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Tubeworms and Zoarcid (vent fish) in a vent field at the East Pacific Rise.

Tubeworms and Zoarcid (vent fish) in a vent field at the East Pacific Rise.
Tubeworms and Zoarcid (vent fish) in a vent field at the East Pacific Rise.
Tubeworms and Zoarcid (vent fish) in a vent field at the East Pacific Rise.
Tubeworms and Zoarcid (vent fish) in a vent field at the East Pacific Rise.
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411803
HOV Alvin
Tubeworms and Zoarcid (vent fish) in a vent field at the East Pacific Rise.
Still Image
11/18/2014
2014_11_18_20_13_01.JPG
Image Of the Day repeat caption:
In 1977, a group of scientists photographing the seafloor from R/V Knorr came across an astounding sight: hot water pouring from hydrothermal vents teeming with life. Their discovery fundamentally changed our view of the planet and of life on it: In particular, scientists learned that life could evolve to survive without the help of sunlight and photosynthesis, including bacteria that metabolize chemicals in the fluids flowing from the vents and that sustain organisms like these tubeworms. This Sunday, join Dr. Robert Ballard, chief scientist on that cruise of discovery, at Life Without Sunlight, a live-streamed public event to mark 40 years since our view of life on Earth changedand what that could mean for the search for life beyond Earth.
Image Of the Day caption:
Fish swim amid this vibrant community of tubeworms around hydrothermal vents on the seafloor near the East Pacific Rise. The fish are zoarcidspredators that eat tubeworms, crabs, and other animals living around vents. All this deep-sea life relies on energy derived from chemosynthetic microbes. WHOI microbiologist Stefan Sievert led two expeditions in 2014, in January and November, to investigate these microbes and the largely unknown biochemical reactions they perform under extreme conditions at seafloor vents.
Photo courtesy of Stefan Sievert, WHOI/NSF/HOV Alvin, ©2014 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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