The Chimney Finn
Part of Hall of Planet Earth.
Part of Hall of Planet Earth.
The water flowing through this chimney was 302 degrees Centigrade. As this superheated water mixed with the cold ocean water, a dense black cloud of precipitating minerals formed. After the chimney was collected, the stump grew nearly 3 meters in three weeks, owing to the large amount of hot water flowing through it. The yellow, metallic mineral lining the channel inside the chimney is chalcopyrite, a copper-iron sulfide. The small black crystals are the zinc-iron sulfide mineral wurtzite, and the white mineral is the calcium sulfate anhydrite. The black walls of the chimneys are made of a mixture of iron sulfide and oxide minerals and silica.
AMNH collection