Deep below the surface of the ocean is a realm without light. A realm where the density of animals is usually very low, because not much food makes it down to this depth. However, at some places in the ocean there are energy-rich fluids venting or seeping out of the ocean bottom. One of these environments is the hydrothermal vents where the venting water is both hot and full of energy rich chemicals. These are the environments where giant tubeworms, mussels, and clams living off the chemicals in the water were first discovered. In the Gulf of Mexico, south of Texas and Louisiana, we don't find hydrothermal vents, but there are many cold-seeps, places where energy rich fluids are seeping out of the ocean floor due to the geology of the underlying sediments and rock layers. Here we also find fields of tubeworms, beds of mussels and clams, and even pools of brine surrounded by millions of mussels and their friends. Use the menu on the left or below to learn how the tubeworms and mussels can live and grow in this realm without light, about the ecology of the cold-seep habitats, about the submarines we use, and about the research we do.

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