Seafloor Hot Springs at 2008 International ROV Competition

The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center and the Marine Technology Society's ROV Committee will put a similar challenge to students participating in its 2008 International Student ROV Competition, to be held from 26 to 28^th June, 2008 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography - University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The competition will focus on hydrothermal vents like hot springs in the seafloor, hydrothermal vents discharge continuous streams of hot fluids from deep beneath the Earth's crust into the surrounding cold ocean water. Rich in minerals and chemical compounds, these fluids support unique ecosystems of animal life found no where else on Earth.