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Champagne Vent
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Champagne Vent is a remarkable hydrothermal site discovered by scientists in 2004 near the proposed Mariana Trench Marine National Monument. Underwater chimneys vent cloudy white fluid measured at 217°F and supercharged with dissolved gases into the surrounding seawater of 36°F. More than a mile below sea level at the summit of NW Eifuku volcano, this vent has the highest carbon dioxide concentration recorded for oceanic hydrothermal fluids. Scientists named this vent "Champagne" for the bubbles of liquid carbon dioxide exiting the sea floor around the chimneys in never-seen-before abundance. It is one of the few places in the world where this phenomenon occurs.
Photo : NOAA Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 Exploration and the NOAA Vents Program
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