Snail Vent

Latitude: 12.95320^οN             Longitude: 143.61900^οE              Depth: 2860 m bsl

Alternative names: South back-arc spreading center, Fryer site (Kato et a., 2010)

The Snail site is located on the axis of the spreading ridge (Kakegawa et al., 2008) in Mariana Trough. It is an active hydrothermal system with white-gray smokers (Kato et a., 2010) and some dead chimneys (Yoshikawa et al., 2012). The maximum temperature of fluids measured is about 270°C and the fluids are rich in H₂S (Kato et a., 2010). The biodiversity includes several bacterial species, barnacles, shrimp and snails (Kato et al., 2010; Kato et al., 2012; Kumagai et al., 2015).

Table 1: Operations history for Snail vent

Table 2: Vent activity and host rocks

Table 3: Vent fluid characteristics

Table 4: Vent Biology

Images:

• Snails, crabs, shrimp, and anemonies compete for space at Snail Vent hydrothermal site

Video Links:

• Footage from the dives at Snail Vent and Urashima (note: search “Footage from the dives at Snail Vent and Urashima”).

References:

1. Ikehata, K., Suzuki, R., Shimada, K., Ishibashi, J., Urabe, T., 2015. Mineralogical and Geochemical Characteristics of Hydrothermal Minerals Collected from Hydrothermal Vent Fields in the Southern Mariana Spreading Center. In: Ishibashi, J., Okino, K., Sunamura, M. (Eds.), Subseafloor Biosphere Linked to Hydrothermal Systems: TAIGA Concept. Springer Japan, 275-287.
2. Kakegawa, T., Utsumi, M., and Marumo, K., 2008, Geochemistry of Sulfide Chimneys and Basement Pillow Lavas at the Southern Mariana Trough (12.55°N-12.58°N): Resource Geology 58 (3), 249-266.
3. Kumagai, H., Watanabe, H., Yahagi, T., Kojima, S., Nakai, S., Toyoda, S., Ishibashi, J., 2015. Evaluating Hydrothermal System Evolution Using Geochronological Dating and Biological Diversity Analyses. In: Ishibashi, J., Okino, K., Sunamura, M. (Eds.), Subseafloor Biosphere Linked to Hydrothermal Systems: TAIGA Concept. Springer Japan, 49-59.
4. Toki, T., Ishibashi, J., Noguchi, T., Tawata, M., Tsunogai, U., Yamanaka, T., and Nakamura, K., 2015, Chemical and Isotopic Compositions of Hydrothermal Fluids at Snail, Archaean, Pika, and Urashima Sites in the Southern Mariana Trough. In: Ishibashi, J., Okino, K., Sunamura, M. (Eds.), Subseafloor Biosphere Linked to Hydrothermal Systems: TAIGA Concept. Springer Japan, 587-602.
5. Yoshikawa, S., Okino, K., and Asada, M., 2012. Geomorphological variations at hydrothermal sites in the southern Mariana Trough: Relationship between hydrothermal activity and topographic characteristics. Marine Geology 303-306, 172-182.

Website References:

1. Submarine Ring of Fire 2003 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03fire/logs/summary/summary.html (accessed 11/26/2015)
2. Submarine Ring of Fire 2014- Ironman http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/14fire/logs/photolog/photolog.html (accessed 11/26/2015)