Ruby Vent
Latitude: 15.60417οN Longitude: 145.57333οE Depth: 180 m bsl
Ruby is an active submarine volcano with multiple edifices (Baker et al., 2008) in the Mariana Arc. The most recent eruption was recorded in 1995 (Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program) followed by several early submarine (Embley et al., 2007). Chemical analyses of fluids revealed significant increases in TDFe, TDMn, pFe, CO2, 3He, and ΔpH. Venting at Ruby had much higher Fe:Mn ratio, suggesting that elevated Fe levels come from carbonic acid dissolution of the host rocks. The highest value of CO2:3He from Ruby is among the highest values reported at either subaerial or submarine arc volcanoes and clearly reflects the addition of CO2 and the greatest slab influence. About 96% of the CO2 venting at Ruby is from the slab source (Resing et al., 2009). In 2006 the expeditions made to Ruby found some living organisms such as limpets, crabs and sea lilies around the area (Submarine ring of Fire, 2006).
Table 1: Operations history for Ruby vent
| Ship/ Platform | Operation | Year | Dive Number | References |
| MGLN02MV R/V Melville/ ROV Jason-2 | Not found | 2006 April | J2-194 | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary (note: click “Files- operations summary”) |
| TN-153 R/V T. G. Thompson | EM 300 multibeam; CTD tow-yo | 2003 February – March | Submarine Ring of Fire 2003 |
Table 2: Vent activity and host rocks
| Activity and host rocks | References | |
| Activity | Active, Last erupted 1995 | Lupton et al., 2008; Baker et al., 2008 |
| Host Rocks | Basalt | Stern et al., 1989; Resing et al., 2009 |
Table 3: Vent fluid characteristics
| Vent Fluids | References | |
| Temperature (οC) | Low T (<100οC) | Embley et al., 2007 |
| ΔpH | 0.067 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| Composition | CO2 and Alkalinity, Fe | Resing et al., 2009 |
| ΔCO2 (mM) | 65 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| Particulate Fe (nmol/kg) | 1568 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| TDMn (nM) | 47 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| TDFe (nM) | 1333 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| Δ3He (fM) | 1.1 | 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 |
| Crabs | Arthropoda | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
| Limpets | Mollusca | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
| Sea lilies | Echinodermata | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
Images:
- Small brown/red crabs and small limpets that colonize the small rocks and sand. The red circles outline some of the crabs in the image
- Stalked crinoids (sea lilies) cling to the steep, basaltic terrain at Ruby volcano
Video Links: None known.
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.
- Lupton, J., Lilley, M., Butterfield, D., Evans, L., Embley, R., Massoth, G., Christenson, B., Nakamura, K., Schmidt, M., 2008. Venting of a separate CO2-rich gas phase from submarine arc volcanoes: Examples from the Mariana and Tonga-Kermadec arcs. Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (B8), doi:10.1029/2007JB005467.
- 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), doi:10.1029/2008GC002141.
Website References
- Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program; http://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=284202 (accessed 11/26/2015)
- Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06fire/logs/photolog/photolog.html (accessed 11/26/2015)
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2003 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03fire/logs/summary/summary.html (accessed 11/26/2015)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary http://www.whoi.edu/main/jason/operations-summary (accessed 11/26/2015)
Cruise Reports:
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2003 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03fire/logs/summary/marianas_cruisereport.pdf (accessed 2/27/2017)