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Hydrothermal Vents

NASA eyes the ocean: How the deep sea could unlock outer space

August 23, 2019
The Christian Science Monitor

“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.”

Geology creates chemical energy: Origin of a massive methane reservoir discovered

August 22, 2019
Cosmos Magazine

Scientists know methane is released from deep-sea vents, but its source has long been a mystery. A team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution may have the answer. Analysis of 160 rock samples from across the world’s oceans provides evidence, they say, of the formation and abundance of abiotic methane – methane formed by chemical reactions that don’t involve organic matter.

Origin of Massive Methane Reservoir Identified

August 20, 2019

New research provides evidence of the formation and abundance of abiotic methane—methane formed by chemical reactions that don’t involve organic matter—on Earth and shows how the gases could have a similar origin on other planets and moons, even those no longer home to liquid water.

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Hydrothermal Vents

February 6, 2019

What are Hydrothermal Vents? In 1977, scientists made a stunning discovery on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean: vents pouring…

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Life Without Guts

November 14, 2017
The Atlantic

Piece and accompanying video highlights the Alvin sub and the discovery of hydrothermal vent life

The Hot Spot Below Yellowstone Park

June 12, 2017
The Hot Spot Below Yellowstone Park

WHOI scientist Rob Sohn brought an arsenal of deep-sea technology normally used to explore the seafloor to the bottom of Yellowstone Lake, where a team of researchers investigated the subsurface geothermal activity hidden from view in the national park.

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Panel to Discuss Deep-Sea Mining at AAAS Meeting

February 17, 2017
Panel to Discuss Deep-Sea Mining at AAAS Meeting

Home to an immense diversity of marine life, the deep ocean also contains valuable minerals with metals such as nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese, zinc, and gold, and rare-earth elements used in electronic technology like smart phones and medical imaging machines. As demand for these resources increases and supplies on land decrease, commercial mining operators are looking to the deep ocean as the next frontier for mining.

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