Hydrothermal vents: A link to life on deep ocean seafloor

Abstract

Hidrotermalni otvori karakteriziraju dno oceana od njegovog nastanka, a danas su to mjesta bujnih životinjskih zajednica koje su se razvile uz izvor kemijske energije, bez prisutnosti svijetla. Istraživanja hidrotermalnih otvora, fosilnih i današnjih, i pripadajućih ekosustava, omogućilo je znanstvenicima novi pogled na život i samu Zemlju i pokrenulo spekulacije o postanku života na Zemlji i mogućnosti života na drugim planetima.Hydrothermal vents have characterised parts of the seafloor since oceans first formed, and modern vents are sites of thriving faunal communities developed around chemical energy sources in the total absence of light. Research of vents sites and their associated animal life, both in present and through geological time, have enabled scientists to better understand life on Earth and Earth itself and speculate about the contribution of vents to the very origins of life, both on Earth and possibly on other planets