Subaqueous cryptodome eruption, hydrothermal activity and related seafloor morphologies on the andesitic North Su volcano

© The Author(s), 2016. This is the author's version of the work and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 323 (2016): 80-96, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.04.041.North Su is a double-peaked active andesite submarine volcano located in the eastern Manus Basin of the Bismarck Sea that reaches a depth of 1154 m. It hosts a vigorous and varied hydrothermal system with black and white smoker vents along with several areas of diffuse venting and deposits of native sulfur. Geologic mapping based on ROV observations from 2006 and 2011 combined with morphologic features identified from repeated bathymetric surveys in 2002 and 2011 document the emplacement of a volcanic cryptodome between 2006 and 2011. We use our observations and rock analyses to interpret an eruption scenario where highly viscous, crystal-rich andesitic magma erupted slowly into the water-saturated, gravel-dominated slope of North Su. An intense fragmentation process produced abundant blocky clasts of a heterogeneous magma (olivine crystals within a rhyolitic groundmass) that only rarely breached through the clastic cover onto the seafloor. Phreatic and phreatomagmatic explosions beneath the seafloor cause mixing of juvenile and pre-existing lithic clasts and produce a volcaniclastic deposit. This volcaniclastic deposit consists of blocky, non-altered clasts next, variably (1-100 %) altered clasts, hydrothermal precipitates and crystal fragments. The usually applied parameters to identify juvenile subaqueous lava fragments, i.e. fluidal shape or chilled margin, were not applicable to distinguish between pre-existing non-altered clasts and juvenile clasts. This deposit is updomed during further injection of magma and mechanical disruption. Gas-propelled turbulent clast-recycling causes clasts to develop variably rounded shapes. An abundance of blocky clasts and the lack of clasts typical for the contact of liquid lava with water is interpreted to be the result of a cooled, high-viscosity, crystal-rich magma that failed as a brittle solid upon stress. The high viscosity allows the lava to form blocky and short lobes. The pervasive volcaniclastic cover on North Su is partly cemented by hydrothermal precipitates. These hydrothermally-cemented breccias, crusts and single pillars show that hydrothermal circulation through a thick layer of volcaniclastic deposits can temporarily increase slope stability through precipitation and cementation.The RV Melville work was funded by a combination of the US National Science Foundation grant OCE-0327448 and a collaborative research funding grant from Nautilus Minerals for the ABE surveys. The RV Sonne research cruise was funded through the BMBF (Grant G03216a). Additional funding, including salary support for JT, was provided by the German DFG Research Centre/Excellence Cluster ―The Ocean in the Earth System‖. WB acknowledges support from DFG research grant BA1605/4-1.2018-05-1

Permeability-porosity relationships in seafloor vent deposits : dependence on pore evolution processes

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 112 (2007): B05208, doi:10.1029/2006JB004716.Systematic laboratory measurements of permeability and porosity were conducted on three large vent structures from the Mothra Hydrothermal vent field on the Endeavor segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Geometric means of permeability values obtained from a probe permeameter are 5.9 × 10−15 m2 for Phang, a tall sulfide-dominated spire that was not actively venting when sampled; 1.4 × 10−14 m2 for Roane, a lower-temperature spire with dense macrofaunal communities growing on its sides that was venting diffuse fluid of <300°C; and 1.6 × 10−14 m2 for Finn, an active black smoker with a well-defined inner conduit that was venting 302°C fluids prior to recovery. Twenty-three cylindrical cores were then taken from these vent structures. Permeability and porosity of the drill cores were determined on the basis of Darcy's law and Boyle's law, respectively. Permeability values range from ∼10−15 to 10−13 m2 for core samples from Phang, from ∼10−15 to 10−12 m2 for cores from Roane, and from ∼10−15 to 3 × 10−13 m2 for cores from Finn, in good agreement with the probe permeability measurements. Permeability and porosity relationships are best described by two different power law relationships with exponents of ∼9 (group I) and ∼3 (group II). Microstructural analyses reveal that the difference in the two permeability-porosity relationships reflects different mineral precipitation processes as pore space evolves within different parts of the vent structures, either with angular sulfide grains depositing as aggregates that block fluid paths very efficiently (group I), or by late stage amorphous silica that coats existing grains and reduces fluid paths more gradually (group II). The results suggest that quantification of permeability and porosity relationships leads to a better understanding of pore evolution processes. Correctly identifying permeability and porosity relationships is an important first step toward accurately estimating fluid distribution, flow rate, and environmental conditions within seafloor vent deposits, which has important consequences for chimney growth and biological communities that reside within and on vent structures.Support from the National Science Foundation under grants NSF OCE-9986456 (W.Z. and M.K.T.) and NSF OCE-0327488 (P.R.C.) is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank the WHOI summer student fellowship for providing support to H.G

Cellular Recognition, Division, and Proliferation in the Cnidarian-Dinoflagellate Symbiosis

Cnidarians and their symbiotic dinoflagellates form a productive mutualism that shapes marine environments. In this symbiosis, dinoflagellate species from the family Symbiodiniacea reside within cnidarian host gastrodermal cells and provide the host with photosynthetically fixed carbon in exchange for host metabolites. This nutritional exchange allows both partners to thrive in nutrient-limited tropical environments. One important consequence of this relationship is the formation of coral reef ecosystems, which serve as important marine habitats for biodiversity. As sea surface temperatures continue to warm as a result of anthropogenic climate change, these cnidarian-Symbiodiniaceae symbioses face physiological challenges that can result in cellular stress and changes in host-symbiont biomass ratios. The success of endosymbionts relies on (1) effective recognition and uptake by host cells, (2) population growth and distribution through cell proliferation of host and symbiont cells, and (3) resilience in the face of environmental stressors. This dissertation therefore examines these aspects of host-symbiont cellular regulation during the establishment, maintenance, and breakdown of symbiosis in the sea anemone Exaiptasia pallida (commonly referred to as Aiptasia). In cnidarians, symbiont uptake is mediated through innate immune pathways of recognition. Glycan-lectin interactions are an important subset of these pathways, in which symbiont surface glycans are recognized by cnidarian host proteins known as lectins during the onset of symbiosis. In Chapter 2, the surface glycans of symbionts were experimentally manipulated and characterized to determine the effect of altered N-glycan composition on uptake by Aiptasia. The biosynthesis pathway of N-glycans was characterized and inhibited in the Symbiodinacea species Breviolum minutum. Inhibition of the N-glycan biosynthesis pathway resulted in a significant increase in the proportion of high-mannose glycans but not in the abundance of N-glycans. Hosts experienced a decrease in the uptake of experimentally treated Breviolum minutum. This work reveals that glycan complexity plays a functional role during the establishment of symbiosis. In Chapter 3, the examination of host-symbiont regulation continued during the proliferative colonization phase. The cell proliferation of Aiptasia was investigated in the symbiotic and aposymbiotic state, and the cell cycles of two Breviolum symbionts were analyzed from algal cultures and host isolates. Localized host cell proliferation was found to correlate with regions containing proliferating symbionts. Overall, hosts undergoing colonization had increased levels of cell proliferation compared to aposymbiotic hosts. The location of cell proliferation also significantly shifted from the epidermis in aposymbiotic hosts towards the gastrodermis in colonizing symbiotic hosts. In contrast to the relationship between proliferating host cells and their colonizing symbionts, the cell cycles of symbionts in fully symbiotic hosts appeared to be restricted. The cell cycles of Breviolum species in hospite exhibited increased S-phase populations but decreased G2M-phase populations, which resembled their respective cell cycles in nutrient-limited cultures. B. psygmophilum appeared to have increased S-phase populations and wider G1-phase population peaks than B. minutum. These cell cycle differences between species suggest a role for cell cycle regulation in mechanisms governing nutrition and host-symbiont specificity. In Chapter 4, a noninvasive method was developed to monitor the patterns of symbiont proliferation during recolonization and thermal stress. Successful recolonization by symbiont populations consisted of local growth from symbiont clusters as well as the consistent establishment of new symbiont clusters during the first two weeks. Clusters with increased densities of symbionts declined immediately after thermal stress, whereas singlet symbiont populations persisted for a longer period. The importance of host-symbiont specificity was observed when comparing the rapid, consistent recolonization by homologous symbiont B. minutum to the slower, inconsistent recolonization by heterologous symbionts Symbiodinium microadriaticum and Durusdinium trenchii. However, after recolonization was established, B. minutum colonization was more susceptible to bleaching from the effect of thermal stress. Symbionts S. microadriaticum and D. trenchii persisted longer in Aiptasia under thermal stress. These differences in the establishment and resilience of symbiont recolonization emphasize the need for understanding the underlying mechanisms that govern successful cnidarian-dinoflagellate associations. In summary, the work presented in this dissertation details the cellular regulation of cnidarian-Symbiodiniaceae symbioses. Differences between symbiont species and the composition of their cell surfaces have an effect on the success and nature of their symbioses with their cnidarian hosts. The results of this dissertation underscore the importance of shared cellular mechanisms that control many aspects of these symbioses, including the establishment and homeostasis of the association

Central anomaly magnetization high: constraints on the volcanic construction and architecture of seismic layer 2A at a fast-spreading mid-ocean ridge, the EPR at 9º30'–50'N

The central anomaly magnetization high (CAMH) is a zone of high crustal magnetization centered on the axis of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) and many other segments of the global mid-ocean ridge (MOR). The CAMH is thought to reflect the presence of recently emplaced and highly magnetic lavas. Forward models show that the complicated character of the near-bottom CAMH can be successfully reproduced by the convolution of a lava deposition distribution with a lava magnetization function that describes the variation in lava magnetization intensity with age. This lava magnetization function is the product of geomagnetic paleofield intensity, which has increased by a factor of 2 over the last 40 kyr, and low-temperature alteration, which decreases the remanence of lava with exposure to seawater. The success of the forward modeling justifies the inverse approach: deconvolution of the magnetic data for lava distribution and integration of that distribution for magnetic layer thickness. This approach is tested on two near-bottom magnetic profiles AL2767 and AL2771, collected using Alvin across the EPR axis at 9º31'N and 9º50'N. Our analysis of these data produces an estimate of the relative thickness of the magnetic lava layer, which is remarkably consistent with existing multichannel estimates of layer 2A thickness from lines CDP31 and CDP27. The similarity between magnetic layer and seismic layer 2A at the 9º–10ºN segment of the EPR crest provides independent support to the notion that seismic layer 2A in young oceanic crust represents the highly magnetic lava layer, and that the velocity gradient at the base of layer 2A is related to the increasing number of higher velocity dikes with depth in the lava–dike transition zone. The near-bottom magnetic anomaly character of the CAMH is a powerful indicator of the emplacement history of upper crust at MORs which allows prediction of the relative thickness and architecture of the extrusive lavas independent of other constraint

Continuous near-bottom gravity measurements made with a BGM-3 gravimeter in DSV Alvin on the East Pacific Rise crest near 9°31 'N and 9°50'N

A Bell BGM-3 gravimeter has been used to collect continuous, underway, near-bottom (3- to 10-m altitude) gravity measurements from the deep-diving submersible DSV Alvin during surveys on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) crest near 9° 31'N and 9° 50'N. Closely spaced (20- to 30-m) gravity measurements were made along transects up to 8 km-long in both regions. Repeatability of measurements made at the same location on different dives is ~ 0.3 mGal. Along-track spatial resolution of anomalies is ~130-160 m, with the limiting factors being precision and sampling rate of the pressure gauge depth data used to calculate vertical accelerations of the submersible. The average upper crustal density of the ridge crest determined from the relationship between depth and free-water gravity anomalies varies greatly between 9 °31 'N and 9° 50'N. Average upper crustal densities of2410 kg/m3 for the 9° 50'N area and 2690 kg/m3 for the 9° 31'N area were calculated. The different densities are not due to differing geometry of the Layer 2A-2B boundary or a regional cross-axis gravity gradient. Differences in porosity of the shallow crustal rocks, or a difference in the proportion of low-density extrusives to higher-density dikes and sills within Layer 2A in these two areas, are the likely causes of the different upper crustal densities. Bouguer gravity anomalies near the EPR axis are primarily small amplitude (0.5-2 mGal), are a few hundred meters across, and appear to be lineated parallel to the axis. Larger-amplitude Bouguer anomalies of up to 4 mGal were found at a few locations across the crestal plateau and are associated with pillow ridges composed of lavas which are clearly younger than the surrounding seafloor. These ridges have distinct chemical compositions compared to lavas from the axial summit collapse trough (ASCT) at the same latitude. Probable sources of the 0.5- to 2-mGal anomalies observed on the summit plateau include areas of collapsed and fissured terrain and dike swarms feeding melt through Layer 2A to the surface. A grid survey of the ridge axis near 9° 50'N shows Bouguer anomalies lineated along the axis, suggesting that dike swarms do contribute to the observed Bouguer anomalies. The along-axis continuity of the gravity anomalies is disrupted at a 75-m offset of the ASCT, suggesting that shallow feeders of lava to the surface may be segmented on a finer scale than the deeper crustal magmatic system. This initial study confirms the ability to conduct high-resolution, near-bottom, continuous gravity measurements from Alvin. It also provides important information on how the shallow crustal structure of a fast spreading mid-ocean ridge develops and how it varies with the surface morphology

Autonomous and remotely operated vehicle technology for hydrothermal vent discovery, exploration, and sampling

Author Posting. © Oceanography Society, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 20, 1 (2007): 152-161.Autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles play complementary roles in the discovery, exploration, and detailed study of hydrothermal vents. Beginning with clues provided by towed or lowered instruments, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) can localize and make preliminary photographic surveys of vent fields. In addition to finding and photographing such sites, AUVs excel at providing regional context through fine-scale bathymetric and magnetic field mapping. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) enable close-up inspection, photomosaicking, and tasks involving manipulation of samples and instruments. Increasingly, ROVs are used to conduct in situ seafloor experiments. ROVs can also be used for fine-scale bathymetric mapping with excellent results, although AUVs are usually more efficient in such tasks

Mid-ocean ridge exploration with an autonomous underwater vehicle

Author Posting. © Oceanography Society, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 20, 4 (2007): 52-61.Human-occupied submersibles, towed vehicles, and tethered remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) have traditionally been used to study the deep seafloor. In recent years, however, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have begun to replace these other vehicles for mapping and survey missions. AUVs complement the capabilities of these pre-existing systems, offering superior mapping capabilities, improved logistics, and better utilization of the surface support vessel by allowing other tasks such as submersible operations, ROV work, CTD stations, or multibeam surveys to be performed while the AUV does its work. AUVs are particularly well suited to systematic preplanned surveys using sonars, in situ chemical sensors, and cameras in the rugged deep-sea terrain that has been the focus of numerous scientific expeditions (e.g., those to mid-ocean ridges and ocean margin settings). The Autonomous Benthic Explorer (ABE) is an example of an AUV that has been used for over 20 cruises sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Ocean Exploration (OE), and international and private sources. This paper summarizes NOAA OE-sponsored cruises made to date using ABE

The Cleft revealed: geologic, magnetic, and morphologic evidence for construction of upper oceanic crust along the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 7 (2006): Q04003, doi:10.1029/2005GC001038.The geology and structure of the Cleft Segment of the Southern Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR) have been examined using high-resolution mapping systems, observations by remotely operated vehicle (ROV), ROV-mounted magnetometer, and the geochemical analysis of recovered lavas. Bathymetric mapping using multibeam (EM300) coupled with in situ observations that focused on near-axis and flank regions provides a detailed picture of 0 to 400 ka upper crust created at the southern terminus of the JdFR. A total of 53 rock cores and 276 precisely located rock or glass samples were collected during three cruises that included sixteen ROV dives. Our observations of the seafloor during these dives suggest that many of the unfaulted and extensive lava flows that comprise and/or cap the prominent ridges that flank the axial valley emanate from ridge parallel faults and fissures that formed in the highly tectonized zone that forms the walls of the axial valley. The geochemically evolved and heterogeneous nature of these near-axis and flank eruptions is consistent with an origin within the cooler distal edges of a crustal magma chamber or mush zone. In contrast, the most recent axial eruptions are more primitive (higher MgO), chemically homogeneous lobate, sheet, and massive flows that generate a distinct magnetic high over the axial valley. We suggest that the syntectonic capping volcanics observed off-axis were erupted from near-axis and flank fissures and created a thickened extrusive layer as suggested by the magnetic and seismic data. This model suggests that many of the lavas that comprise the elevated ridges that bound the axial valley of the Cleft Segment were erupted during the collapse of a magmatic cycle not during the robust phase that established a new magmatic cycle.This research has been partially supported by a NSF grant to M. Perfit (OCE-0221541). M. Tivey acknowledges support from WHOI’s Mellon grant for Independent Study. Support for D. Stakes, T. Ramirez, D. Caress, and N. Maher and for the entire field program was provided by funds to MBARI from the Lucille and David Packard Foundation