Volcano

Scientists first discovered asphalt volcanoes in the Gulf of Mexico. These vents erupt hot tar instead of lava, slowly building up smooth mounds that can be ...

Nobody seems to know.” The group hopes to publish an account of the invertebrate assemblages in the future. Unfortunately, the team also found evidence of illegal fishing, including lost lines, weights and even a rockfish carcass still on the hook. “Not only are there only three places known that have this habitat, but this is the only one in shallow water,” he said. However, “Even small amounts of asphalt in an image had a substantial effect on the species that were observed,” the authors wrote, as soft-seafloor fishes kept away from the hard tar. “It would’ve had an entirely different group of fishes and invertebrates, and it would’ve had algae all over it.” Marine scientists have compiled the first detailed description of the animal communities that call these formations home. “What we see now we wouldn’t have seen even 20,000 years ago, when you had these glacial maximums and sea level minimums,” he said. Certain fish preferred the volcanoes’ uniform slopes, including rockfishes like the swordspine, greenblotched and greenspotted. Since then, scientists have found only one other site, off the coast of Angola. And at least 53.5% of these species were rockfishes. About 10 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, several jet-black mounds interrupt the featureless sea floor. Santa Barbara Channel’s natural oil seeps are a beach-goer’s bane, flecking the shores with blobs of tar.