| Loki's Castle | |
|---|---|
 The top three feet of a 40-foot (12-meter)-tall vent chimney at Loki's Castle, mid-July 2008 | |
.svg)  | |
| Location | Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
| Coordinates | 73°33′00″N 08°09′00″E / 73.55000°N 8.15000°E |
| Min. elevation | −2,352 metres (−7,717 ft) |
Loki's Castle is a field of five active hydrothermal vents in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, located at 73 degrees north on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Iceland and Svalbard at a depth of 2,352 metres (7,717 ft).[1][2][3] When they were discovered in mid-July 2008, they were the most northerly black smoker vents known to science.[4]
They are of geological interest as they occur in a relatively stable region of the Earth's crust with diminished tectonic forces and consequently fewer hydrothermal vents. They are the host site of a biologically distinct archaea, the Lokiarchaeota.
- ^ "Arctic Circle Vent". University of Washington. 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ Pedersen, Rolf B.; Rapp, Hans Tore; Thorseth, Ingunn H.; Lilley, Marvin D.; Barriga, Fernando J. A. S.; Baumberger, Tamara; Flesland, Kristin; Fonseca, Rita; Früh-Green, Gretchen L.; Jorgensen, Steffen L. (23 November 2010). "Discovery of a black smoker vent field and vent fauna at the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge". Nature Communications. 1 (1): 126–. doi:10.1038/ncomms1124. PMC 3060606. PMID 21119639.
- ^ "Scientists Break Record By Finding Northernmost Hydrothermal Vent Field". Science Daily. 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ "Boiling Hot Water Found in Frigid Arctic Sea". livescience.com. 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-25.