An Extra Large Vent Chimney

We had some technical difficulties last night on the Atlantis - the power went out briefly and created a whole host of problems. The computer system that controls the A-Frame that lowers the ALVIN into the water needed to be rebooted, so we didn't get going until almost noon. As you know from before, we normally begin the dive at 8:00 AM sharp.

The ALVIN crew did their best and we were fortunate to salvage at least 5 hours of dive time. During that period, a very large vent chimney was recovered.

You can see how large it is - it nearly is the length of the ALVIN basket - over 4 feet! Conservatively, I would say that it weighs over 200 lbs wet. We had to take it off and place on one of those rolling carts that mechanics use to get under cars to transport it.

Once we brought it into the lab, we carefully collected all of the living microbial mat and worm samples that were living on the vent. Remember, these animals and microbes need the metal ions like iron and manganese along with sulfur to make food.

After about 4 hours of intense cleaning work, the chimney is beginning to look more rock-like and less animal-like. We have it drying in our lab. Once it dries, we will re-soak it in fresh water to get out all of the salt. As it dries, you can see the iron pyrite crystals in the vent tubes as iron (II) reacts with sulfides to form it almost immediately.

This piece will be donated either to the Smithsonian Museum or to one similar. I thought maybe this would look good in our library at Cape Henlopen High School? Don't worry, I have a much smaller one to bring home that will go with the one I brought back from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in 2012.