Blue Moon Vent
Latitude: 15.718οN Longitude: 147.177οE Depth: 3696 m bsl
Blue Moon Seamount is a serpentinite seamount (Fryer, 2012) located close to the trench in the Mariana forearc (Hulme et al., 2010). This is also amongst the foreacr seamounts associated with earthquakes (Fryer, 2012). Curtis et al., (2013) state that a novel archaeal subsurface community is present in the mudflows at Blue Moon Seamount.
Table 1: Operations history for Blue Moon vent
| Ship/ Platform | Operation | Year | Dive Number | References |
| TN-154 Thompson ROV Jason-2 | Not found | 2003 April | J2-039, J2-040 | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary (note: click “Files- operations summary”) |
| YK03-07 Yokosuka/ Shinkai 6500 | Not found | 2003 July | 781 | YK03-07 cruise report |
Table 2: Activity and Rock types
| Activity and Host Rocks | References | |
| Activity | Active upwelling of fluids and associated with earthquakes | Mottl et al., 2004; Fryer., 2012 |
| Host Rocks | Serpentinite | Fryer., 2012 |
Table 3: Vent fluid characteristics
| Bottom seawater | Vent Fluids | References | |
| Distance from the trench (km) | 55 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal | |
| Maximum flow (cm/yr) | 10.6 | Hulme et al., 2010 | |
| pH | 8 | >8.2 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Composition | Ca, Sr -rich, low-alkalinity, and low Mg | Wheat et al., 2008 | |
| Alkalinity (meq/kg) | 2.3 | 3 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Clorinity (mmol/kg) | 542 | 459 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Sulfate (mmol/kg) | 28 | 27.5 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Maximum sulfide (μmol/kg) | 0 | 275 | Hulme et al., 2010 |
| Ca (mmol/kg) | 10.2 | 61.9 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Na (mmol/kg) | 466 | 388 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Na/Cl (molar) | 0.86 | 0.846 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| K (mmol/kg) | 10.1 | 4.4 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Li (μmol/kg) | 26 | 4.9 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Rb (μmol/kg) | 1.37 | 0.3 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Cs (μmol/kg) | 0.0022 | 0.0159 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Sr (μmol/kg) | 90 | 724 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Ba (μmol/kg) | 0.14 | 0.53 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| B (μmol/kg) | 410 | 370 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Mn (μmol/kg) | 0 | 0.02 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
| Fe (μmol/kg) | 0 | 5.8 | IODP-MCME 366 Proposal |
* IODP-MCME 366- International Ocean Discovery Program-Mariana Convergent Margin Expedition 366.
Table 4: Vent Biology
| General name | Phylum | Class/Order | References |
| Archaea | Crenarchaeota | Mottl et al., 2003
Curtis et al., 2013 |
|
| Archaea | Euryarchaeota |
Mottl et al., 2003 Curtis et al., 2013 |
|
| Anthozoa | Cnidaria | Anthozoa |
JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images（J-EDI）(note: search “Blue Moon”) |
| Crinoid | Echinodermata | Comatulida |
JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images（J-EDI）(note: search “Blue Moon”) |
| Shrimp | Arthropoda | Decapoda |
JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images（J-EDI）(note: search “Blue Moon”) |
| Sponge | Porifera |
JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images（J-EDI）(note: search “Blue Moon”) |
Images:
- J-EDI JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images (JEDI) (note: search “Blue Moon”)
Video Links:
- J-EDI JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images (JEDI) (note: search “Blue Moon”)
References:
- Curtis, A. C., Wheat, C. G., Fryer, P., Moyer, C. L., 2013. Mariana Forearc Serpentinite Mud Volcanoes Harbor Novel Communities of Extremophilic Archaea. Geomicrobiology Journal 30 (5), 430-441.
- Fryer, P., 2012. Serpentinite Mud Volcanism: Observations, Processes, and Implications. Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci. 4, 345–373.
- Hulme, S. M., Wheat, C. G., Fryer, P., Mottl, M. J., 2010. Pore water chemistry of the Mariana serpentinite mud volcanoes: A window to the seismogenic zone. Geochemistry geophysics geosysems 11(1), Q01X09, doi: 10.1029/2009GC002674.
- Mottl, M. J., Wheat, C. G., Fryer, P., Gharib, J., Martin, J. B., 2004. Chemistry of springs across the Mariana forearc shows progressive devolatilization of the subducting plate. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 68 (23), 4915–4933.
- Wheat, C., Fryer, P., Fisher, A., Hulme, S., Jannasch, H., Mottl, M., Becker, K., 2008. Borehole observations of fluid flow from South Chamorro Seamount, an active serpentinite mud volcano in the Mariana forearc. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 267 (3-4), 401-409.
Website References:
- IODP Mariana Convergent Margin Expedition 366, unpublished IODP proposal http://iodp.tamu.edu/scienceops/precruise/mariana/505-Full5.pdf (accessed 11/24/2015)
- JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology) E-library of Deep-sea Images (JEDI) http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/jedi/public/Sec101.jsf (accessed 11/24/2015)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary http://www.whoi.edu/main/jason/operations-summary (accessed 11/24/2015)
Website References:
- Yokosuka Cruise Report YK03-07 http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/catalog/data/doc_catalog/media/YK03-07_all.pdf