An active source, 3-D seismic (refraction/wide angle reflection) experiment was completed at the ultra-slow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge during the 6th leg of the CHINA RIDGE cruise (DY115-21) on board R/V Dayang Yihao
Ridge Crest News
Inactive Hydrothermal Vent Field Discovered at the Southwest Indian Ridge 50.5ºE
The 5th leg of the 2008 Chinese DY115-20 expedition on board R/V Dayangyihao has successfully discovered an inactive hydrothermal vent field at 50.4671°E, 37.6579°S on the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). This inactive hydrothermal field is located on the shallowest portion of Segment 27 of the SWIR west of the Gallieni Transform Fault, with relative low mantle Bouguer gravity anomaly (Sauter, et al., 2001). This newly found site is located in the middle of a ridge segment, where the rift valley disappears and the seafloor depth is 1739 m.
R/V Maria S. Merian cruise underway at Logatchev hydrothermal vent field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Cruise MSM 10/3 on board R/V Maria S. Merian is underway from 11 Jan - 13 Feb 2009, with scientists from Germany and France, led by Chief Scientist Nicole Dubilier (InterRidge Steering Committee Member). This cruise is part of the German Science Foundation’s Priority Program “From Mantle to Ocean” (SPP 1144) in which scientists are working together to better understand the geology, chemistry, and biology of hydrothermal vents on the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
First Active Hydrothermal Vent Fields Discovered at the Equatorial Southern East Pacific Rise
In August-September 2008, the third leg of the 2008 Chinese DY115-20 expedition on board R/V DayangYihao has successfully discovered, for the first time, active hydrothermal vent fields on the fast-spreading Southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) near the equator. This expedition follows the work of a 2005 expedition by R/V DayangYihao, during which water column turbidity anomalies were measured in the region.
