What is a Black Smoker and how do they form?
A black smoker is a deep-sea hydrothermal (hot water) vent. “The “black smoke” that comes out of a black smoker is actually very, very hot water with tiny sulfur-rich particles in it, so that it looks like black smoke. As these minerals pile up on the ocean floor, they form what are called “sulfide chimneys” or the Black Smoker Chimneys–where black smoke spews out of them. (It’s actually not that simple. Exactly how these chimneys form is still a mystery. It’s also part of the reason we went on the expedition: to collect the chimneys for further research.)” Q: What was your favorite expedition? A: “The fall 1997 cruise was especially interesting because it was a “reconnaissance” cruise, which means that we were exploring and mapping. We took a ship to get out to the site, and then we used ALVIN, a manned submersible, and JASON, an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) to explore the sea floor. We took thousands of photographs and collected sonar data which helped us determine the size and s
