Hydrothermal vent areas have hydrothermal chimneys, from which hot, mineral-rich water comes out. (This hot water often looks like black smoke, but it's not really smoke, it just has a lot of dark, microscopic mineral grains in it.) Where does this hot water come from? a Ice underneat the seafloor gets melted by volcanic activity, and this extra water comes out of the vents. b It comes directly from the Earth's core, since our core is made of hot, high-pressure water. c It is seawater that went down through cracks, got heated by magma, and rises up to emerge from the seafloor. d Some of the minerals in the Earth's mantle break down and release large volumes of water.

Hydrothermal vent areas have hydrothermal chimneys, from which hot, mineral-rich water comes out. (This hot water often looks like black smoke, but it's not really smoke, it just has a lot of dark, microscopic mineral grains in it.) Where does this hot water come from? a Ice underneat the seafloor gets melted by volcanic activity, and this extra water comes out of the vents. b It comes directly from the Earth's core, since our core is made of hot, high-pressure water. c It is seawater that went down through cracks, got heated by magma, and rises up to emerge from the seafloor. d Some of the minerals in the Earth's mantle break down and release large volumes of water.