Springs of superheated volcanic water have been discovered on the North Atlantic Ridge between Norway and Greenland at a depth of 2,400 metres, SikuNews reports.
The jets are called black smokers because of the amount of black smoke they produce. The new black smokers are the furthest north of any yet found.
Black smokers were first discovered in 1977 off the Galapagos Islands and are home to the only ecosystems yet discovered with absolutely no reliance on sunlight.
It is now believed that life on earth could even have originated in these unique deepwater habitats, far away from the toxic air and dangerous radiation of the planet’s early existence.
The life forms on many smokers include bacteria and a unique species of mussel – all of which live life on a knife edge, sandwiched between icy cold water and the vinegar-like water issuing forth at some 400 degrees Celsius.
