Journey to the Deep Sea Vents

Take a day, a week, or a whole month to explore the methods scientists use to locate vents and investigate biological and geological elements of this extreme environment.

• If you want teacher strategies, assessment, and a schedule for the unit, start with Curriculum Materials. Then download all the activities (with handouts) and readings.
• If you want stand-alone, hands-on or research on the Web activities and don't need teacher strategies to go with them, go directly to Activities.
• If you want accessible content readings that will help your students connect to the science of deep sea exploration, go straight to Articles. You'll find interviews with real scientists as well as content readings written by or about deep sea researchers.

		Journey to the Deep Sea Vents Curriculum Materials for grades 6 through 8 Even if the ocean's surface is calm, it's anything but that down on the ocean floor. Volcanoes and earthquakes occur regularly, just as they do on dry land. Introduce your students to the dynamic sea floor.
		PDF [plugins: Adobe Acrobat; filesize: 1634kb] [pages: 22] More about this Resource

		Research on the Web: Deep Sea Volcanoes and Vents Activity for grades 6 through 12 Behind the safety of your computer screen, visit a volcano that's erupting 2,300 meters (1.5 miles) below the sea. You'll see the dynamic forces at work in the deep seas.
		Webpage More about this Resource

		Black Smoker Expedition Article for grades 6 through 12 Imagine Old Faithful—but more than a mile underwater. Collecting this black smoker was quite a challenge. Besides its deep location, it weighed many tons and spewed incredibly hot water.
		Webpage More about this Resource

		Underwater Plume Activity for grades 6 through 12 With the help of three friends, you can create your own mini underwater geyser. All you'll need is a soda bottle, a baby food jar, aluminum foil, food coloring, and a few more household supplies.
		PDF [plugins: Adobe Acrobat; filesize: 402kb] [pages: 7] More about this Resource

		Find a Plume, Find a Vent Activity for grades 6 through 12 How do scientists zero in on deep sea vents within the world's vast oceans—especially when they are located a mile or more below the surface? Think like a scientist, and you'll find out!
		PDF [plugins: Adobe Acrobat; filesize: 420kb] [pages: 6] More about this Resource

		Find the Deep Sea Vent Activity for grades 6 through 12 Climb aboard this virtual expedition, and take charge of the ship's controls. You'll travel a 40-kilometer (24.8-mile) stretch of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, looking for a deep sea vent.
		Webpage More about this Resource

		Searching the Ocean for Deep Sea Vents Article for grades 6 through 12 Scientists don't have to scour every inch of ocean floor to locate deep sea vents, but that doesn't mean the process is fast or easy. Learn more about these researchers' painstaking work.
		Webpage [plugins: Flash, QuickTime, QTVR] More about this Resource

		Journey to Deep Sea Vents Article for grades 3 through 8 Journey thousands of meters below sea level to examine the underwater geysers that spew hot, mineral-rich water from beneath the seafloor ... and that are host to an amazing diversity of life.
		Webpage More about this Resource

		It's Aliiive—Or Is It? Activity for grades 6 through 12 Scientists have found life everywhere they've looked on Earth—even at the bottom of the ocean, where conditions are extreme. Investigate one deep sea vent's thriving ecosystem.
		PDF [plugins: Adobe Acrobat; filesize: 426kb] [pages: 6] More about this Resource

		Is It Alive? Activity for grades 6 through 12 Despite extreme temperatures and the absence of sunlight, you can find a variety of life on the ocean floor. Take a look at the amazing organisms that thrive in this unlikely environment.
		Webpage More about this Resource

		Let's Talk with Cindy Lee Van Dover about the Ecology of Deep Sea Vents Article for grades 6 through 12 For oceanographers, the work they do at sea is just the beginning. Learn more about the discoveries made by one scientist who completed more than 100 dives to the sea floor.
		Webpage PDF [plugins: Adobe Acrobat; filesize: 425kb] [pages: 7] More about this Resource

		Let's Talk with Susan Humphris about the Chemistry of Deep Sea Vents Article for grades 6 through 12 Valuable ore deposits of iron, copper, and zinc—all formed by deep sea vents and thrust up onto land. If you want to know how mineral deposits are formed, look to the ocean.
		Webpage PDF [plugins: Adobe Acrobat; filesize: 547kb] [pages: 9] More about this Resource

		Dispatch from the Deep: Shaping the Ocean Floor at the Mid-Ocean Ridges Article for grades 6 through 12 Did you know that the island of Iceland is really just the peak of an underwater mountain? What other land forms lie hidden beneath the ocean, and how are they formed?
		Webpage More about this Resource

		Dispatch from the Deep: Hydrothermal Vent Formation Article for grades 6 through 12 Submarine hot springs, called hydrothermal vents, spew out mineral-rich hot water. What do scientists hope to learn by tracking the temperature variations around these vents for an entire year?
		Webpage More about this Resource

		Dispatch from the Deep: One REVEL Teacher, Many Monkey's Fists Article for grades 6 through 12 What are "monkey's fists" doing out at sea? This type of seaman's knot is being used to deploy deep sea thermometers. Find out if this teacher AND her fists get to travel to the ocean floor.
		Webpage More about this Resource

		Dispatch from the Deep: Home Again Article for grades 6 through 12 From Pennsylvania to the Pacific Ocean and back again. Experience the final day of an expedition to study deep sea vents with this eyewitness account, and learn what came of the research.
		Webpage More about this Resource

		Deep Sea Vents Gallery Exhibition Materials for grades 9 through 12 Take a virtual stroll through the Deep Sea Vents Gallery, which is part of the museum's Hall of Planet Earth. You'll see pictures and videos of some of our planet's most ancient forms of life.
		Webpage [plugins: QuickTime, Acrobat Reader] More about this Resource