View of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Control Room during the discovery of the new vent field. Science Team Lead Tim Shank points toward a tiny juvenile tubeworm on the monitor.

View of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Control Room during the discovery of the new vent field. Science Team Lead Tim Shank points toward a tiny juvenile tubeworm on the monitor. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Galápagos Rift Expedition 2011. Download larger version (jpg, 798 KB).

New Vent Field
July 22, 2011

On Friday July 22, the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer discovered a new hydrothermal vent field along the Galápagos Rift. Preliminary estimates suggest it may be one of the largest known vent fields on the eastern portion of the Galápagos Rift.