Three new hydrothermal vent fields discovered at Mid Atlantic Ridge
June 02, 2023 | Environmental Lab
A multidisciplinary science team representing 11 institutions from the United States, Canada, and France used advanced ocean technologies to make the discovery. Scientists used autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles resulting in 65 square miles (170 square kilometers) of seafloor mapped at one-meter scale resolution, an area approximately the size of Manhattan Island.
The discovery of the active hydrothermal vents is the first on this section of the world's longest underwater mountain range, the mid-Atlantic Ridge, in more than 40 years. One of the discovered vent fields was located at the Puy des Folles volcano and has five active sites over 6.95 square miles (18 square kilometers). High-temperature "black smoker" vents were also found at the Grappe Deux vent system and Kane Fracture Zone.
The inaugural 40-day expedition on R/V Falkor (too) began in March. The new vessel will be utilized for global ocean exploration, focused on a new region of the world each year. The next expedition began April 17 exploring deep sea coral.