This article discusses how hydrothermal vents are formed and why scientists monitor minute temperature changes around them. It details the writer's personal account of preparing temperature probes to be deployed for a year-long study, an explanation of deep sea vents and their hydrothermal nature, and why they seem to spew black smoke. The thermometers prepared by the writer help monitor the currents ... Full description.

This page offers a list of links to eight websites that relate to deep sea vents. A short description follows each link, listing the reference materials, interactive tools, videos, sound recordings, photo archives, or other resources that can be found there. The sites cover the topics of underwater acoustics, sea surface temperatures, global ocean circulation, volcanoes and pillow lava, and the geology ... Full description.

This classroom activity gives students a close-up look at a deep sea vent community. Working in small groups, students can complete this Web investigation in a single class period. The printable six-page handout includes a series of inquiry-based questions that prompt students to remember what they already know about deep sea vents and how they can tell if something is living. It has detailed directions ... Full description.

This site presents an account of a research cruise to investigate how the food webs in different oceanic habitats vary. The scientists wanted to see ocean life in its natural environment and conduct experiments that would not be possible in the laboratory. They looked specifically at three types of ocean habitat: the open ocean, the continental shelf, and an upwelling area. The researchers were hoping ... Full description.

This two-minute sound segment discusses the nutrients produced by phytoplankton, one-celled plants which live on the surface of the ocean and which form the basis of what scientists call biological productivity. A professor explains that the organic matter that comes sinking out of the surface actually sinks very far down into the water column before bacteria are actually able to break it back down ... Full description.

This activity will help students to understand that ocean water is sampled for chemicals and organisms. The sampling device must gather enough water for conducting all the tests, the depth at which the sample was gathered must be accurately known, the temperature at time of collection must be known, and it must not allow contaminants to enter as it is being brought up on deck. Students will design ... Full description.

In this lesson, students will discover the basics of the methane-based chemosynthetic processes and learn how organisms in cold seep communities obtain energy from methane. As they proceed, they should be able to define the process of chemosynthesis, and contrast this process with photosynthesis. Students will also explain the process of methane-based chemosynthesis and explain the relevance of chemosynthesis ... Full description.

In this lesson students discover what factors are indicative of chemotrophic nutritional strategies. Students will be able to describe at least three chemotrophic symbioses known from deep-sea habitats. They will identify and explain three indicators of chemotropic nutrition. This hands-on activity uses online data resources and includes: focus questions, background information, evaluations and extensions, ... Full description.

In this lesson, students will investigate hydrothermal vents to see how the chemistry of the water they emit provides clues to the location of the vents. They should be able to describe hydrothermal vents and characterize vent plumes in terms of physical and chemical properties; describe data gathering operations in which a towed instrument package ("tow-yo") measures conductivity, temperature, and ... Full description.

This lesson on the cause of currents and water circulation in the Arctic Ocean will require students to investigate the influence of salinity and temperature on the density of seawater to determine what factors drive water circulation in the Arctic Ocean. Students identify the primary driving forces for ocean currents and infer the type of water circulation to be expected in the Arctic Ocean, given ... Full description.