Hydrothermal vents were first discovered in 1977 in the Galapagos Rift. Whole new ecosystems with unexpected and exotic forms of life were found in the deep oceans of our Planet 8 after astronauts Armstrong and Buzz landed on the moon!
Since then, the study of these deep underwater volcanoes and their strange animals has change the way we understand life on Earth. Hydrothermal vents are now known form all oceans, but no vents have been studied in detail in the ice-covered Arctic Ocean.
Follow us in the HACON project as we set to explore the ecosystem on the Aurora vent field, at 4000 m depth on the Gakkel Ridge, under the Arctic ice.
In this pages, you can find general information about hydrothermal vents, what animals and microorganims thrive there, how they live and what role they play in the general functioning of our planet. You will also find a link to the cruise blog (Sept-Oct 2019) and links to the HACON educational projects, as we develop them.
HACON 