Journal
GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS
Volume 16, Issue 9, Pages 3061-3075Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2015GC005926
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Funding
- Korea Polar Research Institute [PP13040, PE15050]
- (Earth-Ocean Interactions) Program
- Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) under NOAA [NA10OAR4320148]
- Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion (KIMST) [PE15050] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
- National Research Foundation of Korea [31Z20130012990] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
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The Australian-Antarctic Ridge (AAR) is one of the largest unexplored regions of the global mid-ocean ridge system. Here, we report a multiyear effort to locate and characterize hydrothermal activity on two first-order segments of the AAR:KR1 and KR2. To locate vent sites on each segment, we used profiles collected by Miniature Autonomous Plume Recorders on rock corers during R/V Araon cruises in March and December of 2011. Optical and oxidation-reduction-potential anomalies indicate multiple active sites on both segments. Seven profiles on KR2 found 3 sites, each separated by similar to 25 km. Forty profiles on KR1 identified 17 sites, some within a few kilometer of each other. The spatial density of hydrothermal activity along KR1 and KR2 (plume incidence of 0.34) is consistent with the global trend for a spreading rate of similar to 70 mm/yr. The densest area of hydrothermal activity, named Mujin,'' occurred along the 20 km-long inflated section near the segment center of KR1. Continuous plume surveys conducted in January-February of 2013 on R/V Araon found CH4/He-3 (1-15 x 10(6)) and CH4/Mn (0.01-0.5) ratios in the plume samples, consistent with a basaltic-hosted system and typical of ridges with intermediate spreading rates. Additionally, some of the plume samples exhibited slightly higher ratios of H-2/He-3 and Fe/Mn than others, suggesting that those plumes are supported by a younger hydrothermal system that may have experienced a recent eruption. The Mujin-field was populated by Kiwa crabs and seven-armed Paulasterias starfish previously recorded on the East Scotia Ridge, raising the possibility of circum-Antarctic biogeographic connections of vent fauna.
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