How Life Survives Inside Underwater Volcanoes

Researchers point to the Cenomanian-Turonian event that occurred approximately 90 million years ago as evidence that widespread volcanic activity can cause catastrophic marine extinctions.

Microbes living alongside hydrothermal vents form the base of entire food chains in places completely devoid of sunlight, supporting diverse communities including tube worms, giant mussels, crabs, and shrimp.

Scientists exploring volcanic seafloor environments have discovered extraordinarily large organisms thriving in these extreme habitats, including record-breaking specimens that exceed typical size ranges for their species.

The Hunga Tonga volcano in the South Pacific Ocean produced the largest submarine eruption of the past century in January 2022, demonstrating that massive eruptions can have positive effects on ocean productivity.

Scientists in the 1970s discovered hydrothermal vents during deep ocean exploration, encountering massive tube worms as tall as a full-grown human clustered tightly around steaming pillars emerging from the seafloor.

Researchers discovered sharks and fish swimming inside Kavachi, an active submarine volcano, raising questions about how these animals tolerate extreme chemical conditions and eruption risks.

The Lost City hydrothermal field in the Atlantic Ocean represents a unique type of vent system discovered by scientists exploring hydrothermal environments with diverse geological origins.

Vent shrimp have evolved a symbiotic relationship with chemosynthetic bacteria living in their gill chambers, representing a different strategy for exploiting hydrothermal vent chemistry compared to tube worms.

Giant red-tipped tube worms represent one of the most iconic organisms discovered at hydrothermal vents, reaching sizes as tall as a full-grown human.

Marine life faces catastrophic threats when submarine volcanoes erupt, with hundreds of active underwater volcanoes regularly erupting and causing mass mortality events.