cold seep

(noun)

A cold seep (sometimes called a cold vent) is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane, and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, often in the form of a brine pool. "Cold" does not mean temperature of seepage is lower than surrounding sea water. Actually, its temperature is often slightly higher.

Related Terms

Examples of cold seep in the following topics:

  • Cold-Seep Ecosystems

    • Cold seeps constitute a biome supporting several endemic species.
    • Types of cold seeps can be distinguished according to the depth, as shallow cold seeps and deep cold seeps.
    • Cold seeps can also be distinguished in detail, as follows: oil/gas seeps, gas seeps, methane seeps, gas hydrate seeps, brine seeps, are forming brine pools, pockmarks and mud volcanos.
    • Organisms living in cold seeps are known as extremophiles.
    • Cold seeps do not last indefinitely.

  • Ocean Floor

    • Brine pools are another seabed feature, usually connected to cold seeps.
    • Hydrothermal vents along the mid-ocean ridge spreading centers act as oases, as do their opposites, cold seeps.

  • Epsilonproteobacteria

    • There have also been numerous environmental sequences of Epsilonproteobacteria recovered from hydrothermal vents and cold seep habitats.

  • The Deep Sea and Barophilism

    • The three main sources of energy and nutrients for deep sea communities are marine snow, whale falls, and chemosynthesis at hydrothermal vents and cold seeps.

  • Hyperthermophiles from Submarine Volcanic Habitats

    • Large populations of animals can be supported by chemosynthetic secondary production at hydrothermal vents, methane clathrates, cold seeps, whale falls, and isolated cave water.

  • Oxidation of Reduced Sulfur Compounds

    • These environments include cold seeps, sulfur springs, sewage contaminated water, mud layers of lakes, and near deep hydrothermal vents.
    • Beggiatoa spp. bacterial mat at a seep on Blake Ridge, off the coast of South Carolina.

  • Colds

    • The common cold is caused by several different viruses and is the most common human viral infection.
    • The common cold (also known as nasopharyngitis, rhinopharyngitis, acute coryza, or a cold) is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract which affects primarily the nose.
    • Well over 200 viruses are implicated in the cause of the common cold.
    • No cure for the common cold exists, but the symptoms can be treated.
    • If you have a cold 10-15% of the time it is caused by a virus like this.

  • Growth Rate and Temperature

    • Bacteria may grow across a wide range of temperatures, from very cold to very hot.
    • Bacteria may grow across a wide range of temperatures, from very cold to very hot.
    • A mesophile is an organism that grows best in moderate temperature, neither too hot nor too cold.
    • For example, in molecular biology, the cold-shock domain (CSD) is a protein domain of about 70 amino acids which has been found in prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA-binding proteins.
    • During the lag phase, the expression of around 13 proteins, which contain cold shock domains is increased two- to ten-fold.

  • Europa's Possible Ocean

    • Ridges in Europa's landscape suggest existent water seeping up the ice cracks, refreezing, and then forming higher and higher ridges.

  • Psychrophilic Crenarchaeota

    • Psychrophiles crenarchaeotes are extremophilic organisms that are capable of growth and reproduction in cold temperatures.
    • Psychrophiles or cryophiles (adj. cryophilic) are extremophilic organisms that are capable of growth and reproduction in cold temperatures, ranging from −15°C to +10°C.
    • Psychrophiles are characterized by lipid cell membranes chemically resistant to the stiffening caused by extreme cold, and often create protein 'antifreezes' to keep their internal space liquid and protect their DNA even in temperatures below water's freezing point.