FIG. 3.

Total cell counts at specified locations along a transect from the vent center to the surrounding area for June 1996 (A) and September 1996 (B). The error bars indicate the 95% confidence interval. The cores at 117 cm from the vent center in September 1996 were obtained 1 week apart. During the first sampling (117 cm I), the white precipitate on the sediment surface was present, whereas during the second sampling (117 cm II), it was absent. The open bars indicate samples from the water above the sediment surface, the medium-shaded bars indicate sediment samples, and the dark-shaded bars indicate samples of the white precipitate.