OOI Mapping Cruise 2008
Title: Icy Methane
File Type: Image
File Size: 3 mb
Froze methane, or methane hydrate--the patches of white in this image –- are known to collect on and below the seafloor where one tectonic plate dives under another, in this case where the Juan de Fuca Plate slides beneath North America. Sites such as this host a rich community of microbes able to live off the methane and without any sunlight. The microbes, in turn, serve as the base of the food chain in this environment.
Date: 2008-08-13
