Due to plate shifting, fissures open up in the earth’s surface, allowing water to be sucked down toward the center of the earth, where it comes in contact with hot molten magma. This super heats the water to as high as 760 degrees Fahrenheit and forces it back up into the environment through the ocean floor. These hot springs are called hydrothermal vents, and many are located at very deep depths where it is pitch black and the seawater is frigid cold.
Not only is the water from these vents boiling hot, it is also a toxic mix of heavy metals and poisonous gases of which, foremost among them, is hydrogen sulfide. Besides these toxic chemicals and boiling temperatures, most vent water is extremely acid, with pH values as low as 2.8, which is more acid than vinegar.
In spite of these harsh conditions and the enormous pressure from the great depth, life thrives here. Amazing communities of life consisting of fish, crabs, shrimps, clams, tubeworms, and snails, to name a few, exist here. Many of these creatures are blind and lack pigment, and some are giants. More than 300 species of vent life have been identified by biologists, of which over 95 percent were new to science.
All other life ever identified on land or in the sea derives its energy either directly or indirectly from the sun. Since sunlight cannot penetrate this depth, there is no plant life and, hence, no photosynthesis, which is the basis of all other known life on the planet. Heat vent species rely not on photons from the sun, but on thermal and chemical energy derived from the heat and chemicals coming from the earth’s interior.
Tiny microbes (bacteria) oxidize the hydrogen sulfide that diffuses out of the vents, through a process called chemosynthesis, providing nutrients for animals higher up the food chain. Some creatures, like gastropod snails, feed directly on the bacteria which form mats on the sea floor around the vents. Other creatures, such as fish, dine on animals that eat or make use of the bacteria. Still others, such as tubeworms, host the microbes in their tissues in exchange for organic compounds that they produce from the vent chemicals and seawater.
While vent microbes thrive on hydrogen sulfide, it is lethal to other vent creatures that have to keep their distance from the source. The boiling water is also lethal to all the vent creatures except for the microbes which flourish in it. The other creatures live in the lower temperature zones produced by the boiling vent water mixing with the frigid deep-sea water. The only element from above that these heat vent creatures require is oxygen, which is abundant in seawater and was originally produced by plants, so ultimately this ecosystem relies on sunlight also.
Just as these deep-sea vent creatures, located far from the sunlight, still depend on the sun for life-giving oxygen, so the human race, which has been separated from God by their sins, is still dependant on Him for their every breath and, ultimately, on Him for eternal life. “Nature and revelation alike testify of God’s love. Our Father in heaven is the source of life, of wisdom, and of joy. Look at the wonderful and beautiful things of nature. Think of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and happiness, not only of man, but of all living creatures. The sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator’s love. It is God who supplies the daily needs of all His creatures.” Steps to Christ, 5.