Chamorro Vent Discovery: 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas

Hydrothermal vents are most commonly found near areas that are volcanically or tectonically active. So when scientists using NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer set out to explore Chamorro Seamount, which had no known historic eruptions, they weren’t expecting to find vent they did. Seen at a depth of ~980 meters (3,215 feet), the hydrothermal vents on the outer southeast slope of the seamount’s summit crater were indeed an unexpected, and exciting, discovery. Hydrothermal vents occur when super-h