Alice Springs Vent
Latitude: 18.267οN Longitude: 144.683οE Depth: 3790 m bsl
The Alice Springs field is located on the flank of an axial volcano of basaltic andesite in the Mariana Trough spreading axis (Yamaoka et al., 2015). Most of the surrounding area consists of pillow basalts commonly covered by thin sediments, while hydrothermal vents are limited to a small area where the microbial mats grow well (Asada et al., 2007). This field vents clear fluids with a maximum temperature of 280-287οC (Gamo et al., 2004). The chemical and isotope characteristics of the hydrothermal fluids suggest that this hydrothermal system is a sediment-starved backarc type (Gamo et al., 1997). The main ore minerals in the chimneys are wurtzite, chalcopyrite and tetrahedrite-tennantite. Anhydrite and barite are also abundant (Iwaida et al., 2005).
Table 1: Operations history for Alice Springs vent
| Ship/ Platform | Operation | Year | Dive Number | References |
| KR02-14 Kairei | Magnetometric Resistivity experiment | 2002 | Not found | Seama et al., 2011 |
| R/V Atlantis II/ Alvin | Not found | 1987 April | 1839, 1843, 1845 | Asada et al., 2007;
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary (note: click “Files- operations summary”), Hessler et al., 1989 |
| Shinkai 6500 | Not found | 1992 September | 140 | Craddock et al., 1995 |
| R/V Folker (FK151121) | CTD, AUV Sentry | 2015 December | 368 | FK151121 cruise report |
Table 2: Vent activity and host rocks
| Activity and Host Rocks | References | |
| Activity | Active | Iwaida et al., 2005 |
| Host Rocks | Basalt | InterRidge Vents Database Ver. 3.3 |
| Basaltic Andesite | Yamaoka et al., 2015 | |
Table 3: Vent fluid characteristics
| Vent Fluids | References | |
| Temperature (οC) | 238-287 | Gamo, 1995 |
| pH | 3.9-4.4 | Gamo, 1995 |
| Composition | Clear smoker fluids | Gamo et al., 2004 |
| CO2 (mM) | 43.4 | Gamo, 1995 |
| Mn (μM) | 295 | Gamo, 1995 |
| Fe (μM) | 6.4 | Gamo, 1995 |
| Alkalinity (mM) | 0.1-0.4 | Gamo, 1995 |
| H2S (mM) | 2.5 | Gamo, 1995 |
Table 4: Vent biology
| General name | Phylum | Order | Family | Species | References |
| Actinians (Anemones) | Cnidaria | Gamo et al., 1997 | |||
| Barnacle | Arthropoda | Neoverruca
brachylepadoformis |
InterRidge Vents Database Ver. 3.3
Watanabe et al., 2005 |
||
| Brachyuran Crabs | Arthropoda | InterRidge Vents Database Ver. 3.3 | |||
| Big snail | Mollusca | Alviniconcha
Hessleri |
Gamo et al., 2004 | ||
| Galatheid crabs | Mollusca | Gamo et al., 2004 | |||
| Hairy gastropods | Mollusca | InterRidge Vents Database Ver. 3.3 | |||
| Limpets
|
Mollusca | Austinograea williamsi | Hessler et al., 1989 | ||
| Mytilids | Mollusca | Craddock et al., 1995 | |||
| Polychaetes | Annelida | InterRidge Vents Database Ver. 3.3 | |||
| Shrimp | Arthropoda | InterRidge Vents Database Ver. 3.3 | |||
| Snail | Mollusca | Gastropoda | Lepetodrilidae | Pseudorimula marianae | Hasegawa et al., 1997 |
| Snail | Mollusca | Gastropoda | Neomphalidae | Symmetromphalus regularis | Hasegawa et al., 1997 |
| White whelk | Gamo et al., 1997 |
Images: None known
Video Links:
- FK161129 searching for life in the Mariana Backarc (note: Click dives 36, 37 and 38 of dropdown videos)
References:
- Asada, M., Deschamps, A., Fujiwara, T., Nakamura, Y., 2007. Submarine lava flow emplacement and faulting in the axial valley of two morphologically distinct spreading segments of the Mariana back-arc basin from Wadatsumi side-scan sonar images. Geophys. Geosyst., 8 (4) doi:10.1029/2006GC001418.
- Craddock, C., Hoeh, W. R., Gustafson, R. G., Lutz, R. A., Hashimoto, J., Vrijenhoek, R. J. 1995. Evolutionary relationships among deep-sea mytilids (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) from hydrothermal vents and cold-water methane/sulfide seeps. Marine Biology, 121(3), 477-485.
- Gamo, T., Masuda, H., Yamanaka, T., Okamura, K., Ishibashi, J., Nakayama, E., Obata, H., Shitashima, K., Nishio, Y., Hasumoto, H., Watanabe, M., Mitsuzawa, K., Seama, N., Tsunogai, U., Kouzuma, F., Sano, Y., 2004. Discovery of a new hydrothermal venting site in the southernmost Mariana Arc. Geochemical Journal 38, 527-534.
- Gamo, T., Tsunogai, U., Ishibashi, J., Masuda, H., Chiba, H., 1997. Chemical characteristics of hydrothermal fluids from the Mariana Trough. JAMSTEC J. Deep-Sea Res. Spec. Volume: Deep Sea Research in Subduction Zones, Spreading Centers and Backarc Basins, 69-74.
- Gamo, T., 1995. Wide variation of chemical characteristics of submarine hydrothermal fluids due to secondary modification processes after high temperature water-rock interaction: a review. Biogeochemical processes and ocean flux in the western Pacific. 425-451.
- Hasegawa, K., Fujikura, K., Okutani, T., 1997. Gastropod fauna associated with hydrothermal vents in the Mariana back-arc Basin: summary of the results of 1996 “Shinkai 6500” dives. JAMSTEC Journal of Deep Sea Research, 13, 69-83.
- Hessler, R. R., Martin, J. W., 1989. Austinograea williamsi, new genus, new species, a hydrothermal vent crab (Decapoda: Bythograeidae) from the Mariana Back-Arc Basin, western Pacific. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 645-661.
- Iwaida, C., Ueno, H., 2005. Ore and gangue minerals of seafloor hydrothermal deposits in the Mariana Trough. JAMSTEC Report of Research and Development 1, 1–12.
- Seama, N., Shibata, Y., Kimura, M., Shindo, H., Matsuno, T., Nogi, Y., Okino, K., 2011. Upper mantle electrical resistivity structure beneath back-arc spreading centers. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (Abstracts) 1, p. 4.
- Watanabe, H., Tsuchida, S., Fujikura, K., Yamamoto, H., Inagaki, F., Kyo, M., Kojima, S., 2005. Population history associated with hydrothermal vent activity inferred from genetic structure of neoverrucid barnacles around Japan. Marine Ecology Progress Series 288, 233-240.
- Yamaoka, K., Hong, E., Ishikawa, T., Gamo, T., Kawahata, H., 2015. Boron isotope geochemistry of vent fluids from arc/back-arc seafloor hydrothermal systems in the western Pacific. Chemical Geology 392, 9-18.
Website References:
- InterRidge Vents Database Ver. 3.3 http://vents-data.interridge.org/ventfield/alice-springs-field (accessed 01/24/2016).
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary; https://www.whoi.edu/main/jason/operations-summary (accessed 01/14/2016).
Cruise Reports:
- FK151121 – Hydrothermal Hunt on the Mariana Back-arc – R/V Falkor https://schmidtocean.org/wp-content/uploads/FK151121-cruise-report-final.compressed.pdf (accessed 2/22/2017)