WHOI in the News
5 Hydrothermal Vents Have Appeared in the Dark Heart of the Ocean
Study examines role of deep-sea microbial predators at hydrothermal vents
There in the dark ocean, a unique food web thrives not on photosynthesis but on chemical energy from the venting fluids.
Highly evolved bacteria found near hydrothermal vents: Iron-oxidizing bacteria found along Mid-Atlantic Ridge
mentions WHOI
Woods Hole Researchers Studying Hydrothermal Vents On The Floor Of Yellowstone Lake
mentions Chris Linder and WHOI
Making Organic Molecules in Hydrothermal Vents in the Absence of Life
quotes Jill McDermott, Jeff Seewald, and Chris German
Making Organic Molecules in Hydrothermal Vents in the Absence of Life
ran WHOI news release featuring Jill McDermott and Chris German
also picked up by Phys.Org
Highly evolved bacteria found near hydrothermal vents: Iron-oxidizing bacteria found along Mid-Atlantic Ridge
ran Bigelow Lab news release, also picked up by Phys.org
mentions John Breier and WHOI
Move Over, Mars: The Search for Life on Saturn’s Largest Moon
“The great thing about hydrothermal vents is that they provide a lot of energy sources for microbial life that doesn’t include sunlight,” says Julie Huber, a marine chemist at WHOI. Organisms living at hydrothermal vents on Earth’s seafloors, she explains, “can use chemical energy, so that means things like sulphur, iron, hydrogen and methane and they create a base of the food chain.”
NASA eyes the ocean: How the deep sea could unlock outer space
“When hydrothermal vents were discovered in 1977, it very much flipped biology on its end,” says Julie Huber, an oceanographer who studies life in and below the seafloor at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) on Cape Cod. “People knew that organisms could live off of chemical energy, but they didn’t imagine they could support animal ecosystems.”
The First U.S. Human-Operated Submersible Changed the Course of Oceanography Alvin was built by researchers at Woods Hole
Thanks to Alvin, scientists were able to study the effects of pressure on seafloor microbes and discovered hydrothermal vents that help regulate ocean chemistry and support ecosystems.
Deep-sea exploration breakthrough to guide future space exploration missions
The ASU researchers exploring deep sea hydrothermal vents as part of the SUBSEA project moved their modeling to the beginning of this process, significantly speeding up their ability to interpret the data from months to a couple of hours.