Black smoker hydrothermal vents emitting high-chlorinity fluids were photographed at the "RM29" site at 18°10’S. This image was taken in November 1994 from the Japanese submersible Shinkai 6500. The axial crest of Segment J of the Southern East Pacific Rise consists of an asymmetrical shallow graben varying from 250 to 600 m wide with walls about 20 m high.

Image courtesy of NOAA Vents Program, 1994 (www.pmel.noaa.gov/vents/chemistry/images/).

This image is made available as a Public Domain Work, but proper attribution is appreciated.

Galleries: Geothermal Features | Submarine Volcanoes

Keywords: submarine volcano | vent | hydrothermal | black smoker | mineral deposit | geothermal

Southern EPR at 18.2°S (Segment J)