How do the vents at Lost City relate to other hydrothermal vents in the oceans?
David A. Butterfield JISAO, University of Washington When the structures at Lost City were first seen in December of 2000, it was clear that they were unlike the features that scientists have been studying since the discovery of the first hydrothermal vents at the Galapagos rift in the late 1970s. What is so different about these vents? How do they fit into the overall picture of hydrothermal venting in the oceans? The Lost City vents look completely different from mid-ocean ridge volcanic vents. The tall, white, carbonate structures at Lost City emit clear, warm fluids that form no particles in the water. Dark-colored sulfide mineral chimneys that are typical of the mid-ocean ridge emit billowing clouds of black smoke. If you look at this from the perspective of fluid chemistry, the main differences are due to temperature and pH. The fluids coming out of Lost City chimneys have very high pH (10-11) and maximum temperatures of less than 100°C. In contrast, typical smoker vents on the v
