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Snowblowers
are a distinctive form of low-temperature hydrothermal vent. These features
are characterized by copious outpourings of white flocculent material
from vents, often in recently erupted lavas. The cloud of rising fluid
carrying white fluffy particles is reminiscent of snow. Unlike high-temperature
black smokers, where the suspended material in the "smoke" is
are tiny mineral particles, the "snow" is actually biological
in origin. It is a byproduct of a microbial bloom in the sub-surface hydrothermal
system. Volcanic eruptions invigorate the subseafloor biosphere and create
these blooms.
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