Life In Hot Water by Mary Batten

This picture book explores the fascinating and unique world that exists around thermal vents found in the world's ocean trenches.

At the bottom of the oceans lie the most extreme environments on Earth: hydrothermal vents that gush water hot enough to melt lead! Uncovering this world has been a grand adventure.

Hydrothermal vents were predicted to exist in the deep ocean by geologists. In an attempt to locate these vents, the National Science Foundation funded several ocean expeditions during the early 1970's. Remotely operated vehicles called ROVs were used. Through the use of deep-sea cameras and temperature sensors, the mid-ocean ridge near the Galapagos Islands was identified as a potential location for the vents. A rise in temperature had been recorded close to the seafloor in water that should be freezing.

A pilot and two scientists discovered the cause of this temperature rise on the morning of February 17, 1977 when they descended into the deep in a deep-diving HOV (human-occupied vehicle) called Alvin. They were part of the  Galapagos Hydrothermal Expedition which was searching for the cause of the temperature rise. Alvin descended a mile and a half below the surface of the Pacific Ocean to total darkness on the ocean floor. When they turned on the lights they saw "jets of  hot, dark-coloured liquid exploding upward like geysers..." Even more incredible and completely unexpected were the living creatures they saw living on the rocks around the hydrothermal vents. This was the beginning of many remarkable discoveries that would be made around these vents in the coming years.

Discussion

In Life In Hot Water: Wildlife at the Bottom of the Ocean, author Mary Batten describes the incredible ecosystem that scientists have discovered existing around the hydrothermal vents that form along the mid-ocean ridge. Invisible to humans until technology was developed to enable scientists to explore the deepest regions of the oceans.

Batten takes her readers first to the discovery of the hydrothermal vents and then describes how they are formed along the mid-ocean ridges. As the tectonic plates move, volcanoes erupt along the mid-ocean ridges, opening more fissures in the Earth's crust. The cold seawater seeps into these fissures it is heated to high temperatures by magma. This causes the seawater to react with the minerals in the surrounding rocks, causing a plume of mineral and chemical rich water. Scientists discovered two types of hydrothermal vents which they named black smokers and white smokers, based on the colour of their plumes and their unique chemical composition. 

Even more intriguing and very unexpected was the unique life forms that the expeditions discovered living around the hydrothermal vents. These life forms were discovered to use chemosynthesis, a  process animals use to produce the energy needed to survive, that was previously unknown. Batten details the remarkable creatures who have adapted in the most unusual ways to live in this extreme environment. The "iron snail", the Hoff crabs, the Pompeii worms, and the vent octopus are just a few of the vent animals who have changed the way scientists think about life.

The fascinating science information presented in Life In Hot Water is accompanied by the beautiful artwork by illustrator Thomas Gonzalez. Rendered in pastel, coloured pencils and airbrush, Gonzalez has captured the mysterious environment of the deep ocean with a palette of black, blues, greys and whites.

There is a summary of important facts covered in the book, and an Author's Note as well as a Glossary and a Selected Bibliography for further reading. This informative and well done picture book is highly recommended for budding scientists of all ages.

Book Details:

Life In Hot Water. Wildlife at the Bottom of the Ocean by Mary Batten
Atlanta: Peachtree Publishing Company Inc.     2021