hydrothermal vent
Americannoun
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A fissure on the floor of a sea out of which flows water that has been heated by underlying magma. The water can be as hot as 400°C (752°F) and usually contains dissolved minerals that precipitate out of it upon contact with the colder seawater, building a stack of minerals, or chimney. Hydrothermal vents form an ecosystem for microbes and animals, such as tubeworms, giant clams, and blind shrimp, that can withstand the hostile environment.
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◆ The hottest hydrothermal vents are called black smokers because they spew iron and sulfide which combine to form iron monosulfide, a black compound.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"And now you get a hydrothermal vent system, just like in the deep sea, but made by the heat from an impact."
From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026
The amphipod was discovered at a depth of 2,602 meters in a mussel bed within the Galápagos Rift hydrothermal vent fields.
From Science Daily • Nov. 2, 2025
Bright and her colleagues hope that shedding more light on the inner workings of hydrothermal vent ecosystems will help shield them from development.
From Scientific American • Aug. 9, 2023
The purpose of NOAA’s three Journey to the Ridge expeditions this year is to further explore the unique hydrothermal vent habitats of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Azores Plateau.
From Washington Times • Jul. 27, 2022
In a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, there is no light, so prokaryotes would be chemotrophs instead of phototrophs.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
