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White Smoker

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

A white smoker is a hydrothermal vent emitting alkaline high-pH hydrothermal fluid on the ocean floor. These fluids are cooler (260–300 °C) than those emitted by black smokers (360 °C) and are sited away, or “off axis,” from the mid-ocean ridges. A notable example is Lost City, a hydrothermal vent field in the central Atlantic Ocean. Interaction of downward-seeping seawater with mafic or ultramafic rocks produces an alkaline fluid that precipitates silica and Ba or Ca sulfates when it mixes with seawater, hence the white color. White smokers emit abundant high-pH hydrothermal fluids. The interface between hot and alkaline hydrothermal fluids and seawater is believed by some to have provided the conditions required for the emergence of life.

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  1. Maison des Géosciences, LGCA, Université J. Fourier, 1381, rue de la Piscine, 38400, St-Martin d’Hères, France

    Nicholas Arndt

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  1. Nicholas Arndt
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Correspondence to Nicholas Arndt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Arndt, N. (2014). White Smoker. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1691-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1691-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    White Smoker
    Published:
    17 January 2023

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1691-4

  2. Original

    White Smoker
    Published:
    16 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1691-3

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