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![Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition expl1578.jpg Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/https/s3.amazonaws.com/s3-east-testmedia-noaa.woc.noaa.gov/dam/Photos/legacy/pl23_expl1578.jpg?itok=lJFpgjSr)
Description
Ring of Fire 2002 Expedition. A small segment of midocean ridge crest showingthe development of hydrothermal plumes. Plumes issue from small sites on theridge crest, often as a result of an intrusion of a magma dike during an episode of seafloor spreading. The hot fluids rise and grow increasingly diluted by thesurrounding seawater and get swept away by local bottom currents. (Image credit: Submarine Ring of Fire 2002, NOAA/OER.)