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National News
Korea
Sung-Hyun Park
Korean ridge scientists were involved this year with the AOGS
2008 special session on mid-ocean ridges and ophiolites (see
article, p. 52). Our presentations included studies of the tectonics
structure of the Ayu Trough and recent results on IODP
1256D core. An additional meeting to “kick-off” plans for future
Korean ridge research was held in September 2008, organized
by former InterRidge Steering Committee member
Sang-Mook Lee and current Steering Committee member
Sung-Hyun Park (Fig. 1).
An upcoming cruise on the Russian R/V Yuzhmorgeologiya in
late 2008 will dredge rock samples from the eastern Bransfield
Strait. We plan to conduct hydro-acoustic monitoring to examine
the overall temporal and spatial pattern of earthquake and
icequake production in this region, and we also plan to survey
for hydrothermal activity using towed CTD and MAPRs.
Plans are moving forward for the new Korean icebreaker Araon
which will service the King Sejong Station on King George
Island, a research station for the Korea Antarctic Research Program.
We expect sea trials to be conducted in 2009. The expected
annual cruise track of Araon will provide opportunities
for ridge research, for example in the remote Pacific-Antarctic
Ridge.
Figure 1: Scientists, including Sang-Mook Lee and Sung-Hyun
Park (third and fourth from left, respectively), and students meeting
to “kick-off” plans for future Korean ridge research.
Norway
Rolf Pedersen
As in recent years, the ridge research in Norway is primarily
a research theme at the University of Bergen with most of the
research activities being organized by the Department of Earth
Science and a new Centre for GeoBiology (www.geobio.uib.no).
In summer 2008 two Norwegian lead cruises were organized
to the Mohns-Knipovich ridge. A geophysical cruise with R/V
Haakon Mosby (PETROBAR-08) acquired multi-channel seismic
and OBS data across the southernmost Knipovich Ridge.
A multidisciplinary cruise with R/V G.O. Sars (H2DEEP-08)
focused on core complex formation and hydrothermal activity
where the Mohns Ridge passes into the Knipovich Ridge
at ~73ºN. An international science party with members from
Norway, Switzerland, Portugal, Russia and the USA participated
on this cruise, which partly was funded through the ESF
EUROMARC program. The first leg of this cruise succeeded in
locating a new black smoker vent field at ~2400-m water depth
(Fig. 1; press release at: http://www.interridge.org/node/5581).
A large hydrothermal mound that appears to have a diameter
comparable to the TAG mound on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is
associated with the new field. Associated with the field are also
vent endemic fauna that appear to be distinct from the fauna
found further south in the Atlantic. During the second leg of
this cruise, the Jan Mayen vent fields, discovered in 2005, were
revisited to recover seafloor experiments.
Figure 1: Sampling fluids with ROV Bathysaurus from a chimney
discovered at Loki’s Castle hydrothermal field.
InterRidge News 37 Vol. 17, 2008