International Team To Honor 30th Anniversary Of Deep-sea Vent Discovery In GalA??’A‚A?pagos

An international team of scientists will mark the 30th anniversary of the landmark discovery of the first volcanic hot vent at a special meeting and public event in the GalA??’A‚A?pagos Islands, located just south of the discovery site, on June 27-29. Attendees will include many of the original explorers who first discovered these bubbling hot areas surrounded by bizarre animals thriving in total darkness-without energy from the sun-at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in 1977. "The discovery of hydrothermal vents-ecosystems driven by chemical energy from the seafloor rather than energy from the sun-led to a fundamental change in our understanding of life on Earth," said Paul Tyler, co-chair of ChEss, the group holding the meeting. ChEss is one of the 14 field programs of the Census of Marine Life, a global collaboration to document the ocean's life by 2010...