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National News
For an update from NEPTUNE Canada, see the online supplement at:
www.interridge.org/IRNewsletter.
Chile
Juan Diaz-Naveas and Luis Lara
Geological, chemical and biological studies at the
Chile Triple Junction
A 21-day student and research cruise with participants from
Chile and the USA has recently been approved for early 2010
on the Chile margin with the support of University of California
Ship Funds (R/V Revelle) and NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration
and Research (OE). Lead PIs for the project in Chile
include Juan Diaz, Luis E. Lara, Jorge Munoz, Javier Sellanes,
V. Gallardo and E. Quiroga. In the USA, the cruise PI will
be Andrew Thurber who is supervised by Lisa Levin at SIO.
In addition, NOAA OE has awarded funding for preliminary
detection, location, mapping and photography of the seafloor
at new seep and vent sites along the Chile margin including
the adjacent Chile Rise, close to the Chile Triple Junction, using
the Sentry AUV. That project includes co-PIs from WHOI
(Chris German and Tim Shank), SIO (Donna Blackman and
Kevin Brown), University of Washington (Marv Lilley) and
NOAA-PMEL (John Lupton and Ed Baker). Most recently, a
further project “Biology of a Ridge Subduction Zone,” has also
been submitted to NOAA OE FY 2009 (Lead PI Lisa Levin,
SIO) to secure funds for a follow-on biological study that will
examine the species composition, biogeography and diversity
of the triple junction ecosystems. Ideally, this will add an extra
3 days of shiptime to the cruise for TV (camera) guided operations
using a remote sampler (multicorer). Carefully placed,
quantitative biological samples will be collected at spots identified
by Sentry. These samples will also provide geochemical
descriptions of the sediments in the novel settings discovered.
Proposed sampling areas range from 45°-47°S, at depths of 800
to 3000 m. In addition to support from Chile and U.S. sources,
this project will also make important contributions to the
Census of Marine Life projects ChEss and COMARGE.
China
Y. John Chen and Jiabiao Li
Year 2008 is the first year after China became a principal
member nation in the InterRidge community. This year the
Chinese research vessel DayangYihao is conducting its third
around-the-globe expedition, which includes work on the
Southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) and the Southwest Indian
Ridge (SWIR). We just received great news that new hightemperature
hydrothermal vent fields were discovered on the
SEPR near the equator during the DayangYihao DY115-20 Leg
3 expedition in Aug. - Sept. 2008 (Fig. 1). In addition, the
Qingdao Ocean Sciences Summer School on “International
Advances in Geo-Biological Research” was held in Qingdao,
China, July 14-20, 2008. Several InterRidge scientists helped
to co-organize this well-attended summer school and gave
lectures (http://www.interridge.org/node/5580; also see article,
p. 50). Chinese scientists also co-organized and contributed
abstracts to a special session on "Recent multidisciplinary
studies of mid-ocean ridges and ophiolites”, 5 th Asia Oceania
Geosciences Society Conference, Busan, Korea, June 17, 2008
(http://www.interridge.org/node/4893; also see article, p. 52).
New hydrothermal vent fields discovered on the
Southern East Pacific Rise near the equator
Chinese scientists and a team of researchers and engineers
from WHOI, USA, successfully completed a 25-day research
Figure 1: Celebrating onboard R/V DayangYihao the discovery
of hydrothermal vents just south of the equator on the EPR.
InterRidge News 31 Vol. 17, 2008