D'Arcy R. Meyer-Dombard

A natural laboratory to study arsenic geobiocomplexity

Research on seafloor hydrothermal activity has focused primarily on deep-sea black smoker-type locations, which are found along volcanically active portions of the mid-ocean ridges and in deep back-arc basins. Submarine hydrothermal activity, however, is not confined to deepwater environments. Hydrothermal vents have been documented on the tops of seamounts, on the flanks of volcanic islands, and in other near-shore environments characterized by high heat flow. Their easy accessibility, relative to deep-sea hydrothermal systems, makes them excellent natural laboratories to study a wide range of chemical, physical, and biological processes.