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The Pros And Cons Of Black Smokers

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In the deep sea resides black smokers, which are hydrothermal vents. Black smokers form from tectonic plates meeting and this creates a mineral laden fluid, iron sulfide, hence the “black smoke”. This water permeates through the earth’s crust, boils, and dissolves rock, reacting and creating bubbling, nutritious water. Only few organisms can live in the cold, deep, and empty environment where these Black smokers exists. These microbes are called extremophiles and rely on chemosynthesis, a process where an organism absorbs chemical energy from mineral-rich processes. These extremophiles, also known as archaebacteria, are an important food source for certain sea life like the yeti crab and sometimes have a symbiotic relationship with larger organisms. Discovering more of these microbes could further society as we could find more on other planets and their resistance to extreme environments can be studied by bioengineers. These hydrovents are also more concentrated than mines above the sea, which could potentially provide a cause for underwater sea mining. Such reserves are not only looked upon as a new mining source, but also a renewable mining source since these chimneys are capable of regenerating over time. Taking advantage of hydrovents would expand the mining industry and provide more jobs for society, reducing poverty while increasing …show more content…

In order to collect samples, our two concepts could have two separate internal storage areas for bacteria samples and seabed samples. To collect samples, the concepts would need to open up its internal storage and collect samples by either letting water flow or scraping the floor. Once the samples are in the internal storage professionals would await on the surface for samples to come back up. These professionals would send the rover or drone up and down constantly for multiple samples a day in different areas of the

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