Article: Depth-Defying Discoveries.(discoveries, geology of ocean floor)
- Article from:
- U.S. News & World Report
- Article date:
- August 16, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 All rights reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The ocean floor has long been perceived as a cold, dark, desolate wasteland--a watery graveyard buried beneath a blanket of decaying debris from plant and animal life above. It's not an altogether inaccurate image, but exploration and research in recent decades have uncovered not only the abundance of deep-sea life but environments like those that may have spawned life on Earth. In the frigid depths, geological phenomena like hydrothermal vents spew water hotter than 500 degrees Fahrenheit, carrying heat and minerals from the Earth's mantle. The vents belch sulfuric clouds of "smoke" into the sea, nourishing bacteria, food for other marine life further up the chain. Tube ...
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Article: A new view of earth: seeing the seafloor from space. ...
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... ... watery shroud hiding two-thirds of Earth's surface, revealing hitherto ... ceiling global map, showing the ocean floor in unparalleled detail. From the ... passed over a stationary hot spot in Earth's mantle. Like dragging a rug ...
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