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Video - Lost City Hydrothermal Vents, Possible Incubator of Early Life
Video Credit: National Science Foundation & University of Washington Discovered just two years ago, Lost City has the tallest vents ever seen -- the 18-story vents at that site dwarf most vents elsewhere by at least 100 feet. Water is circulated through the vent field by heat from serpentinization, a chemical reaction between seawater and the mantle rocks on which Lost City sits, rather than by heat from volcanic activity or magma, responsible for driving hydrothermal venting at sites scientists have been studying since the early 1970s. NSF funded the expedition to the mid-Atlantic. If hydrothermal venting can occur without volcanism, it greatly increases the number of locations on the seafloor of early Earth where microbial life could have started. It also means that explorers may have more places than previously thought to look for microbial life in the universe, as reported in a paper published in the July 25th issue of Science. For more information contact: NSF is an independent federal agency which supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of about $4.5 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states, through grants to about 1,600 universities and institutions nationwide. Each year, NSF receives about 30,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 10,000 new funding awards. For instant information about NSF, sign up for the Custom News Service. From the toolbar on NSF's home page, (http://www.nsf.gov/start.htm), sign up to receive electronic versions of NSF news, studies, publications and reports. Follow the simple sign-on procedures that guide you to your choices. Also see NSF news products at:http://www.eurekalert.org/ and http://www.newswise.com/. Useful Websites:
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