Five more hydrothermal vents discovered in the Eastern Tropical Pacific | Ecology | Magazine

2024-03-28 23:20:00

Five new deep-sea hydrothermal vents were discovered by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) at the bottom of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean.

Located at a depth of 2,550 meters, all ventilation fluids are more than 300 degrees Celsius. They are located on the East Pacific Ridge (EPR), near latitude 10°N, a part of the mid-ocean ridge volcanic mountain range that spans the globe, where two tectonic plates are moving apart at a rate of approximately 11 centimeters per year.

Expedition scientists mapped the area at night using the Sentry underwater robot, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) operated by WHOI. After recovering Sentry each morning, high-resolution maps from the vehicle’s sensors were used to plan the day’s dive on the manned submarine Alvin, also operated by WHOI, allowing scientists to see first-hand the complex environment and in constant change of a place like the Eastern Pacific Ridge, details Europa Press.

“Sentry’s high-resolution maps allow us to detect potential new hydrothermal fields soon after Sentry returns to deck,” Jill McDermott, the expedition’s chief scientist at Lehigh University and co-lead scientist specializing in vent geochemistry, said in a statement. hydrothermal. “We have big goals for Alvin and the opportunity to make multiple discoveries in a single dive.”

Scientists who dived at Alvin first discovered hydrothermal vents in 1977 while exploring a spreading ocean ridge north of the Galapagos Islands. Hydrothermal vents are rich in chemicals that supply energy to animal life, fueling rich and productive ecosystems.

The discovery reshaped scientists’ understanding of the conditions capable of supporting life on Earth and potentially elsewhere in the solar system. EPR’s research program focuses on learning more about volcanic and hydrothermal systems in the deep sea, where new seafloor forms and where unique communities of animals thrive in high-pressure, high-heat environments.

“The mid-ocean ridge represents more than 75% of all volcanic activity on our planet,” said Thibaut Barreyre, co-leading scientist of the CNRS expedition, University of Brest (France) and expert in thermal measurements and modeling of hydrothermal vents. “It is dotted with thousands of deep-sea hot springs like these, which together extract 10% of the Earth’s total internal heat. “We want to increase our understanding of how hydrothermal vents release heat and chemicals as they flow through the seafloor and affect the global ocean.”

“The new Sentry maps allow us to see very important details of the lava flows that erupted in the deep ocean and select them to collect rock samples, just as geologists do on land,” said Daniel Fornari, co-leading scientist of the expedition. from WHOI and a marine geologist who has been involved in EPR research for more than 40 years: “These new insights and analyzes of rock samples will allow us to discover how quickly the lava erupted, how far it traveled, and the impacts it had.” “Lava eruptions have hydrothermal vents.”

Scientists plan to continue studying hydrothermal activity and volcanism along the East Pacific Ridge on a follow-up expedition that will also use Sentry and Alvin to expand their understanding of the geophysical, chemical and biological processes that shape our planet and They sustain life in the deep dark corners of Earth’s ocean. (YO)

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