hydrothermal vent

noun

|Updated on: 6 Jun 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

To learn more about the possible habitability of this moon, NASA scientists are even going to Hawaii to study hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean.

— shannon stirone, WIRED, "Space Photos of the Week: A Cruise Around Mars' Hale Crater," 2 June 2018
The idea was that hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the seas, protected from cataclysms rending the surface four billion years ago, delivered the necessary energy and could have sustained the molecules needed.

— mariette dichristina, Scientific American, "How Did Life Begin on Earth?," 1 Aug. 2017
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that hydrothermal vents are one of the most intriguing and least studied systems on Earth.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Colony of Beautiful, Doomed Purple Octopuses Found Off Costa Rica," 21 Apr. 2018
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

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.