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 ascending Region Latitude Longitude Maximum or Single Reported Depth Year and How Discovered
EPR, 17 42'S active, inferred mid-ocean ridge S EPR -17.7000 -113.2500 2600 1993 plume only
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
AHA Field active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge N EPR 1.7333 -102.2830 2850 2000 towed imaging ARGO-II
Galapagos Rift, 85 50'W inactive mid-ocean ridge Galapagos Rift 0.7500 -85.8333 2600 1988 or earlier submersible observations
GEISEIR site 26, segment M4 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SEIR -43.6901 92.8451 2500 2009 plume only
S AMAR 1 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge N MAR 36.0830 -34.0830 2630 1992 plume only; 1994 plume only
MAR, 23 35'N inactive mid-ocean ridge N MAR 23.5833 -45.0000 3500 1980 submersible Alvin did not observe hydrothermal activity
Nereus Deep active, inferred mid-ocean ridge Red Sea 23.1670 37.2830 2400 1972 deposits only
SWIR, Plume 2, Segment 16 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SWIR -31.0670 58.9670 4200 1997 plume only
Magic Mountain, 3-km south active, inferred mid-ocean ridge Explorer Ridge 49.7250 -130.2667 1850 2002 AUV ABE plume only
EPR, 2 S, off-axis active, inferred mid-ocean ridge S EPR -2.0840 -102.8270 3000 2008 plume only
EPR, 30.1 S, Segment E1 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge S EPR -30.1330 -111.7640 2480 1998 plume only
CIR, 8-17 S, Segment 7 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge CIR -17.0000 66.8000 3100 2010 plume only
Gorda Ridge, EP96B active, inferred mid-ocean ridge Gorda Ridge 42.5500 -126.8333 3400 1984 deposits only; 1996 plume only
GEISEIR site 37, segment O4 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SEIR -47.7483 98.1756 2800 2009 plume only
EPR, 14 S active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge S EPR -13.9667 -112.4667 2635 1985/86 or 1989 TV grab (need to check references to confirm activity); 1993 plume only; 1994 submersible Shinkai 6500
Alarcon Rise, Tzab-ek active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge Gulf of California 23.3526 -108.5597 2249 2015 ROV Doc Ricketts
DSDP Hole 504B inactive mid-ocean ridge Galapagos Rift 1.2267 -83.7300 3500 NotProvided
Owen transform fault inactive mid-ocean ridge Carlsberg Ridge 9.8333 57.9500 4500 NotProvided
Von Damm active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge Mid-Cayman Rise 18.3777 -81.7972 2372 2010 AUV Autosub6000 and HyBIS TVG; 2009 plume only
Gakkel Ridge, Site 6 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge Gakkel Ridge 86.5333 43.0000 3000 2001 plume 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
SWIR, unnamed, Segment 26 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SWIR -37.6080 50.8527 2800 2008 dredge only DY115-20 Leg 6
EPR, northern 17 N segment active, inferred mid-ocean ridge N EPR 17.6700 -105.0050 2800 1997 plume only
Luso active, confirmed mid-ocean ridge N MAR 38.9833 -29.8833 570 2018 ROV Luso
Hess Deep inactive mid-ocean ridge Galapagos Rift 2.2500 -101.5000 5100 NotProvided
SEIR-WXC27 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SEIR -50.4000 134.3000 2760 2015 plume only
GEISEIR site 2, segment J4 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SEIR -41.2520 79.1030 2800 1996 plume and dredge only
GEISEIR site 15, segment L1 active, inferred mid-ocean ridge SEIR -41.2230 86.3892 2500 2010 plume only
South Kurchatov active, inferred mid-ocean ridge N MAR 40.4670 -29.5500 2900 1992 plume only; 1995 plume only

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