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Anatomy of a white smoker Beneath the ocean floor, iron-rich crustal materials like olivine and pyroxene react with water in a process called serpentinization. The reaction produces a green mineral called serpentine along with hydrogen gas and methane and also releases heat. Alkaline groundwater circulating through the fractured rock picks up the heat and gases along with metal ions; under pressure, it flows toward the surface. Where it spews out of the ocean floor, the contrasts in chemistry and temperature cause minerals to precipitate into smoky plumes and mineralized chimneys. Loren A. Roberts for The Planetary Society