MSM10/3

From http://www.ifm-geomar.de/index.php?id=4567&L=1. Leg MSM 10/3 will be the last in a series of cruises (that began in 2004) within the DFG Priority Program SPP 1144 "From the Mantle to the Ocean" to the Logatchev hydrothermal vent field at 15°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This cruise, called Hydromar VII, will be centered around two goals: 1) We will continue and conclude our time series studies on the spatial and temporal variability of vent fluid temperatures and composition, and their effect on vent biota, and 2) we will use microbathymetry to examine how crustal structures and tectonics influence hydrothermal processes on the surface. To achieve goal 1, we will repeat, for the fourth and last time within the SPP 1144, our intensive yearly sampling of vent fluids and biota using a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) and will extend our present-day three-dimensional view of ridges to include a time-axis. Studies related to goal 2 will involve high-resolution mapping using an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) to determine the fine structure of the vent surface. The investigations for this cruise will contribute directly to answering the following core interdisciplinary questions of the SPP 1144: 1) What factors govern where tectonic, magmatic, hydrothermal, and biological processes occur on spreading axes? 2) How do biological and hydrothermal processes interact? 3) What are the time scales at which processes at spreading axes occur?