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 Settingsort descending Region Latitude Longitude Maximum or Single Reported Depth Year and How Discovered
EPR, 10 08'N active, inferred mid-ocean ridge N EPR 10.1300 -104.3300 2580 1983 towed camera and temperature measurements (no direct observations/sampling of hydrothermal fluid)
EPR, southern 17 N segment active, inferred mid-ocean ridge N EPR 16.5800 -105.3000 2700 1997 plume only
Split Seamount active, inferred mid-ocean ridge JdF Ridge 47.6400 -128.9667 2350 1990 camera tow (need reference to check if activity confirmed)
Lucky Strike segment, southern end active, inferred mid-ocean ridge N MAR 37.0500 -32.4200 2600 1994 plume only
EPR, 18 10'S active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge S EPR -18.1700 -113.3440 2700 1993 submersible Nautile; 1983 temperature and light attenuation anomalies
EPR, 28.4 S, Segment W4 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge S EPR -28.4170 -112.9640 2350 1998 plume only
Mounds and Microbes active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge N EPR 9.4500 -104.5383 2950 2002 submersible Alvin; 1994 submersible Alvin did not confirm activity
Feather Duster active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge N EPR 10.9267 -103.6767 2520 1984 towed camera and submersible Alvin
Deyin-1 active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge S MAR -15.1666 -13.3558 2850 2012 TV-grab; 2011 deposits only; 2013 plume only
GEISEIR site 32, segment O2 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SEIR -47.1196 96.8947 2600 2009 plume only
EPR, 13 N, Marginal High active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge N EPR 12.7090 -103.9160 2650 1984 submersible Cyana; 1981 towed camera, dredging, and plume did not confirm activity
Chile Rise, Segment N9A active, inferred mid-ocean ridge Chile Rise -39.0500 -91.5833 3450 1998 plume only
Discovery Deep active, inferred mid-ocean ridge Red Sea 21.2830 38.0500 2100 1965 "confirmed" hot brine and cored seafloor, but see Table 1 in Miller et al. (1966) for historical measurements
Rose Garden active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge Galapagos Rift 0.8058 -86.2267 2550 1977 submersible Alvin; 1976 plume and photographs of clam shells did not confirm activity (note: Rose Garden is used here as the name of the vent field, but Rose Garden vent site itself not discovered until 1979)
Precious Stone Mountain active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge Galapagos Rift 1.2200 -101.4900 1700 2009 deep-tow video and TV grab
SWIR, D20 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SWIR -53.0200 22.1880 4170 2000-2001 plume and dredge only
Galapagos Rift, 95 W inactive mid-ocean ridge Galapagos Rift 2.5000 -95.1667 2600 NotProvided
MAR, 12 48'N inactive mid-ocean ridge N MAR 12.8000 -44.7883 2400 NotProvided
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, 5 S active, inferred mid-ocean ridge S EPR -5.0000 -106.4000 2650 1980's camera tows; 1993 and 1998 plume only; 1998 submersible Alvin did not confirm activity
Gakkel Ridge, Site 2 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge Gakkel Ridge 83.8500 -2.0000 3900 2001 plume only
Pobeda-1 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge N MAR 17.1500 -46.4200 3100 2014/2015 video profiling, TVgrab and corer
GEISEIR site 22, segment L3 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SEIR -42.1130 88.0420 2400 1996 plume only; 2009 plume only
CIR, 8-17 S, Segment 4, 11.2 S active, inferred mid-ocean ridge CIR -11.2000 66.5000 3800 2010 plume only
GEISEIR site 9, segment K3 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SEIR -41.9633 82.0600 2700 2010 plume only
Saldanha active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge N MAR 36.5667 -33.4333 2300 1998 submersible Nautile
Central Cleft, off-axis active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge JdF Ridge 44.7583 -130.2750 2200 2000 ROV Tiburon
Tiancheng active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge SWIR -27.9670 63.5500 3600 2014 HOV Jiaolong; 1997 plume only; 2009 DY115-20 Leg 7 plume and deposits;
MAR, 4 48'S active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge S MAR -4.8058 -12.3742 3050 2005 AUV ABE (cruise CD169 ) followed by ROV Quest (cruise M64/1)
Axial Seamount, ASHES active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge JdF Ridge 45.9333 -130.0140 1540 1984 submersible Alvin

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