(a) Anemones are common and often quite dense on the pillow basalts of northernmost vent fields along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center. The anemones reside in close proximity to vent flows where they can access higher prey densities supported by enhanced local primary production. (b) A canonical “bullseye” assemblage of Alviniconcha spp. snails shown in the middle, surrounded by Ifremeria nautilei snails and Bathymodiolus brevior mussels. Alviniconcha spp. occupy the region of greatest exposure to vent fluid.

Species (common):
Year: 2009
Details:
Media Type: Video
Data Type:
Device Type:
Feature: Lau:VFR:Mariner
Investigator: Charles Fisher
Expedition: TN235
Chief Scientist: Charles Fisher
Species:

Volatile chemistry for the hydrothermal edifices Sully (blue dots) and Hulk (red dots) located in Main Endeavour Field. As illustrated, the hydrothermal systems in the Bastille complex, where Sully is located, and the northern complex, which hosts Hulk, have continued to have distinct chemical-thermal properties both prior to and following the 1999–2000 events. The implication from these results is that the Bastille complex is fed by a different upflow limb of a convection cell than the northern complex (as illustrated in Figure 2).

Hydrothermal edifices within the Endeavour vent system. (a) The Bastille structure, rising > 15 m above the seafloor, is typical of structures in the Main Endeavour, High Rise, and Salty Dawg hydrothermal fields, exhibiting numerous active flanges and black smoker orifices at its summit. Mixing of hydrothermal fluids and seawater in the porous outer walls supports dense communities of limpets, palm worms, scale worms, and tubeworms. This image shows one of the small pinnacles that forms the summit of Bastille. The scale bar in all images is ~ 1 m.

Thermobarometric implications of silica-chloride contents of the Bio9 hydrothermal vent across two eruptive cycles. Measured silica (mmolal) and chloride (molal) data are superposed onto the Fontaine et al. [2009] model to predict temperatures and pressures of equilibration. After each eruption, the vapors are noticeably chloride-poor. The top figure in the inset shows measured exit temperatures (open squares) compared to modeled reaction temperatures (filled squares), derived from temperatures predicted by the silica-chloride model (at left) across the eruptive cycle.

Species (common):
Year: 2012

Pre- and post-eruption Biomarker 141 animal communities at the East Pacific Rise. (upper) A well-developed Bathymodiolus thermophilus assemblage with galatheid crabs along the central eruptive fissure on the AST floor in May 2005 (pre-eruption). (lower) The same location hosting an actively colonizing Tevnia jerichonana tubeworm community November 2006, after the 2005-2006 eruptions. Field of view across the bottom of each photo is ~2 m. Copyright Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Species (common):
Year: 2012
Details:
Media Type: Photograph
Data Type:
Device Type: Camera:Digital