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Article: Abyss yields a surprise.(News)
- Article from:
- Swiss News
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Swiss News. 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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A startling discovery of undersea life has researchers questioning what they thought they knew. Towering white mineral chimneys mark a newly-explored field near the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, whose inhabitants differ from those seen in similar environments.
Previously, scientists looked at "black smoker" vents, chimney-like structures that form when yen' hot water--reaching 370 degrees Celsius--breaks through the ocean floor and meets frigid ocean water. A variety, of unusual creatures have been discovered around black smokers, including tubeworms as long as a couple of metres.
But in work partially funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, ...