By Sid Perkins
Analyses of mineral deposits in and around a unique set of hydrothermal vents beneath the Atlantic Ocean suggest that the site’s tallest towers of minerals have been growing for at least 30,000 years.
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The vent system, dubbed the Lost City because its lofty chimneys of carbonate rock can reach the height of an 18-story building, is situated on the side of an undersea mountain about 2,500 kilometers east of Bermuda and 15 km away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (SN: 7/14/01, p. 21: New type of hydrothermal vent looms large). The