Hydrothermal plume mapping as a prospecting tool for seafloor sulfide deposits: a case study at the Zouyu-1 and Zouyu-2 hydrothermal fields in the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Hydrothermal plume mapping as a prospecting tool for seafloor sulfide deposits: a case study at the Zouyu-1 and Zouyu-2 hydrothermal fields in the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Seafloor hydrothermal polymetallic sulfide deposits are a new type of resource, with great potential economic value and good prospect development. This paper discusses turbidity, oxidation-reduction potential, and temperature anomalies of hydrothermal plumes from the Zouyu-1 and Zouyu-2 hydrothermal fields on the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. We use the known location of these vent fields and plume data collected in multiple years (2009, 2011, 2013) to demonstrate how real-time plume exploration can be used to locate active vent fields, and thus associated sulfide deposits. Turbidity anomalies can be detected 10 s of km from an active source, but the location precision is no better than a few kilometers because fine-grained particles are quasi-conservative over periods of many days. Temperature and oxidation-reduction potential anomalies provide location precision of a few hundred meters. Temperature anomalies are generally weak and difficult to reliably detect, except by chance encounters of a buoyant plume. Oxidation-reduction potential is highly sensitive (nmol concentrations of reduced hydrothermal chemicals) to discharges of all temperatures and responds immediately to a plume encounter. Real-time surveys using continuous tows of turbidity and oxidation-reduction potential sensors offer the most efficient and precise surface ship exploration presently possible.
Siedlecki, S. A.; Kaplan, I. C.; Hermann, A. J.; Nguyen, T. T.; Bond, N. A.; Newton, J. A.; Williams, G. D.; Peterson, William Thornton; Alin, S. R.; Feely, R. A.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Scientific Reports, 6, 27203.
Description:
Resource managers at the state, federal, and tribal levels make decisions on a weekly to quarterly basis, and fishers operate on a similar timeframe. To determine the potential of a support tool for these efforts, a seasonal forecast system is experi...
Kieber, D. J.; Keene, W. C.; Frossard, A. A.; Long, M. S.; Maben, J. R.; Russell, L. M.; Kinsey, J. D.; Tyssebotn, I. M. B.; Quinn, P. K.; Bates, T. S.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Geophysical Research Letters, 43(6), 2765-2772.
Description:
The oceans hold a massive quantity of organic carbon, nearly all of which is dissolved and more than 95% is refractory, cycling through the oceans several times before complete removal. The vast reservoir of refractory dissolved organic carbon (RDOC)...
Ladd, C.; Mordy, C. W.; Salo, S. A.; Stabeno, P. J.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, 121(8), 5516-5534.
Description:
Water properties from moored measurements (2010-2015) near Icy Cape on the eastern Chukchi shelf have been examined in relation to satellite observations of ice cover. Atlantic Water (AW), with temperature >-1 degrees C and salinity >33.6, has been o...
Carter, B. R.; Williams, N. L.; Gray, A. R.; Feely, R. A.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Limnology and Oceanography-Methods, 14(4), 268-277.
Description:
We introduce methods and software for estimating total seawater alkalinity from salinity and any combination of up to four other parameters (potential temperature, apparent oxygen utilization, total dissolved nitrate, and total silicate). The methods...
Sutton, A. J.; Sabine, C. L.; Feely, R. A.; Cai, W. J.; Cronin, M. F.; McPhaden, M. J.; Morell, J. M.; Newton, J. A.; Noh, J. H.; Olafsdottir, S. R.; Salisbury, J. E.; Send, U.; Vandemark, D. C.; Weller, R. A.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Biogeosciences, 13(17), 5065-5083.
Description:
One of the major challenges to assessing the impact of ocean acidification on marine life is detecting and interpreting long-term change in the context of natural variability. This study addresses this need through a global synthesis of monthly pH an...
Doherty, S. J.; Hegg, D. A.; Johnson, J. E.; Quinn, P. K.; Schwarz, J. P.; Dang, C.; Warren, S. G.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 121(9), 4751-4768.
Description:
A characterization of black carbon (BC) and other light-absorbing particles in snow is presented for three mountain valley sites in Idaho in early 2014 and for one site near Vernal, Utah, in early 2013 and 2014. The focus of the study was on constrai...
Fassbender, A. J.; Alin, S. R.; Feely, R. A.; Sutton, A. J.; Newton, J. A.; Byrne, R. H.;
Published Date:
2017
Source:
Estuaries and Coasts, 40(2), 404-418.
Description:
Evidence of ocean acidification (OA) throughout the global ocean has galvanized some coastal communities to evaluate carbonate chemistry variations closer to home. An impediment to doing this effectively is that, often, only one carbonate system para...
Stabeno, P. J.; Bond, N. A.; Kachel, N. B.; Ladd, C.; Mordy, C. W.; Strom, S. L.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Deep-Sea Research Part Ii-Topical Studies in Oceanography, 132, 6-23.
Description:
During 2011 and 2013, an integrated,ecosystem study was undertaken on the Southeast Alaska shelf and slope. As part of that study, a total of 8 moorings were deployed each year along the coast of Baranof and Chichagof Islands, in Cross Sound and at I...
Williams, N. L.; Juranek, L. W.; Feely, R. A.; Johnson, K. S.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Talley, L. D.; Dickson, A. G.; Gray, A. R.; Wanninkhof, R.; Russell, J. L.; Riser, S. C.; Takeshita, Y.;
Published Date:
2017
Source:
Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 31(3), 591-604.
Description:
More than 74 biogeochemical profiling floats that measure water column pH, oxygen, nitrate, fluorescence, and backscattering at 10 day intervals have been deployed throughout the Southern Ocean. Calculating the surface ocean partial pressure of carbo...
Deep-Sea Research Part Ii-Topical Studies in Oceanography, 132, 41-53.
Description:
Gap-wind events flowing from Cross Sound in the eastern Gulf of Alaska (GOA) were examined using QuikSCAT wind data. The average duration of an event is 3.6 days with the longest event recorded in the QuikSCAT dataset being 12 days. Daily offshore di...
Williams, N. L.; Juranek, L. W.; Johnson, K. S.; Feely, R. A.; Riser, S. C.; Talley, L. D.; Russell, J. L.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Wanninkhof, R.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Geophysical Research Letters, 43(7), 3415-3422.
Description:
Empirical algorithms are developed using high-quality GO-SHIP hydrographic measurements of commonly measured parameters (temperature, salinity, pressure, nitrate, and oxygen) that estimate pH in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. The coefficie...
Lin, T. J.; Ver Eecke, H. C.; Breves, E. A.; Dyar, M. D.; Jamieson, J. W.; Hannington, M. D.; Dahle, H.; Bishop, J. L.; Lane, M. D.; Butterfield, D. A.; Kelley, D. S.; Lilley, M. D.; Baross, J. A.; Holden, J. F.;
Rock and fluid samples were collected from three hydrothermal chimneys at the Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge to evaluate linkages among mineralogy, fluid chemistry, and microbial community composition within the chimneys. Mossbauer, midinfrare...
Hawco, N. J.; Ohnemus, D. C.; Resing, J. A.; Twining, B. S.; Saito, M. A.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Biogeosciences, 13(20), 5697-5717.
Description:
Cobalt is a nutrient to phytoplankton, but knowledge about its biogeochemical cycling is limited, especially in the Pacific Ocean. Here, we report sections of dissolved cobalt and labile dissolved cobalt from the US GEOTRACES GP16 transect in the Sou...
Stabeno, P. J.; Bell, S.; Cheng, W.; Danielson, S.; Kachel, N. B.; Mordy, C. W.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Deep-Sea Research Part Ii-Topical Studies in Oceanography, 132, 24-40.
Description:
The Alaska Coastal Current is a continuous, well-defined system extending for 1700 km along the coast of Alaska from Seward, Alaska to Samalga Pass in the Aleutian Islands. The currents in this region are examined using data-collected at > 20 mooring...
Xu, G.; Larson, B. I.; Bemis, K. G.; Lilley, M. D.;
Published Date:
2017
Source:
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 18(1), 75-92.
Description:
Tidal oscillations of venting temperature and chlorinity have been observed in the long-term time series data recorded by the Benthic and Resistivity Sensors (BARS) at the Grotto mound on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. In this study, we use a one-dimensiona...
Deep-Sea Research Part Ii-Topical Studies in Oceanography, 132, 54-67.
Description:
Frequent gap winds, defined here as offshore-directed flow channeled through mountain gaps, have been observed near Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Gap winds from the Iliamna Lake gap were investigated using QuikSCAT wind data. The influen...
Journal of Waterway Port Coastal and Ocean Engineering, 142(5), 16.
Description:
During tsunami inundation, coastal structures are subject to hydrostatic and hydrodynamic forces from the run-up and rundown and to impact forces from floating debris that is picked up by the flow. A new chapter in the upcoming revised U.S. design lo...
Martini, K. I.; Stabeno, P. J.; Ladd, C.; Winsor, P.; Weingartner, T. J.; Mordy, C. W.; Eisner, L. B.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, 121(3), 1755-1770.
Description:
During the late summer, phytoplankton in the northeastern Chukchi Sea are typically found in subsurface layers. These layers and their sensitivity to local changes in hydrography and nutrient concentrations are characterized by combining data from a ...
Wang, F.; Wang, J. N.; Guan, C.; Ma, Q.; Zhang, D. X.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, 121(6), 3730-3740.
Description:
Time-depth variations of the equatorial currents over the upper 1000 m depth in the western Pacific Ocean were directly measured by acoustic Doppler current profiler moorings at 2 degrees N, 140 degrees E and 4.7 degrees N, 140 degrees E during Janua...
Santana-Casiano, J. M.; Fraile-Nuez, E.; Gonzalez-Davila, M.; Baker, E. T.; Resing, J. A.; Walker, S. L.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Scientific Reports, 6, 25686.
Description:
The residual hydrothermalism associated with submarine volcanoes, following an eruption event, plays an important role in the supply of CO2 to the ocean. The emitted CO2 increases the acidity of seawater. The submarine volcano of El Hierro, in its de...
The relationships between tectonic processes, magmatism, and hydrothermal venting along similar to 600 km of the slow-spreading Mariana back-arc between 12.7 degrees N and 18.3 degrees N reveal a number of similarities and differences compared to slo...
A Marques, A. F.; Roerdink, D. L; Baumberger, T.; de Ronde, C. E.; Ditchburn, R. G.; Denny, A.; Thorseth, I. H.; Okland, I.; Lilley, M. D.; Whitehouse, M. J.;
Published Date:
2020
Source:
Minerals, 10(5)
Description:
We document the discovery of an active, shallow, seafloor hydrothermal system (known as the Seven Sisters Vent Field) hosted in mafic volcaniclasts at a mid-ocean ridge setting. The vent field is located at the southern part of the Arctic mid-ocean r...
Baker, E. T.; Resing, J. A.; Haymon, R. M.; Tunnicliffe, V.; Lavelle, J. W.; Martinez, F.; Ferrini, V.; Walker, S. L.; Nakamura, K.;
Published Date:
2016
Source:
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 449, 186-196.
Description:
Decades of exploration for venting sites along spreading ridge crests have produced global datasets that yield estimated mean site spacings of similar to 12-220 km. This conclusion demands that sites where hydrothermal fluid leaks from the seafloor a...