COBRA Webinar – September 2025

Ecology and ecosystem services of inactive hydrothermal vent deposits

Dr. Jason Sylvan (Texas A&M University) and Dr. Amanda Achberger (Louisiana State University)

Active hydrothermal vent systems are a vital component of the ocean system, balancing elemental budgets, exchanging heat with the Earth’s interior, and hosting unique biological communities. While decades of study have produced robust descriptions of microbial and animal communities on and within actively venting deposits, interest in the study of their inactive counterparts is more recent. Through prior and ongoing work, research has shown that there is a succession of microbes on these deposits after vents become inactive, resulting in a microbial community with different functional potential. This is important because it indicates that inactive vent microbial communities comprise a unique ecosystem from those on active vents or other deep sea habitats. In this webinar, we will provide an introduction to inactive hydrothermal vent deposits as an ecosystem, including what microorganisms are present, the ecosystem services they are known to provide, and what little is known about animal communities on these features. Considering the current interest to mine inactive vent deposits, we will also summarize our thoughts on the potential implications of mining these ecosystems.