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Article: Famed undersea vent may be lost. (Oceanography).(volcanic lava covers Rose Garden undersea hydrothermal vent northeast of Galapagos Islands)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- June 15, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Science Service, Inc. 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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When scientists last month tried to revisit an undersea hydrothermal vent that was first discovered nearly a quarter of a century ago, they were in for a shock. Instead of finding a thriving ecosystem nourished by warm, mineral-rich waters spewing from the ocean floor, the researchers came across a desolate, almost lifeless place.
This hydrothermal site is one of a group of such venues discovered under more than 2,400 meters of water about 400 kilometers northeast of the Galapagos Islands. Scientists nicknamed this particular vent the Rose Garden when they found it in 1979 because of the 2-m-tall, red-tipped tube-worms surrounding the seafloor springs.
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