Camille Moore
Von Damn Vent Field
In 2010, a group of hydrothermal vents made from talc was discovered, and it was named the Von Damn Vent Field. The vents are easy to spot beneath the surface because they rise about 75m above the ocean floor, and they consist of sulfite compounds.
They lie in the portions of the mid-ocean ridge system of the Caribbean sea that has mostly gone unexplored. The combination of the talc mounds and hydrothermal vents creates a condition that allows diverse species of creatures to thrive. Surrounding waters also get an incredible 500 megawatts of energy from the vent field.