November 1997 / July 1998

Dr. John Delaney of the University of Washington joins Dr. Ed Mathez and Margaret Carruthers on two expeditions culminating in the recovery of four large black smoker sulfide chimneys. The first cruise tests special engineering devices for the recovery of the smokers such as an underwater diamond-embedded chain saw manipulated by a remotely operated vehicle, and the second cruise collects the specimens. These specimens will be featured in the "What Makes the Earth Habitable?" section because they represent a recently discovered ecosystem on the Earth where it was previously thought that life could not survive. This ecosystem includes some of the most ancient forms of life on Earth (older than 2 billion years) and may be similar to environments on other planets where evidence of life could possibly be found.

The Canadian Coast Guard vessel Tulley was used to pull the sulfide chimneys off the ocean floor in July of 1998.

photo credit: Dave Randall, © American Museum of Natural History