(Image: J. R. Delaney, D. S. Kelley and M. Elend, University of Washington/WHOI-ROV Jason/American Museum of Natural History, New York)
At Faulty Towers, you’re sure of a warm reception. No, not the “He’s from Barcelona“, “Don’t mention the war” Fawlty Towers hotel managed by John Cleese. This is the Faulty Towers complex, more than 2 kilometres underwater on the Juan de Fuca ridge off the coast of Washington state. It is an array of natural chimneys, better known as black smokers, that spew out superheated mineral-rich water. Their hot contents come from the geothermally active faults below.
This is a mosaic of 144 images taken with a remotely operated underwater vehicle named Jason, operated by the University of Washington, Seattle. It’s one of some 500 images in Discovering the Deep, a new book documenting unfamiliar deep-ocean environments.
The Faulty Towers complex is the largest array of chimneys in the Mothra hydrothermal vent field. The complex is made of 14 chimneys up to 22 metres high. The “log” in the bottom left of the image is a collapsed chimney.
Deep sea vents have become attractive sites for mining, because they often contain high-grade metal ores. But they are also home to some of the most extraordinary life forms on the planet, capable of thriving at temperatures of 100 °C. Black smokers produce the hottest water ever discovered on Earth, more than 400 °C, and have even been suggested as a possible site for the first evolution of life.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Smoke in the water”
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