Scientists have discovered a never-before-seen hydrothermal vent system hiding in a highly unlikely spot on the Arctic seafloor. The deep-sea vents, which pump out scalding-hot water and mysterious metals, are located in an area researchers thought was geologically dead.
The newly discovered vents, named after various entities from Norse mythology, lie at a depth of around 9,850 feet (3,000 meters) southwest of Svalbard — a Norwegian archipelago within the Arctic Circle. The field, which is named the Jøtul hydrothermal field after a race of beings from Norse mythology known as the giants, or "jötnar," is around 3,300 feet (1,000 m) long and 650 feet (200 m) across, and contains a mix of active and dormant vents.
