Host Rock:
E-MORB, evaporites, sediments
Notes on Vent Field Description:
intracontinental rift; although assumed active, listed as unconfirmed because not observed visually; Ishibashi and Urabe (1995): "Prior to 1970, the number of known seafloor hydrothermal mineral deposits was only one" [the Atlantis II Deep site described by Miller et al. (1966)]; largest known seafloor massive sulfide deposit; brine pool; Note: Koslow (2007) textbook says that the first evidence for seafloor hydrothermal activity was discovered at 2000-m depth in the Red Sea in the 1880's by the Russian R/V Vityaz
Notes Relevant to Biology:
Year and How Discovered (if active, visual confirmation is listed first):
1965 "confirmed" hot brine and cored seafloor, but see Table 1 in Miller et al. (1966) for historical measurements
Discovery References (text):
Miller et al. (1966) Hot brines and recent iron deposits in deeps of the Red Sea. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 30: 341-350
[Degans and Ross (eds.), 1969, Hot Brines and Recent Heavy Metal Deposits in the Red Sea. A Geochemical and Geophysical Account. Springer-Verlag, New York, xii + 600 pp.]
Other References (text):
[Hendricks et al. (1969), Bäcker & Richter (1973), Schoell & Hartmann (1973), Mustafa et al. (1984), Oudin (1987)]