Poojitha D. Yapa

MOHTV is a model developed to simulate the behavior of hydrothermal vents. Physical, Chemical, and biological processes take place in a hydrothermal vent due to the discharge of super-heated water rich in minerals. MOTHTV models these processes to determine the quantities of chemicals produced their spread in the ocean water column, and the extent of their spread on the ocean floor. The model also simulates how the surrounding water temperature is affected in the ocean due to the release of hydrothermal fluid. The model is 3-dimensional and can take time and spatially varying conditions into account. It takes hydrodynamics and thermodynamics into account together with physico-chemical reactions that take place.

In the second phase, the MOHTV model is further improved to simulate the fate of gaseous chemicals (CH4 and CO2) released from hydrothermal vent fields; oxidation of dissolved methane by the microbes; acidification and ecological impact of dissolved CO2 released from the vent fields. Methane in dissolved form is released from the vent with the plume fluid and transported to the far field. In the far field, dissolved methane undergoes microbial oxidation and further dilution. In addition to dissolved methane, liquid CO2 droplets rise buoyantly from the sea bed while advecting and diffusing in the water column. Dissolved CO2 can make the surrounding medium acidic due to the formation of hydrogen and bicarbonate ions. Simulation of these effects are now part of the MOHTV model.

FeS2 Concentration