Dataset 3: Hydrothermal Vent Plume Temperature
Greetings FLEXE students! My name is Dr. Peter Rona from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Are you ready for another dataset from the deep-sea? This time, we are going to look at what happens to the extremely hot fluids jetting out of the hydrothermal vent chimneys and up into the water column. What do you think happens to them? Where do the fluids go and what happens to the heat? Remember, deep ocean water surrounding the chimneys is near freezing, around 2 to 3°C.
Understanding what happens to the heat from hydrothermal vents is something I am interested in understanding (see bio). The FLEXE team and I thought you might like the particular dataset listed below not only because it tells an interesting story about hydrothermal vent temperature, but also because of the really fun way we collected the data - through "elevator rides" (explained below).
Plume studies
To answer the question of what happens to the temperature of the hydrothermal vent plumes, my colleagues and I made measurements of the temperature of a large plume rising from a group of chimneys along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. To obtain temperature readings from the plume, the Alvin pilots and I devised an array of temperature sensors that could be mounted on a frame on the Alvin. We then drove the submersible into the center of the plume (see drawing on the right) and recorded the plume temperature and the height above the seafloor. To measure the entire plume, we continued to take readings as the Alvin buoyantly rose within the plume, up to an altitude of over 100 meters above the chimney openings. Altitude, by the way, means height over the Earth's surface or the seafloor (or chimney, in this case).
The sensation of being lifted in the sub by the hot plume felt like riding an elevator, so we nicknamed the trips "elevator rides." Here are data from four "elevator rides." Be careful as you read the graph. There are data from four different "elevator rides" shown. The first ride was made on Jan 13th at 2:00 pm and is shown in blue. The second ride, also on Jan 13th, was made an hour later at 3:00 pm and is shown in red. The third ride also on Jan 13th was made at 5:00pm and is shown in purple. The fourth ride shown in yellow, was made a week later on Jan 20th at 5:00pm. The Y-axis shows how far up above the chimney we went with the submersible. The X-axis shows the temperature in °C.
One other important note
Keep in mind that the temperature of the hydrothermal vent fluid as it left the chimney was 365°C (!), much too hot to drive the sub into. But the plume cooled quickly to 5°C within 20 meters. "Elevator rides" started at 20 meters for safety reasons. Take a look at how the plume temperature continued to cool as the fluid rose up in the water column. Answer the questions on the handout provided by your teacher, and send us your responses (to a few of these questions) via this Forum. We look forward to hearing what you think of this exciting dataset.
Here is a plume from a newly discovered hydrothermal vent called "Medusa" at 9°N
This picture shows the "rising" and "neutrally buoyant" portions of a steam plume in Manzanillo, MX.
Graphic courtesy of Dr. Peter Rona
Try this in the Classroom!
Build a Plume Tank in your classroom.
Click here for instructions on how to set up a plume tank in your own classroom.
- For more information on finding hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean, visit the Dive and Discover Hot Topics webpage
- For more information on how scientists study vent plumes, visit the NOAA Vents Website