Underwater "White Smoker" Vents: Is This Where Life Began?
Videos are generally available for preview to non-members as short clips. Limited full-length titles are also available. Log In to view the full length title.
Browse Full-length Non-member Titles![Aerial view of gray fish swimming in the shadows on the ocean floor. Text reads, "Underwater 'White Smoker' Vents: Is This Where Life Began?" NASA icon at bottom is labeled, "Jet Propulsion Laboratory. California Institute of Technology."](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/17453_1.jpg)
Some scientists think the story of life on Earth may have started around hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory mimicked those ancient undersea environments with a complex experimental setup. They showed that under extreme pressure, fluids from these seafloor cracks mixed with ancient ocean water could have produced organic molecules. These molecules are the building blocks that compose nearly all life on Earth.
Media Details
Runtime: 2 minutes 28 seconds
- Topic: Science
- Subtopic: Earth Sciences, Science Experiments, Science Methods
- Grade/Interest Level: 6 - 12
- Standards:
- Release Year: 2020
- Producer/Distributor: NASA Jet Propulsion Lab
- Report a Problem
Related Media
![Map of Alaska with Anchorage displayed. 1964 Epicenter indicated on coastline in bay adjacent to Anchorage. Caption: The epicenter was in Prince William Sound](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9541_1.jpg)
1964 Quake: The Great Alaska Earthquake
![A group of people visiting an active volcano. Caption: scientists visited New Zealand's topol volcanic zone,](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/12847_1.jpg)
4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week (Episode 17)
![A diagram illustrates certain traits recurring in a grain plant. Caption: Those traits remain the same generation after generation.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/12844_1.jpg)
4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week (Episode 21)
![Closeup of a crocodile with its mouth open. Inset of a blue, green and yellow infrared image at left.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/14633_1.jpg)
4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week (Episode 32)
![Aerial view of a rolling red rock landscape with a small arch formation in foreground.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/14624_1.jpg)
4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week (Episode 41)
![Earth floats in darkness as cracks in its surface emanate orange light.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/14622_1.jpg)
4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week (Episode 43)
![Yellow wildflower in foreground, low shrubs and dead trees in background. Boulder County Colorado Front Range. Caption: (Rother) This is a portion of the 2003 Overland Fire.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9568_1.jpg)
A Forest After Fire
![Closeup of hands holding a narrow, red tubular object. Caption: With a warmer climate, do we suspect to see more fire?](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9575_1.jpg)
A World On Fire: Wildfire And Climate Change In The Past, Present, And Future
![Close up on flames burning a piece of bark. In the background, rows of trees have been flattened and burnt to the ground. Text reads, “A World Without Forests.”](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/16456_1.jpg)
A World Without Forests
![View of a field with brown and black cows scattered around as they eat grass. In the distance are large silos and barns. Text reads, "Agriculture and Rural Land Use."](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/14926_1.jpg)
Advanced Placement Human Geography: Making Sense of Planet Earth--Agriculture and Rural Land Use