June 30, 2016
Just miles off the coast of Los Angeles the Exploration Vessel Nautilus, with lead scientist, Peter Girguis, discovered an underwater field of oblong shaped chimneys shrouded in white and orange microbial mats in the Point Dume seep. "We've seen plenty of hydrothermal vents that form these kinds of chimneys," says Girguis, "but I've never seen these carbonate spires outside of the Black Sea." You can read about the discovery in Discover Magazine and on the Nautilus Blog.