Chemiosynthesis In The Ocean Floor

A hydrothermal vent is like a geyser on the ocean s floor.

Chemiosynthesis in the ocean floor.

Hydrothermal vents are like geysers or hot springs on the ocean floor. However at hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean a unique ecosystem has evolved in the absence of sunlight and its source of energy is completely different. An entire ecosystem living without light or oxygen chemosynthesis flourishes beneath the ocean floor. Communities of creatures have adapted to survive in these inhospitable conditions and continue to thrive through the process of chemosynthesis.

Continental shelf 300 feet continental slope 300 10 000 feet abyssal plain 10 000 feet abyssal hill 3 000 feet up from the abyssal plain seamount 6 000 feet. Chemosynthesis occurs around the hydrothermal vents at deep levels of the ocean. During chemosynthesis bacteria living on the sea floor or within animals use energy stored in the chemical bonds of hydrogen sulfide and methane to make glucose from water and carbon dioxide dissolved in sea water. Far below the ocean floor scientists have discovered a microbial community away from undersea vents beyond the reach of the sun beneath the seafloor there is an ecosystem of microbes living in.

While most life on this planet requires sunlight to live there is an. The following features are shown at example depths to scale though each feature has a considerable range at which it may occur. Chemosynthesis occurs around hydrothermal vents and methane seeps in the deep sea where sunlight is absent. Photosynthesis gives off oxygen gas as a byproduct while chemosynthesis.

Chemosynthesis is the process by which certain microbes create energy by mediating chemical reactions. 6co 2 6h 2 o 3 h 2 s c 6 h 12 o 6 3h 2 so 4 instead of photosynthesis vent ecosystems derive their energy from chemicals in a process called chemosynthesis both methods involve an energy source 1 carbon dioxide 2 and water to produce sugars 3. Scientists later realized that bacteria were converting the toxic vent minerals into usable forms of energy through a process called chemosynthesis providing food for other vent organisms.