Inactive sulfide chimneys along the pinnacle of one tall extinct sulfide spire.
Chimneys
Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.5 MB).

Inactive sulfide chimneys along the pinnacle of one tall extinct sulfide spire. It is likely that these once had billows of superheated hydrothermal fluid emanating from them. They form when minerals in the hot fluid precipitate out upon contact with seawater.

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