During the second Voyage to the Ridge 2022 expedition, we encountered pillow basalts on the seafloor. These glassy pillows form when lava cools quickly under water. Weathering of pillow basalts is an important source of ocean silica. Some species, like glass sponges, use these eroded silicate minerals to build their silica-based skeletons, highlighting the connection between geology and biology in the deep ocean.