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Hydrothermal vents
Hydrothermal vents. Cutaway artwork showing the features of underwater hydrothermal vents (black smokers) found at mid-ocean ridges. Black smokers are seabed vents where magma (molten rock) near the surface heats water in the rock (from the ocean) to extremely high temperatures. The hot water dissolves a large quantity of mineral salts. When the superheated water meets the cold surrounding water, the minerals rapidly precipitate out, giving the hot water its characteristic smoky appearance. The minerals form tall chimneys of crusts around the vent (layers shown here).
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