Chemoautotrophy at Deep-Sea Vents: Past, Present, and Future

Photo of a diffuse-flow vent site on the east Pacific rise called Crab Spa. it shows the submersible Alvin's manipulator arm holding a sensor developed by Nadine Le Bris that measures temperature, ph, and sulfide in situ. This site is being used by the authors and colleagues as a model system to gain insights into chemosynthetic processes at deep-sea vents.