DEEP SECRETS
You find yourself in a strange place underwater.Suddenly,the ground splits apart and oozes lava,heating up the water to a cozy 572 degree F(300 c),about as hot as a blow torch.The lava hardens into fluffy-looking pads.
Chimneys 35 feet (11 m) tall sprout up and boiling hot chemicals.Clouds of sulfur-eating bacteria swarm and feast on the minerals.Giant tubeworms stretch twice the length of a basketball player and sway in the heat,combing the murky water for food.clams the size of a small car camp nearby waiting for a meal.
This place really exists,but it is so far under the surface of the water that no human being can go there without very special protection.The pressure of the water thousands of feet below the surface would crush a driver,even if the water were cooler.These deepest sea enivonment,know as hydrothermal vents,were discovered only in 1977.First we had to invent special machines called submersibles.They can take the hazardous temperature,the crushing pressure,the complete darkness,and the corrosive chemicals in the water.They can sent back pictures so scientists can learn about this wild and bizarre place.
We know from the pictures that the ocean floor is always changing,and volcanic activity is the reason.When tectonic plates pull apart under the sea,cracks form.Hot magma flows up and fills in the crancks.The crancks form more easily in the ocean than on land,because Earth,s crust under the ocean is only 3-5 miles (5-8 km) thickl,as compared to 20-25 miles (32-40 km) thick under land.New magma means hot water,new rocks in new strips of ocean floor,new chemicals in the water.All this newness is a perfect breeding ground for mysterious life forms.Many volcanoes that started underwater are now full-fledged island like Hawaii or the nation of ieland.New islands are forming all the time as volcanoes erput.
You find yourself in a strange place underwater.Suddenly,the ground splits apart and oozes lava,heating up the water to a cozy 572 degree F(300 c),about as hot as a blow torch.The lava hardens into fluffy-looking pads.
Chimneys 35 feet (11 m) tall sprout up and boiling hot chemicals.Clouds of sulfur-eating bacteria swarm and feast on the minerals.Giant tubeworms stretch twice the length of a basketball player and sway in the heat,combing the murky water for food.clams the size of a small car camp nearby waiting for a meal.
This place really exists,but it is so far under the surface of the water that no human being can go there without very special protection.The pressure of the water thousands of feet below the surface would crush a driver,even if the water were cooler.These deepest sea enivonment,know as hydrothermal vents,were discovered only in 1977.First we had to invent special machines called submersibles.They can take the hazardous temperature,the crushing pressure,the complete darkness,and the corrosive chemicals in the water.They can sent back pictures so scientists can learn about this wild and bizarre place.
We know from the pictures that the ocean floor is always changing,and volcanic activity is the reason.When tectonic plates pull apart under the sea,cracks form.Hot magma flows up and fills in the crancks.The crancks form more easily in the ocean than on land,because Earth,s crust under the ocean is only 3-5 miles (5-8 km) thickl,as compared to 20-25 miles (32-40 km) thick under land.New magma means hot water,new rocks in new strips of ocean floor,new chemicals in the water.All this newness is a perfect breeding ground for mysterious life forms.Many volcanoes that started underwater are now full-fledged island like Hawaii or the nation of ieland.New islands are forming all the time as volcanoes erput.
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