This image shows bubbles of liquid carbon dioxide emerging from the seafloor at a hydrothermal vent on Northwest Eifuku Volcano in the western Pacific Ocean. Marine seismologists say that their seismographic data reveal new insights into how the ocean floor's plumbing system works. More information about the new research is at Discovery News. It occurs to me that you don't usually see bubbles at deep sea vents, because in spite of high temperatures, the pressure is also high so that gases are compressed into liquids. The "smoke" emerging from "black smokers" is actually superheated liquid water incredibly saturated with dissolved minerals (and entrained particles). The fact that we see bubbles here suggests this photo was taken at shallow depths in the ocean. The amount of light suffusing the image backs up this interpretation.

Labels: CO2, deep sea vents