black smoker
Definition of black smoker
| a vent at the bottom of the ocean, usually at a mid-ocean ridge, through which large quantities of water carrying minerals flow, producing a jet of fluid with the appearance of black smoke. The ocean water in crevices below the vent is heated to temperatures near 400° C, and dissolves quantities of metal salts, such as of copper, zinc, gold, and manganese. When the saturated mineral solutions exit the vent, cooling by contact with the ocean causes the metals to precipitate, mainly as sulfide or sulfate salts. Unusual forms of life such as tube worms have been found to live in the areas near black smokers. Additional information is available from The Natural History Museum of London and The American Museum of Natural History Expeditions. |
See also: Smoker
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Black moss
Black oak
Black ocher
black out
Black oxide of manganese
Black perch
Black pigment
Black plate
Black pudding
Black quarter
Black rat
Black rent
Black Rod
Black rot
black rudder fish
Black rust
Black salts
Black saltwort
Black sheep
Black silver
-black smoker-
Black snake
Black Spanish
Black squall
Black tea
black tellurium
Black tin
Black turnstone
Black vomit
Black walnut
Black warrior
Black wash
black water shrew
black weevil
Black widgeon
Black wolf
Black-a-vised
black-and-white
Black-browed
Black-eyed
Black-eyed pea
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