Vent Fields

Welcome to the InterRidge Global Database of Active Submarine Hydrothermal Vent Fields (the “InterRidge Vents Database”).
To sort the list of Vent Fields, click on a column header.
To view details for a specific Vent Field, click on the Name ID.
To view the subset of Vent Fields that contain a specific category, click on the category (for example, "active, confirmed" in the "Activity" column).

Vent Field Name ID	Activity	Tectonic Setting	Region	Latitude	Longitude	Maximum or Single Reported Depth	Year and How Discovered
Whale Island	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Taupo Volcanic Zone	-37.8600	176.9800	42	1990 or earlier, likely by SCUBA
Snail	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Mariana Trough	12.9533	143.6200	2880	2003 ROV Jason II; 2003 plume only
Mariana Trough, plume 2	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Mariana Trough	12.7610	143.4730	2950	2003 plume only
Hook Ridge	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Bransfield Strait	-62.1940	-57.2745	1080	1997 hot sediment; 1995 plume only; 1999 even hotter sediment
Futagoyama	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Okinawa Trough	24.8674	123.3081	1270	2016 ROV Kaiko dive 717
Calypso Vents	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Taupo Volcanic Zone	-37.6800	177.1170	200	1989 submersible Soucoup
Starfish Seamount, Tinakula	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	New Hebrides back-arc	-12.2028	167.6139	1204	2011 commercial ROV; 1989 plume only; 1989 towed camera survey did not confirm activity; 2002 plume and dredge only
Tarama Knoll	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Okinawa Trough	25.0916	124.5416	1990	2009 ROV HyperDolphin
Franklin Seamount	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Woodlark Basin	-9.9083	151.8300	2366	1990 submersible Mir
Peggy Ridge	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Lau Basin	-16.9233	-176.8250	1900	1975 or earlier rock samples only; inactive in systematic survey on Arculus cruise SS07/2008
Mariana Trough, 15.5 N	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Mariana Trough	15.4080	144.5090	4196	2015 plume only, 2016 ROV did not confirm
SuSu Knolls	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Manus Basin	-3.8000	152.1000	1520	1996 towed camera/video; 1993 plume only
N-ELSC, plume 22	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Lau Basin	-20.4000	-176.1580	2700	2004 plume only
Kulo Lasi	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Lau Basin	-14.9200	-177.2500	1478	2010 submersible Nautile
NWLSC, Southern Caldera	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Lau Basin	-15.9000	-177.4166	2160	2008 plume only
Kueishan Island, offshore	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Okinawa Trough	24.8333	122.0000	1200	2008 or earlier
Sonne 99	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	North Fiji Basin	-16.9500	173.9167	1980	1995 deep tow video and TV-grab
Vai Lili	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Lau Basin	-22.2151	-176.6083	1764	1989 submersible Nautile
White Church	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Lau Basin	-21.9612	-176.5234	1960	1989 submersible Nautile; 2004 plume survey
Three Sisters, Middle Sister	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Bransfield Strait	-62.6420	-58.9833	1040	1995 plume only; 1999 still had no visual confirmation
Mariana Trough, Central Trough	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Mariana Trough	18.0467	144.7533	3676	1987 submersible Alvin
Okinawa Trough, Site ES1	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Okinawa Trough	30.3303	129.0827	521	1992 dredge only
Station 58, N160 Axis	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	North Fiji Basin	-16.3167	173.5500	3900	1985 plume only; 1991 temperature anomalies but submersible Shinkai 6500 did not confirm activity
Lobster	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Lau Basin	-15.3330	-176.2830	1500	2008 plume and dredge only
DESMOS Cauldron	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Manus Basin	-3.6958	151.8717	2000	1990 deep-sea monitoring system (DESMOS) video and still cameras
FRSC, Central	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Lau Basin	-16.4917	-174.5417	2419	2004 plume only
Pere Lachaise	inactive	back-arc spreading center	North Fiji Basin	-16.9667	173.9333	2000	1989 submersible Nautile did not find activity; 1991 submersible Shinkai 6500 did not find activity
Mariana Trough, 16.5 N	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Mariana Trough	16.4010	144.8700	3829	2015 plume only
Vailulu'u Seamount	active, confirmed	intra-plate volcano	Central Pacific	-14.2167	-169.0667	1000	2005 submersible Pisces V; 2000 plume only
Hawaiian Ridge	inactive	intra-plate volcano	Central Pacific	15.0000	-157.5000	5000	1987 or earlier

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