Untitled - The Future Ocean

Similar fluid-flow models are applicable to the formation of different seafloor resources.3. Previous and on-going work of the proponentsThe proponents have strengths, both nationally and internationally, in the following areas: 1) thealteration and metamorphism of the seafloor, 2) the structural geology, physics and chemistry ofthe ocean crust, 3) thermodynamics and the chemistry of fluids, 4) the formation and dissociationof gas hydrates, 5) the evolution of hydrothermal systems and 6) numerical simulation. This isreflected in the proponents’ publication records and their leading roles in large projects, e.g.SPP1144 (From Mantle to Ocean: Energy, Material and Life Cycles at Spreading Axes), SFB 574(Volatiles and Fluids in Subduction Zones), COMET (Controls on Methane Fluxes and theirClimatic Relevance in Marine Gas Hydrate-Bearing sediments), METRO (Methane and MethaneHydrates in the Black Sea), EU IHP Network (Breaking Complexity) and SFB 393 (NumericalSimulation on Parallel Computers). The petrological and geochemical groups in Kiel have, or willobtain, the necessary background data on fluids, host rocks and the marine resources. Based onmathematical expertise (e.g. discretization and approximation methods and efficient solvers forlarge systems; Beuchler et al. 2004), the numerical simulation group will provide advancedcomputational tools for complex models. The structural geology and marine geophysical groupswill generate basis data on heat flow and the structure of the ocean floor.4. ObjectivesThe goal of the JRG will be to improve our knowledge of resource formation resulting from fluidflow in the ocean crust. During the first half of the project, the JRG will establish realistic boundaryconditions (geological, physical, chemical) for fluid flow, dissolution and precipitation processes.Thereafter, emphasis will shift to the numerical modeling of these geological systems in threedimensions, integrating chemical and biological reactions and the thermodynamics of the fluids.The petrological and geochemical groups will provide kinetic and thermodynamic components for73