Galapagos 2005 Expedition. The different colors that can be seen in this sliced piece of hydrothermal vent structure reveal some of the different minerals that composed the vent wall. Concentric circles of various mineral zones form like tree rings in the chimney wall and evolve with changes in thermal and chemical gradients, as well as changes in chimney wall permeability.

Image ID: expl1160, Voyage To Inner Space - Exploring the Seas With NOAA Collect
Credit: Image courtesy of UCSB, Univ. S. Carolina, NOAA, WHOI.

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