cold seep

(noun)

A cold seep (sometimes called a cold vent) is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane, and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, often in the form of a brine pool. "Cold" does not mean temperature of seepage is lower than surrounding sea water. Actually, its temperature is often slightly higher.

Related Terms

  • extremophiles
  • topography

Examples of cold seep in the following topics:

  • Cold-Seep Ecosystems

    • Cold seeps constitute a biome supporting several endemic species.
    • Types of cold seeps can be distinguished according to the depth, as shallow cold seeps and deep cold seeps.
    • Cold seeps can also be distinguished in detail, as follows: oil/gas seeps, gas seeps, methane seeps, gas hydrate seeps, brine seeps, are forming brine pools, pockmarks and mud volcanos.
    • Organisms living in cold seeps are known as extremophiles.
    • Cold seeps do not last indefinitely.
  • Ocean Floor

    • Brine pools are another seabed feature, usually connected to cold seeps.
    • Hydrothermal vents along the mid-ocean ridge spreading centers act as oases, as do their opposites, cold seeps.
  • Epsilonproteobacteria

    • There have also been numerous environmental sequences of Epsilonproteobacteria recovered from hydrothermal vents and cold seep habitats.
  • The Deep Sea and Barophilism

    • The three main sources of energy and nutrients for deep sea communities are marine snow, whale falls, and chemosynthesis at hydrothermal vents and cold seeps.
  • Hyperthermophiles from Submarine Volcanic Habitats

    • Large populations of animals can be supported by chemosynthetic secondary production at hydrothermal vents, methane clathrates, cold seeps, whale falls, and isolated cave water.
  • Oxidation of Reduced Sulfur Compounds

    • These environments include cold seeps, sulfur springs, sewage contaminated water, mud layers of lakes, and near deep hydrothermal vents.
    • Beggiatoa spp. bacterial mat at a seep on Blake Ridge, off the coast of South Carolina.
  • Protection

    • Otherwise, these dangerous chemicals would seep into our sensitive internal environment. 
  • Cold War Politics in Zaire

  • Sadat and Cold War Influences

  • Afghanistan and the Cold War

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