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
NESCA	active, confirmed	mid-ocean ridge	Gorda Ridge	41.0000	-127.4917	3300	1988 submersible Alvin; 1986 dredge and photographs did not confirm activity
EPR, 11 07'N	active, inferred	mid-ocean ridge	N EPR	11.1330	-103.7800	2580	1988 submersible Alvin dive #1989 (need reference to confirm activity); 1991 plume only
High-Rise Field	active, confirmed	mid-ocean ridge	JdF Ridge	47.9666	-129.0894	2200	1988 submersible Alvin
CIR, 19 29'S	active, inferred	mid-ocean ridge	CIR	-19.4830	65.7330	2700	1988 plume only; 2000 submersible Nautile did not confirm activity
MAR, south of 15 20'N fracture zone	active, inferred	mid-ocean ridge	N MAR	15.0833	-45.0000	3000	1988 plume only; 1992 submersible Nautile did not observe active vents
Galapagos Rift, 85 50'W	inactive	mid-ocean ridge	Galapagos Rift	0.7500	-85.8333	2600	1988 or earlier submersible observations
MAR, 14 54'N	active, inferred	mid-ocean ridge	N MAR	14.9200	-44.9000	3500	1988 or earlier seafloor photographs did not confirm hydrothermal activity
EPR, Seamount 5	active, inferred	mid-ocean ridge	N EPR	13.0000	-103.5000	1100	1988 or earlier camera and/or submersible (need to check reference)
Myojinsho Caldera	active, inferred	arc volcano	Izu-Bonin Arc	31.8833	139.9500	1110	1988 deposits only; 2005 plume only
Minami-Ensei Knoll	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Okinawa Trough	28.3917	127.6417	740	1988 deep tow TV surveys followed by submersible Shinkai 2000; 1986 dredged Calyptogena shells
North Cleft, low temperature	active, confirmed	mid-ocean ridge	JdF Ridge	44.8833	-130.2667	2250	1987-1989 camera/CTD tows
EPR, 21 54'S	active, inferred	mid-ocean ridge	S EPR	-21.9000	-114.5000	2800	1987-1988 deposits only [need to check Fouquet et al. (1993) for confirmation]
EPR, 21 40'S	active, inferred	mid-ocean ridge	S EPR	-21.6340	-114.3010	2730	1987-1988 deposits only
Alice Springs Field	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Mariana Trough	18.2103	144.7073	3640	1987 submersible Alvin; 1982 plume only
Sumisu Rift	active, inferred	back-arc spreading center	Izu-Bonin back-arc	31.1000	139.8917	1600	1987 submersible Alvin inactive chimneys only
Kasuga 2 Seamount	active, confirmed	arc volcano	Mariana Arc	21.6000	143.6167	500	1987 submersible Alvin
Kasuga 3 Seamount	active, confirmed	arc volcano	Mariana Arc	21.3833	143.6000	1140	1987 submersible Alvin
Mariana Mounds	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Mariana Trough	18.0333	144.2833	3600	1987 submersible Alvin
Mariana Trough, Central Trough	active, confirmed	back-arc spreading center	Mariana Trough	18.0467	144.7533	3676	1987 submersible Alvin
Mohns Ridge, 72 N	active, inferred	mid-ocean ridge	Mohns Ridge	72.0390	-0.2520	2500	1987 plume only; 2013 plume only
CIR, Segment 3, Hydrothermal Plume Site	active, inferred	mid-ocean ridge	CIR	-24.0000	69.6667	2840	1987 plume only; 2005/2006 plume only
Montserrat-Marie Galante fault	active, inferred	arc volcano	Lesser Antilles Arc	16.4600	-61.9820	1000	1987 plume and deposits
Milos	active, confirmed	arc volcano	Hellenic Arc, Aegean Sea	36.6667	24.5167	200	1987 or earlier, likely by SCUBA; 1992 Minirover ROV deeper sites
Taketomi Thermal Area	active, confirmed	arc volcano	Ryukyu Arc	24.3483	124.1017	23	1987 or earlier, likely by SCUBA
EPR, 26 10'S	active, confirmed	mid-ocean ridge	S EPR	-26.2050	-112.6133	2600	1987 or earlier [need to check Marchig & Gundlach (1987)]; 2005 submersible Alvin did not observe active vents
EPR, 23 30'S	active, confirmed	mid-ocean ridge	S EPR	-23.5333	-115.5667	2600	1987 or earlier [need to check Marchig & Gundlach (1987)]; 2005 submersible Alvin
Hawaiian Ridge	inactive	intra-plate volcano	Central Pacific	15.0000	-157.5000	5000	1987 or earlier
Fukujin volcano	active, inferred	arc volcano	Mariana Arc	21.9300	143.4700	1100	1987 deposits only
MAR, 24 30'N	inactive	mid-ocean ridge	N MAR	24.5000	-46.1533	3900	1987 deposits only
North Cleft, high temperature	active, confirmed	mid-ocean ridge	JdF Ridge	44.9800	-130.2000	2300	1987 camera/CTD tows discovered low-temperature vents; 1988 submersible Alvin sampled low-temperature vents; 1990 submersible Alvin discovered black smoker

Search form

Pages