As part of the French-American Ridge Atlantic program the French-American Zero-Angle Photon Spectrometer and Rocks (FAZAR) cruise conducted water column studies between 33 and 40°N along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) to detect hydrothermal activity and map its influence. This paper describes the large-scale hydrography within the axial valley, with particular...
Hydrothermal vents appear to be the tip of the subsurface biosphere in the ocean crust. The primary prducers in this biosphere are prokaryotes that tolerate a wide variety of physical and chemical conditions and are versatile in their use of inorganic compounds to drive metabolism. A synthesis of chemical and...
This research incorporates geochemical and helium isotopic analyses of Lau Basin volcanic glasses, along with helium isotopic analyses of water column hydrothermal plumes to better understand the processes that control the formation and evolution of this backarc basin. Lavas newly collected from the four southernmost segments of the Valu Fa...
Sediments associated with hydrothermal venting, methane seepage and large organic falls such as whale, wood and plant detritus create deep-sea networks of soft-sediment habitats fueled, at least in part, by the oxidation of reduced chemicals. Biological studies at deep-sea vents, seeps and organic falls have looked at macrofaunal taxa, but...