Table 1 Main concentrations in the Menez Gwen, Lucky Strike and Rainbow vent fluids, adapted from Douville et al. (2002), Charlou et al. (2000, 2002).
|  | Menez Gwen (37°50'N) | Lucky Strike (37°17'N) | Rainbow (36°14'N) |
|---|---|---|---|
Physical and chemical characteristics | |||
Depth (m) | 850 | 1700 | 2300 |
Temperature (°C) | 265-284 | 152-333 | 360-365 |
pH | 4.2-4.8 | 3.5-4.9 | 2.8-3.1 |
Fe (mg l-1) | 1.3-1.6 | 1.7-48 | 1339 |
Mn (mg l-1) | 3.2-3.7 | 4.2-24.7 | 123 |
Cu (mg l-1) | 40-180 | 60-1650 | 8900 |
Zn (mg l-1) | 0.16-0.33 | 0.33-3.79 | 10.5 |
Cd (mg l-1) | 1.01-1.34 | 2.02-8.85 | 14.6 |
Pb (mg l-1) | 4.4-11.6 | 7.2-26.9 | 30.6 |
H 2 S (mM) | 1.3-1.82 | 0.6-3.3 | 1-2.52 |
CH 4 (mM) | 1.7 | 0.52 | 2.5 |
Symbiont quantification | |||
n | 25 | 30 | 25 |
SOX | 272.95 ± 73.45 | 166.71 ± 28.92 | 119.35 ± 32.05 |
MOX | 25.70 ± 6.70 | 16.38 ± 4.07 | 209.19 ± 184.40 |
ATP sulfurylase | 1.1 10-5 ± 4.8 10-6 | 8 10-6 ± 3 10-6 | 4.6 10-6 ± 1.3 10-6 |
pmoA | 0.12 ± 0.04 | 0.07 ± 0.02 | 0.29 ± 0.09 |