Abstract
Active hydrothermal vents have been discovered on the East Pacific Rise at 21°N [1]. The most spectacular of the vents jet out 350°C water at flow rates of several meters per second. The heat loss associated with a single vent of this type is three to six times the total theoretical heat loss for a 1-km segment of ridge out to 1 m.y. age. This underscores the importance of hydrothermal circulation in the heat budget of mid-ocean ridges. It also requires that vent activity of this type be highly episodic rather than steady state.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-7 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Earth and Planetary Science Letters |
Volume | 48 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1980 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geophysics
- Geochemistry and Petrology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Space and Planetary Science