Context: Indian oceanographers have captured the image of an active hydrothermal vent located 4,500 metres below the surface of the Indian Ocean. This site holds potential for mineral exploration as part of the Rs 4,000-crore Deep Ocean Mission under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Hydrothermal vents.
What are Hydrothermal vents?
- Hydrothermal vents (largely found near tectonic plates) are underwater springs where cold water (about 2 degrees Celsius) prevailing near the seabed comes in close contact with magma (molten rock formed in very hot conditions inside the earth) in a tectonically active region.
- When this cold water trickles through cracks and fissures on the ocean crust and admixtures with magma, it gets heated up. It can turn into superhot water (up to 370 degrees Celsius) and later emerge as plumes, rich in minerals and gases, through chimneys and vents.
Key Facts:
- Location: Hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean typically form along the mid-ocean ridges, such as the East Pacific Rise and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These are locations where two tectonic plates are diverging and a new crust is being formed.
- Hydrothermal vents could remain active from a few hundred years to as long as 30,000 years.
Significance:
The discovery of hydrothermal vents in the Southern Indian Ocean is significant for exploration from both economic and biological perspectives.
- Economic significance: The deposits from hydrothermal venting are generally rich in copper, zinc, gold, silver, platinum, iron, cobalt, nickel and other economically-beneficial minerals and metals. This discovery could significantly enhance India’s Deep Ocean mission focusing on mineral exploration from inactive vents.
- Biological significance: The vents may contain living chemosynthetic organisms (underwater microbes rely on chemicals enriched with minerals and metals for their sustenance). The discovery could offer better insights into the organisms that inhabit environments supported by hydrothermal vents.