Not long ago, oceanographers thought the deepest, darkest part of the ocean was a dead zone where nothing much happened. They were wrong. There are thousands of miles of volcanic cracks around all of the continents. These cracks, called vents, push out molten lava, water, and warm chemicals from the inside of the earth. Tube worms, miniature lobsters, spider crabs, anemones, and mounds of bacteria live off the minerals that come from the vents.
Tall chimneys build up as the blazing hot stuff hits the icy water.
The bacteria from the deep sea could be used to help in medicine and to clean the environment. Rock samples from the ocean floor help scientists understand what happened when a meteor hit the earth millions of years ago and give them new ideas about the Ice Age. They make maps of the ocean floor, study the life and death of coral reefs, and keep track of ocean currents. Oceanographers work at sea, in floating laboratories, on land, and along the coast to collect information about the temperature and chemistry of the water, undersea land formations, and what it all means for weather, wildlife, and the environment. Oceanographers sometimes go underwater.