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Gas It Up

February 1, 2014

WHOI research associate Sean Sylva (foreground) and geochemist Jeff Seewald troubleshoot a blocked valve in a gas chromatograph, an instrument they used to analyze the gas content of fluids collected from hydrothermal vents during a recent cruise to the East Pacific Rise. Vent fluids carry a variety of dissolved gases and minerals, many of which play a role in supporting an abundant community of microbes and, through them, the entire vent ecosystem.(Photo by David Levin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)