Wildlife
Hydrothermal vents - black smokers, white smokers and warm water vents - are areas on the sea floor where water heated by volcanic activity under the seabed gushes out. Unusually, the animal communities down here don't use the sun to get their energy. Instead, chemicals in the hot waters form the basis of the food chain. Hydrothermal vent communities do, however, still rely on oxygen produced by photosynthesis in the sunlit zones.
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Black smokers
Volcanoes in the deep Pacific support creatures that don't need the sun.
Volcanoes in the deep Pacific support creatures that don't need the sun.
Deep surprises
The planet's extremes confound the nature of life on earth.
Pompeii worms have been found to thrive at temperatures of up to 80°C around hydrothermal vents, making them the most heat-tolerant complex animal known to science after the tardigrades (or water bears), which are able to survive temperatures over 150°C. In this sequence, a specialised deep sea submersible allowed the audience a privileged view of the inaccessible deep ocean. Stunning images from this relatively unexplored world told the story of the scientific findings made in recent years that have changed the fundamental rules about the nature of life on Earth. (Courtesy of WHOI.)
Dragon vent lobsters
Unique communities of bacteria grazers live on isolated deep water vents.
These first ever HD pictures from 3km below the surface of the ocean were accomplished through a unique collaboration between Japanese broadcasters NHK and marine research institute, JAMSTEC. One of several trips using deep sea ROVs was to the Dragon Vent where the crew agreed that the population of crustaceans resembled bristling Samurai warriors.
Useful behaviours for this habitat
Ecozones where this habitat is found
Other Marine habitats
Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.
This is Planet Earth
Narrated by Sir David Attenborough Planet Earth was the ground-breaking series that explored the wild and beautiful parts of our planet like never before.
Nature's record breakers
Animal kingdom record breakers - how fast can a cheetah run, how heavy is an elephant and what's bigger than a dinosaur? Watch amazing video clips from the BBC archive and uncover the fascinating facts about our smallest primate, the longest stick insect and the most venomous snake.
Giant tube worm
Pompeii worm