E Diamante Vent
Latitude: 15.942οN Longitude: 145.679οE Depth: 127 m bsl
East Diamante vent is a shallow black-smoker, within a highly degraded caldera (Embley et al., 2007). The vent is hydrothermally active (Arriaga et al., 2014; Baker et al., 2008) and the observed fluid temperature are about 242°C (Embley et al., 2007). Although the vent fluid temperature is high, plume has a very low Δ3He anomaly (Resing et al., 2009). The vent is rich in microorganisms as well as macro organisms including bacteria, algae, clams, snails and worms (Embley et al., 2007).
Table 1: Operations history for E. Diamante vent
| Ship/ Platform | Operation | Year | Dive Number | References |
| MGLN02MV R/V Melville/ ROV Jason-2 | CTD tow-yo | 2006 April | J2-186 to J2-189, J2-191, J2-192 | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary (note: click “Files- operations summary”) |
| NT09-08 R/V Natsushima/ Hyper-dolphin | Not found | 2009 June | HPD#1011,1012, 1013, 1014, 1015 | Natsushima cruise report |
| TN-153 R/V T. G. Thompson | EM 300 multibeam, CTD tow-yo | 2003 February – March | Not found | Submarine Ring of Fire 2003 |
| TN-167 R/V T. G. Thompson/ ROPOS | CTD tow-yo, CTD vertical cast, EM 300 | 2004 March- April | R787, R788 | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2004 |
Table 2: Vent activity and host rocks
| Activity and host rocks | Reference | |
| Activity | Active hydrothermal activity | Suárez-Arriaga, et al., 2014; Baker et al., 2008 |
| Host Rocks | Dacite | Embley et al., 2007 |
Table 3: Vent fluid characteristics
| Vent Fluids | Reference | |
| Temperature (οC) | High T, 242οC | Embley et al., 2007 |
| ΔpH | -0.035 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| Composition | Sulfur and Gas, no Metals | Resing et al., 2009 |
| ΔCO2 (mM) | 19 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| Particulate Fe (nmol/kg) | 2.2 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| TDMn (nM) | 3.2 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| TDFe (nM) | 11.5 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| Δ3He (fM) | 0.2 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| CH4 (nM) | 2.5 | Resing et al., 2009 |
* ΔpH, ΔCO2 – Measured relative to the regional background; Δ3He – Measured above the background.
Table 4: Vent Biology
| General name | Phylum | References |
| Chemosynthetic microbes | Embley et al., 2007 | |
| Banded butterfly fish | Chordata | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
| Clams | Mollusca | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
| Green Algae | Chlorophyta | Embley et al., 2007 |
| Red Algae | Rodophyta | Embley et al., 2007 |
| Snails | Mollusca | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
| Worms | Annelida | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
Images:
- Some common zooplankton (mostly copepods) collected near the surface over East Diamante volcano
- Conical limpets (2cm, 0.75 in) cover the rock surfaces
- The steep slope of the East Diamante volcano
Video Links:
- The central cone at East Diamante volcano (note: click on “quicktime or windows media)
- The “Aquarium” site at East Diamante volcano (note: click on “quicktime or windows media)
- Sea life around the hydrothermal vents at the East Diamante volcano (note: click on “quicktime or windows media).
- Vents at East Diamante volcano (between 300-350 meters depth) encountered animals such as crabs, basket stars, crabs, barnacles, and snails (note: click on “quicktime or windows media).
References:
- Baker, E. T., Embley, R. W., Walker, S. L., Resing, J. A., Lupton, J. E., Nakamura, K., de Ronde, C. E. J., Massoth, G. J., 2008. Hydrothermal activity and volcano distribution along the Mariana arc: Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (B8), 1-16.
- Embley, R. W., Baker, E. T., Butterfield, D. A., Chadwick, W. W. Jr., Lupton, J. E., Resing, J. A., de Ronde, C. E. J., Nakamura, K., Tunnicliffe, V., Dower, J. F., Merle, S. G., 2007. Exploring the submarine ring of fire: Mariana Arc- Western Pacific, Oceanography 20, 68–79.
- Resing, J. A., Baker, E. T., Lupton, J. E., Walker, S. L., Butterfield, D. A., Massoth, G. J., Nakamura, K., 2009. Chemistry of hydrothermal plumes above submarine volcanoes of the Mariana Arc. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 10 (2), 1-23.
- Suárez-Arriaga, M.C., Bundschuh, J., Samaniego, F., 2014. Assessment of submarine geothermal resources and development of tools to quantify their energy potentials for environmentally sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production 83, 21-32.
Website References:
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary http://www.whoi.edu/main/jason/operations-summary (accessed 11.09.2015)
Cruise Reports:
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04fire/logs/photolog/photolog.html (accessed 11.09.2015)
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2003 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03fire/logs/summary/summary.html (accessed 11.09.2015)
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2006 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06fire/logs/summary/summary.html (accessed 11.09.2015)
- Natsushima cruise report NT09-08 http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/catalog/data/doc_catalog/media/NT09-08_all.pdf (accessed 2/28/2017)
- NOAA Okeanos Explorer 2016 https://docs.lib.noaa.gov/OEDV/Okeanos_Explorer_2016_EX1605/Leg_3/doc/dive_summaries/EX1605L3_DIVE09_20160626_ROVDiveSummary_Final.pdf (accessed 2/27/2017)