HR: 1330h
AN: B12A-0726 INVITED     [PDF]
TI: Time-Critical Studies: Rapid response to Transient Dynamic Mid-Ocean Ridge Events
AU: * Cowen, J P
EM: jcowen@soest.hawaii.edu
AF: SOEST/University of Hawaii, 1000 Pope Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822
AU: Baker, E T
EM: baker@pmel.noaa.gov
AF: PMEL-NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Rd, NE, Bldg 3, Seattle, WA 98115-6349
AU: Dziak, R P
EM: dziak@pmel.noaa.gov
AF: PMEL-NOAA, 2115 S.E. OSU Drive, Newport, OR 97365-5258
AU: Lilley, M M
EM: lilley@ocean.washington.edu
AF: School of Oceanography, University of Washington WB-10, Seattle, WA 98195
AB: The Time-Critical Studies (TCS) Theme of Ridge 2000 focuses on observations of the immediate geochemical and geobiological consequences of magmatic and tectonic events along the global mid-ocean ridge system. To date funding has centered on the Juan de Fuca and Gorda Ridges which are within the range of the U.S. Navy's Northeast Pacific Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS). NOAA's T-Phase Monitoring Program has accessed SOSUS in real-time since 1993, providing the TCS community with detection of seismicity associated with eruptive or tectonic activity along these two ridges. This remote detection of earthquake swarms along the N.E. Pacific mid-ocean ridge coupled to NSF funding for pre-event staging equipment and supplies has allowed directed and increasingly well-organized field responses to the event site. Major rapid and follow-up response cruises have been successfully mounted to 1993 CoAxial, 1996 and 2001 Gorda Ridge, the 1998 Axial Volcano, and 2001 Middle Valley magmatic episodes. The logistical approach required to study these events has been greatly facilitated by the RIDGE/Ridge 2000 programs and collaboration between university, NOAA and Canadian investigators. Not only have our studies of these events significantly impacted our ideas on the nature of crustal accretion, but they also have led to the discovery and preliminary documentation of a previously unrecognized biomass reservoir that lives below the seafloor and is swept out during these cataclysmic events, and to increased appreciation of the formation and thermal, chemical and biogeochemical implications of the 'Event Plumes' commonly associated with sea floor magmatic events. Rapid shore-to-event site response is an important aspect of TCS. Proposals to enhance the event detection and response effort are welcome at any Ridge 2000 target date. The Ridge 2000 program recognizes that even the most rapid ship response will miss the earliest subsurface and water column expressions of magmatic events. Consequently, Ridge 2000 also seeks proposals to develop alternate ultra-rapid response methods including air-droppable monitoring devices and in situ sensors. Coordination with Integrated Study Sites and proposed cabled and moored Ocean Observatories at Ridge 2000 Integrated Study Sites is also encouraged.
DE: 3015 Heat flow (benthic) and hydrothermal processes
DE: 3035 Midocean ridge processes
DE: 4805 Biogeochemical cycles (1615)
DE: 4832 Hydrothermal systems
DE: 7220 Oceanic crust
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting