hydrothermal vent

noun

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of hydrothermal vent

: a fissure in the ocean floor especially at or near a mid-ocean ridge from which mineral-rich superheated water issues

Recent Examples of hydrothermal vent from the Web

Rouse, a marine biologist and curator of invertebrates at Scripps, studies the biodiversity and evolution of these marine creatures, scouting deep-sea hydrothermal vents, coral reefs, and kelp forests for new organisms.

— deborah sullivan brennan, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Tiny sand worm named for La Jolla luminary," 6 Apr. 2018
Finally, no geologist argues against hydrothermal vents, where volcanically active areas spew water at superhot temperatures.

— shannon hall, Scientific American, "Like Ancient Snowball Earth, Frozen Planets May Still Be Habitable," 13 Mar. 2018
On Earth, some methanogens are extremophiles—known to live deep in the ocean at hydrothermal vents, surviving on the intense heat and chemicals released.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "One of Earth’s Deep Sea Microbes Could Survive on Saturn’s Moon," 1 Mar. 2018
Two more rovers that landed in 2004, Spirit and Opportunity, found mineralogical evidence of past water on Mars and even stumbled upon evidence of ancient hydrothermal vents that could have supported life.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "NASA's Next Great Mars Rover Will Search for Martians and Prepare for Humans to Follow," 17 Jan. 2018
As such, snowballs might remain habitable with the help of ice-free zones, thin ice sheets, ponds of meltwater and hydrothermal vents.

— shannon hall, Scientific American, "Like Ancient Snowball Earth, Frozen Planets May Still Be Habitable," 13 Mar. 2018
In April, astronomers reported that the Cassini spacecraft had discovered a chemical brew erupting from Enceladus’ oceans — the same kind that bacteria eat at Earth’s hydrothermal vents.

— eric betz, Discover Magazine, "Life Beneath Enceladus’ Ice?," 24 Jan. 2018
The eruption also produced new hydrothermal vents, which some scientists believe are where the earliest forms of life on Earth formed.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Scientist Autopsy the Aftermath of the Largest Underwater Volcanic Eruption of the Last Century," 15 Jan. 2018
Finding structures similar to Earth’s hydrothermal vents on Enceladus sparked hope of finding life there.

— daniela hernandez, WSJ, "Meet the Robots Helping in the Quest to Find Extraterrestrial Life," 25 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hydrothermal vent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.