{"id":34001,"date":"2024-12-20T18:57:35","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T13:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=34001"},"modified":"2024-12-20T18:57:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T13:27:38","slug":"hydrothermal-vents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-12-2024\/hydrothermal-vents","title":{"rendered":"Hydrothermal Vents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/ Physical Geography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Indian oceanographers<\/strong> using an <strong>Automatic Underwater Vehicle (AUV) <\/strong>launched from the research vessel <strong>Sagar Nidhi<\/strong>, captured the first-ever image of an <strong>active hydrothermal vent <\/strong>located 4,500 meters below the I<strong>ndian Ocean\u2019s surface.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The site is significant for mineral exploration under the <strong>Deep Ocean Mission<\/strong> by the<strong> Ministry of Earth Sciences.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Active Hydrothermal Vent?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Seafloor Hot Springs: <\/strong>They are openings in the ocean floor where geothermally heated water flows out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tectonic Activity: <\/strong>They are often found near volcanically active areas, especially mid-ocean ridges where tectonic plates are moving apart.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>How they form:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Seawater seeps into cracks in the ocean crust.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It gets superheated by magma beneath the seafloor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The hot water dissolves minerals from the surrounding rocks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This mineral-rich, hot water gushes back out into the ocean, forming the vent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Types of Vents:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Black Smokers:<\/strong> Emit very hot water (over 350\u00b0C) that&#8217;s rich in sulfides, making the water appear black.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>White Smokers:<\/strong> Emit cooler water with lighter-colored minerals like barium, calcium, and silicon.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"545049\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"655\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hydrothermal-Vents-1024x655.webp\" alt=\"Hydrothermal-Vents\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-34002\" style=\"--dominant-color: #545049; width:484px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hydrothermal-Vents-1024x655.webp 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hydrothermal-Vents-300x192.webp 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hydrothermal-Vents-768x491.webp 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hydrothermal-Vents-1536x982.webp 1536w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hydrothermal-Vents.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why are they important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Unique Ecosystems:<\/strong> Hydrothermal vents support unique ecosystems that thrive in the absence of sunlight.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chemosynthesis:<\/strong> Specialized bacteria and archaea use chemicals from the vents (like hydrogen sulfide) to produce energy, forming the base of the food web.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Biodiversity: <\/strong>These ecosystems are home to a variety of unusual creatures, including tubeworms, giant clams, and vent crabs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Origin of Life:<\/strong> Some scientists believe that life on Earth may have originated in hydrothermal vent environments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Deep Ocean Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Brief: <\/strong>It is a flagship initiative of the Government of India <strong>launched in 2021<\/strong> under the <strong>Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aim:<\/strong> To explore and harness the vast resources of the deep ocean while addressing challenges in oceanography and marine ecosystems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Key Objectives:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Exploration of Deep-Sea Resources: <\/strong>Study and map hydrothermal vents, polymetallic nodules, and cobalt-rich crusts found in the Indian Ocean.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Development of Technology for Deep-Sea Mining: <\/strong>Build and deploy advanced equipment and vehicles for mining at depths of up to 6,000 meters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Biodiversity and Environmental Studies: <\/strong>Conduct research on marine ecosystems and unique life forms in deep-sea environments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Climate Change and Ocean Observations:<\/strong> Strengthen India&#8217;s ability to monitor climate change and its impact on oceans.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Marine Biotechnology and Drug Development:<\/strong> Investigate marine organisms for pharmaceutical and industrial applications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/underwater-hot-spring-microbial-life-indias-deep-ocean-mission-9732531\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indian oceanographers using an Automatic Underwater Vehicle (AUV) launched from the research vessel Sagar Nidhi, captured the first-ever image of an active hydrothermal vent located 4,500 meters below the Indian Ocean\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34001"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34003,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34001\/revisions\/34003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}