Scientists Unveil Mysteries of Newly Discovered Hydrothermal Vents at Jøtul Field

Hydrothermal vents are located globally at the boundaries of shifting tectonic plates, with many fields yet to be discovered. In a 2022 expedition aboard the MARIA S. MERIAN, researchers identified the first hydrothermal vent field along the 500-kilometer Knipovich Ridge near Svalbard. Led by Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bohrmann from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and the University of Bremen’s Geosciences department, the international team, including scientists from Bremen and Norway, detailed their findings in the journal Scientific Reports.

Hydrothermal vents are seeps on the sea floor from which hot liquids escape. “Water penetrates into the ocean floor where it is heated by magma. The overheated water then rises back to the sea floor through cracks and fissures. On its way up the fluid becomes enriched in minerals and materials dissolved out of the oceanic crustal rocks. These fluids often seep out again at the sea floor through tube-like chimneys called black smokers, where metal-rich minerals are then precipitated,” explains Prof. Gerhard Bohrmann of MARUM and chief scientist of the MARIA S. MERIAN (MSM 109) expedition.