The
Pit Virtual Site
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Pit Vent is located on the 1998 lava flow in an area of mostly uncollapsed lobate lavas. Nevertheless, there are some small (1-m deep) collapse pits in the area, showing that some lava drain-out occurred here, and that many of the lava lobes are hollow beneath their solid upper crust. In hydrothermally active areas, these hollow cavities act as incubators and provide an ideal habitat for heat-loving microorganisms that live beneath the seafloor. This was dramatically illustrated when ROPOS accidentally broke a hole in the upper crust of a hollow lava lobe, which initiated an outpouring of hydrothermal fluid carrying white microbial floc (the bi-product of a microbial bloom). This "snowstorm" lasted for several hours. |
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