Multidisciplinary Scientific Cruise to the Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Azores Archipelago
Creators
- Somoza, Luis1
- Medialdea, Teresa1
- González, Francisco J1
- Calado, António2
- Afonso, Andreia2
- Albuquerque, Mónica2
- Asensio-Ramos, María3
- Bettencourt, Renato4
- Blasco, Iker1
- Candón, Jose A5
- Carreiro-Silva, Marina4
- Cid, Constantino5
- De Ignacio, Cristina6
- López-Pamo, Enrique1
- Machancoses, Sara5
- Ramos, Bruno2
- Pinto Ribeiro, Luisa7
- Rincón-Tomás, Blanca8
- Santofimia, Esther1
- Souto, Miguel2
- Tojeira, Inês2
- Viegas, Cláudia9
- Madureira, Pedro10
- 1. Marine Geology Dv., Geological Survey of Spain IGME, Madrid, Spain
- 2. ortuguese Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf EMEPC, Paço de Arcos, Portugal
- 3. Instituto Volcanológico de Canarias INVOLCAN, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- 4. IMAR Instituto do Mar, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal; Okeanos Research Center, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
- 5. Hydrographic Institute of the Navy IHM, Cádiz, Spain
- 6. Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, Complutense University of Madrid UCM, Madrid, Spain
- 7. ortuguese Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf EMEPC, Paço de Arcos, Portugal; GeoBioTec, Aveiro University, Aveiro, Portugal
- 8. Department of Geobiology, Georg-August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- 9. IMAR Instituto do Mar, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal; Okeanos Research Center, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal; MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Center, Coimbra, Portugal
- 10. ortuguese Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf EMEPC, Paço de Arcos, Portugal; Institute of Earth Sciences, Department of Geosciences, Évora University, Evora, Portugal
Description
ABSTRACT
This work presents the preliminary result of the multidisciplinary cruise EXPLOSEA2 surveying the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Azores Archipelago from 46◦ 30′ N to 38◦ 30′ N aboard the R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa and ROV Luso over 54 days (June 11 to July 27, 2019). In this cruise report, we detail the geophysical, hydrographic, geological, oceanographic, ecological, and microbiological data acquired and a brief of main findings. The cruise addressed the exploration and comprehensive characterization of venting sites, including the water column, the sediments and rocks that host the hydrothermal activity, and the associated mineralizations, biology, and microbiology. Deep hydrothermal chimneys and massive sulfide deposits (up 3,000 m in depth) within the Moytirra hydrothermal active field were identified on slopes that had not been explored previously. Another striking finding made during the EXPLOSEA2 cruise was the field of carbonate chimneys named the “Magallanes-Elcano” field, a potentially relict ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal site sourced by abiotic methane. This field is related to a serpentinite and gabbro rock outcropping on a dome-shaped massif named the “Iberian Massif.” An outstanding finding of the EXPLOSEA2 survey was the identification of the first garden of soft corals growing after active submarine eruptions were reported in the Azores Archipelago composed by a high density of soft corals the suborder Alcyoniina at the summit and flanks of a recent volcanic cone at 160 m water depth developed during the 1957–1958 eruption of Capelinhos. Several cold-water coral habitats formed by colonial scleractinians (e.g., Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata), coral gardens composed of mixed assemblages of black corals (Leiopathes sp.), and octocorals and dense aggregations of the glass sponge Pheronema carpenteri that may be classified as vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) have been discovered during the EXPLOSEA2 cruise along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This work reveals the importance of multidisciplinary surveys to the knowledge of deep-sea environments.
Notes
Files
Somoza et al 2020-fmars-07-568035.pdf
Additional details
Related works
- Is derived from
- Journal article: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.568035/full#h7 (URL)
- Is supplemented by
- Figure: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.568035/full#supplementary-material (URL)
Funding
- SponGES – Deep-sea Sponge Grounds Ecosystems of the North Atlantic: an integrated approach towards their preservation and sustainable exploitation 679849
- European Commission
- ATLAS – A Trans-AtLantic Assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based Spatial management plan for Europe 678760
- European Commission
- GeoERA – Establishing the European Geological Surveys Research Area to deliver a Geological Service for Europe 731166
- European Commission