Hydrothermal vents: A previously unrecognized source of actinium-227 to the deep ocean

AbstractLush ‘oases’ of life seen in chemosynthetic ecosystems such as hot vents and cold seeps represent rare, localized exceptions to the generally oligotrophic deep ocean floor. Organic falls, best known from sunken wood and whale carcasses, are additional sources of such oases. Kemp Caldera (59°42'S, 28°20'W) in the Weddell Sea exhibits active hydrothermal vents and a natural whale fall in close proximity, where an undescribed cocculinid limpet was found living in both types of chemosynthetic habitats. This represents the first member of the gastropod order Cocculinida discovered from hot vents, and also the first record from the Southern Ocean. Here, we applied an integrative taxonomy framework incorporating traditional dissection, electron microscopy, genetic sequencing and 3D anatomical reconstruction through synchrotron computed tomography in order to characterize this species. Together, our data revealed an unusual member of the genus Cocculina with a highly modified radula for feeding on bacterial film, described herein as Cocculina enigmadonta n. sp. Its phylogenetically derived position within the largely wood-inhabiting Cocculina indicates that it probably evolved from an ancestor adapted to living on sunken wood, providing a compelling case of the ‘stepping stone’ evolutionary trajectory from organic falls to seeps and vents.

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Disposal in the deep sea: analogue of nature or faux ami?

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s037689290300002x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 26-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Paul A. Tyler

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Radioactive Waste ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Natural Radionuclides ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Turbidity Currents ◽

Chemical Contamination ◽

Seabed Sediment ◽

Dredge Spoil

The deep sea is the world's largest ecosystem by volume and is assumed to have a high assimilative capacity. Natural events, such as the sinking of surface plant and animal material to the seabed, sediment slides, benthic storms and hydrothermal vents can contribute vast amounts of material, both organic and inorganic, to the deep ocean. In the past the deep sea has been used as a repository for sewage, dredge spoil and radioactive waste. In addition, there has been interest in the disposal of large man-made objects and, more recently, the disposal of industrially-produced carbon dioxide. Some of the materials disposed of in the deep sea may have natural analogues. This review examines natural processes in the deep sea including the vertical flux of organic material, turbidity currents and benthic storms, natural gas emissions, hydrothermal vents, natural radionuclides and rocky substrata, and compares them with anthropogenic input including sewage disposal, dredge spoil, carbon dioxide disposal, chemical contamination and the disposal of radioactive waste, wrecks and rigs. The comparison shows what are true analogues and what are false friends. Knowledge of the deep sea is fragmentary and much more needs to be known about this large, biologically-diverse system before any further consideration is given to its use in the disposal of waste.

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Isolation of Tellurite- and Selenite-Resistant Bacteria from Hydrothermal Vents of the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the Pacific Ocean

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.68.9.4613-4622.2002 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 68 (9) ◽

pp. 4613-4622 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

Christopher Rathgeber ◽

Natalia Yurkova ◽

Erko Stackebrandt ◽

J. Thomas Beatty ◽

Vladimir Yurkov

Keyword(s):

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Juan De Fuca Ridge ◽

Resistant Bacteria ◽

Ocean Water ◽

Bacterial Films ◽

The Pacific ◽

Juan De Fuca ◽

The Pacific Ocean ◽

Reducing Bacteria

ABSTRACT Deep-ocean hydrothermal-vent environments are rich in heavy metals and metalloids and present excellent sites for the isolation of metal-resistant microorganisms. Both metalloid-oxide-resistant and metalloid-oxide-reducing bacteria were found. Tellurite- and selenite-reducing strains were isolated in high numbers from ocean water near hydrothermal vents, bacterial films, and sulfide-rich rocks. Growth of these isolates in media containing K2TeO3 or Na2SeO3 resulted in the accumulation of metallic tellurium or selenium. The MIC of K2TeO3 ranged from 1,500 to greater than 2,500 μg/ml, and the MIC of Na2SeO3 ranged from 6,000 to greater than 7,000 μg/ml for 10 strains. Phylogenetic analysis of 4 of these 10 strains revealed that they form a branch closely related to members of the genus Pseudoalteromonas, within the γ-3 subclass of the Proteobacteria. All 10 strains were found to be salt tolerant, pH tolerant, and thermotolerant. The metalloid resistance and morphological, physiological, and phylogenetic characteristics of newly isolated strains are described.

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Addendum

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.1986.0015 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 227 (1246) ◽

pp. 145-145

Keyword(s):

Primary Production ◽

Electron Acceptor ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Inorganic Compounds ◽

Anaerobic Bacteria ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Extended Period ◽

Point Of View ◽

The Common

Review Lecture. The chemosynthetic support of life and the microbial diversity at deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Proc. R. Soc. Lond . B 225, 277-297 (1985). In this lecture, the chemosynthetic base of the food chain supporting rich deep-sea ecosystems around hydrothermal vents, was claimed to represent a primary production of organic carbon independent of sunlight. I received several comments criticizing this point of view for neglecting the fact that oxygen is the required electron acceptor in the metabolism of the eukaryotic part of the vent communities. I agree. The independence of light was, however, mentioned in connection with a catastrophic darkening of the globe’s surface. A temporary absence of photosynthetic oxygen production might well be overcome for an extended period of time by the ‘aerobic’ deep-sea vent animals, given the minute consumption of oxygen relative to its huge total quantity available in deep ocean waters. In a permanent absence of light, however, the existence of eukaryotic organisms, as we know them, will depend on an oxygen-producing process such as photosynthesis. Populations of anaerobic bacteria, on the other hand, may well persist and differentiate into prokaryotic ecosystems in permanent darkness as long as the geothermal provision of H 2 and CO 2 continues. Physical chemists were troubled by the use of the term ‘source of energy’ for reduced inorganic compounds, such as H 2 S, in chemosynthesis because the actual amount of free energy available depends on the reaction with the oxidant. It is certainly true that the common equalization of the terms ‘electron donor’ and ‘energy source’ in microbial physiology does not take the specific type of electron acceptor into account. They are used as terms of convenience. In my discussion of deep-sea chemosynthesis as a form of primary production, the emphasis on terrestrial chemical ‘sources of energy’ was meant to illustrate the contrast to the use of solar energy which does not only supply oxygen as the most efficient electron acceptor but also the common electron donors, organic as well as inorganic, for all non-phototrophic life in surface waters and on the continents.

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Abiotic synthesis of graphite in hydrothermal vents

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-019-13216-z ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Emily R. Estes ◽

Debora Berti ◽

Nicole R. Coffey ◽

Michael F. Hochella ◽

Andrew S. Wozniak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Direct Evidence ◽

Settling Velocity ◽

East Pacific Rise ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Analytical Techniques ◽

Filtration Method ◽

East Pacific ◽

Marine Organic Carbon

AbstractDeciphering the origin, age, and composition of deep marine organic carbon remains a challenge in understanding the dynamics of the marine carbon cycle. In particular, the composition of aged organic carbon and what allows its persistence in the deep ocean and in sediment is unresolved. Here, we observe that both high and low temperature hydrothermal vents at the 9° 50′ N; 104° 17.5 W East Pacific Rise (EPR) vent field are a source for (sub)micron-sized graphite particles. We demonstrate that commonly applied analytical techniques for quantification of organic carbon detect graphite. These analyses thereby classify graphite as either dissolved or particulate organic carbon, depending on the particle size and filtration method, and overlook its relevance as a carbon source to the deep ocean. Settling velocity calculations indicate the potential for these (sub)micron particles to become entrained in the buoyant plume and distributed far from the vent fields. Thus, our observations provide direct evidence for hydrothermal vents acting as a source of old carbon to the deep ocean.

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The Biogeography of Islands: Preliminary Results from a Comparative Study of the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315400029155 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 76 (1) ◽

pp. 219-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

M.M. Kendall ◽

S. Widdicombe ◽

J.J. Davey ◽

P.P. Somerfield ◽

M.C.V. Austen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Island Biogeography ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Small Islands ◽

Shallow Marine ◽

Α Diversity ◽

Remote Island ◽

Planktonic Larvae ◽

The Subject ◽

Planktotrophic Larvae

Studies of the interplay of immigration, emigration and extinction in shaping the fauna of islands (McArthur & Wilson, 1967) have influenced the terrestrial ecologists view of the creation and maintenance of diversity. Although in the deep ocean, hydrothermal vents have been the subject of a number of biogeographic studies (Tunnicliffe, 1991), there have been few attempts to validate theories of island biogeography in the shallow marine environment. To rectify this situation, a study comparing the fauna of the mainland of Cornwall, with that of the Isles of Scilly, which lie 45 km from the mainland and were separated from it ~0·3 my BP has been undertaken.Evidence for some comparative impoverishment of the Isles of Scilly fauna was provided by Crisp & Southward (1958) who noted that a small number of cirripedes and molluscs with planktonic larvae, living close to their geographic limits of distribution in Cornwall, were unable to bridge the gap to the islands. They suggested that although species with long-lived planktonic larvae can be widely dispersed, excessive dispersal can lead to their loss from the fauna of small islands. This is clearly demonstrated on the remote island of Rockall where both Crisp (1956) and Moore (1977) noted that only animals with direct development occur. On the Island of Lundy, four species of gastropod were estimated to be less abundant than on the mainland which lies only 18 km away (Hawkins & Hiscock, 1983). However, such studies only deal with a small number of conspicuous intertidal species, and there is a requirement to expand observations to the community level. The present study attempts to question the following hypotheses: (1) α - diversity (that of single samples) is lower on the islands than the mainland; (2) the diversity of species with planktotrophic larvae is lower on the islands than on the mainland.

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Manganese in the world ocean: a first global model

10.5194/bg-2016-282 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marco van Hulten ◽

Jean-Claude Dutay ◽

Rob Middag ◽

Hein de Baar ◽

Matthieu Roy-Barman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Manganese Oxides ◽

High Surface ◽

World Ocean ◽

Essential Element ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Global Scale ◽

Background Concentration ◽

The North

Abstract. Dissolved manganese (Mn) is a biologically essential element. Moreover, its oxidised form is involved in the removal of itself and several other trace elements from ocean waters. Recently, a large number of highly accurate Mn measurements has been obtained in the Atlantic, Indian and Arctic Oceans as part of the GEOTRACES programme. The goal of this study is to combine these new observations with state-of-the-art modelling to give new insights into the main sources and redistribution of Mn throughout the ocean. To this end, we simulate the distribution of dissolved Mn using a global-scale circulation model. Our model reproduces observations accurately and provides the following insights: – The high surface concentrations of manganese are caused by the combination of photoreduction and sources to the upper ocean. The most important sources are dust, then sediments, and, more locally, rivers. – Results show that surface Mn in the Atlantic Ocean moves downwards into the North Atlantic Deep Water, but because of strong removal rates the Mn does not propagate southwards. – There is a mostly homogeneous background concentration of dissolved Mn of about 0.10 nM to 0.15 nM throughout most of the deep ocean. The model reproduces this by means of a threshold on particulate manganese oxides of 25 pM, suggesting that a minimal concentration of particulate Mn is needed before aggregation and removal become efficient. – The observed sharp hydrothermal signals are produced by assuming both a high source and a strong removal of Mn near hydrothermal vents.

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The acceleration of dissolved cobalt's ecological stoichiometry due to biological uptake, remineralization, and scavenging in the Atlantic Ocean

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-14-4637-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (20) ◽

pp. 4637-4662 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Mak A. Saito ◽

Abigail E. Noble ◽

Nicholas Hawco ◽

Benjamin S. Twining ◽

Daniel C. Ohnemus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alkaline Phosphatase ◽

Water Column ◽

Ecological Stoichiometry ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Lithium Ion ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Euphotic Zone ◽

Particulate Phase ◽

Mn Oxide ◽

Basin Scale

Abstract. The stoichiometry of biological components and their influence on dissolved distributions have long been of interest in the study of the oceans. Cobalt has the smallest oceanic inventory of inorganic micronutrients and hence is particularly vulnerable to influence by internal oceanic processes including euphotic zone uptake, remineralization, and scavenging. Here we observe not only large variations in dCo : P stoichiometry but also the acceleration of those dCo : P ratios in the upper water column in response to several environmental processes. The ecological stoichiometry of total dissolved cobalt (dCo) was examined using data from a US North Atlantic GEOTRACES transect and from a zonal South Atlantic GEOTRACES-compliant transect (GA03/3_e and GAc01) by Redfieldian analysis of its statistical relationships with the macronutrient phosphate. Trends in the dissolved cobalt to phosphate (dCo : P) stoichiometric relationships were evident in the basin-scale vertical structure of cobalt, with positive dCo : P slopes in the euphotic zone and negative slopes found in the ocean interior and in coastal environments. The euphotic positive slopes were often found to accelerate towards the surface and this was interpreted as being due to the combined influence of depleted phosphate, phosphorus-sparing (conserving) mechanisms, increased alkaline phosphatase metalloenzyme production (a zinc or perhaps cobalt enzyme), and biochemical substitution of Co for depleted Zn. Consistent with this, dissolved Zn (dZn) was found to be drawn down to only 2-fold more than dCo, despite being more than 18-fold more abundant in the ocean interior. Particulate cobalt concentrations increased in abundance from the base of the euphotic zone to become ∼  10 % of the overall cobalt inventory in the upper euphotic zone with high stoichiometric values of ∼  400 µmol Co mol−1 P. Metaproteomic results from the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) station found cyanobacterial isoforms of the alkaline phosphatase enzyme to be prevalent in the upper water column, as well as a sulfolipid biosynthesis protein indicative of P sparing. The negative dCo : P relationships in the ocean interior became increasingly vertical with depth, and were consistent with the sum of scavenging and remineralization processes (as shown by their dCo : P vector sums). Attenuation of the remineralization with depth resulted in the increasingly vertical dCo : P relationships. Analysis of particulate Co with particulate Mn and particulate phosphate also showed positive linear relationships below the euphotic zone, consistent with the presence and increased relative influence of Mn oxide particles involved in scavenging. Visualization of dCo : P slopes across an ocean section revealed hotspots of scavenging and remineralization, such as at the hydrothermal vents and below the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) region, respectively, while that of an estimate of Co* illustrated stoichiometrically depleted values in the mesopelagic and deep ocean due to scavenging. This study provides insights into the coupling between the dissolved and particulate phase that ultimately creates Redfield stoichiometric ratios, demonstrating that the coupling is not an instantaneous process and is influenced by the element inventory and rate of exchange between phases. Cobalt's small water column inventory and the influence of external factors on its biotic stoichiometry can erode its limited inertia and result in an acceleration of the dissolved stoichiometry towards that of the particulate phase in the upper euphotic zone. As human use of cobalt grows exponentially with widespread adoption of lithium ion batteries, there is a potential to affect the limited biogeochemical inertia of cobalt and its resultant ecology in the oceanic euphotic zone.

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Predicting the response of the deep-ocean microbiome to geochemical perturbations by hydrothermal vents

The ISME Journal ◽

10.1038/ismej.2015.4 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 1857-1869 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Daniel C Reed ◽

John A Breier ◽

Houshuo Jiang ◽

Karthik Anantharaman ◽

Christopher A Klausmeier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Deep Ocean

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Seaching Deeper

Mechanical Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.2006-jul-5 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 128 (07) ◽

pp. 44-45

Author(s):

Jean Thilmany

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Galápagos Islands ◽

Superheated Water ◽

Hydrogen Bomb ◽

History Of ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

This article presents the history of Alvin, the first US-built, manned deep-ocean submersible. The 42-year-old submersible, which is operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is heading toward retirement. According to one of the expert, Alvin had one of its periodic overhauls recently; however, the craft cannot be upgraded to do much more than it does now. In its lifetime, the little submersible has located a lost hydrogen bomb in the Mediterranean Sea, explored deep-sea hydrothermal vents, surveyed and helped photograph the Titanic, and accidently gave scientists vital feedback about decay in the deep. Alvin has made more than 4000 dives. On a 1977 expedition, researchers aboard Alvin near the Galapagos Islands explored vents emitting superheated water at depths of 7000 feet. The lunches that spent the months in Alvin's hold remained strangely intact, including a barely decomposed bologna sandwich. This led researchers to the discovery that matter decomposed differently in the deep, which in turn gave conservationists arguments against dumping waste in the sea.

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