Image courtesy Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Vrijenhoek will conduct DNA analysis on the samples gathered by the expedition. The discovery of hydrothermal vent ecosystems expanded that range. When cold ocean water seeps through cracks in the sea floor to hot spots below, hydrothermal vents belch a mineral-rich broth of scalding water. Just like plants, the bacteria use their energy to build sugars out of carbon dioxide and water.
Sugars then provide fuel and raw material for the rest of the microbe's activities.
A variety of animals live near these hydrothermal vents, including the shrimps, crab, and anenome in this picture taken at the Indian Ocean vent. So far, the hallmark red and white tubeworms have not been spotted at this vent. Image courtesy Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Deep-sea bacteria form the base of a varied food chain that includes shrimp, tubeworms, clams, fish, crabs, and octopi. The ability of life to tap such geothermal energy raises interesting possibilities for other worlds like Jupiter's moon Europa, which probably harbors liquid water beneath its icy surface.