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Article: Hot Springs on the Ocean Floor
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- Water:Science and Issues
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group 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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Hot Springs on the Ocean Floor
In many areas of the ocean floor, wherever
magma
nears the seafloor, or where
lava
erupts directly at the seafloor surface, hot springs on the seafloor called hydrothermal vents commonly are found. Vent fields are generally associated with submarine (undersea) volcanoes where lava is erupting or preparing to erupt.
Hydrothermal vents also are found in areas of the ocean floor that are spreading, such as at mid-ocean ridges, where
tectonic plates
are being pulled apart. This movement allows the molten magma to rise from deep inside the Earth, superheating the cold ocean water around it.
The average temperature of deep-ocean water is only 2
°
C (36
...