Manned Submersible Observations in the FAMOUS Area: Mid-Atlantic Ridge

es associated with genesis of new oceanic crust. A small area on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge centered at about 36050'N was selected for detailed study on the basis of scientific and logistic criteria (Fig. 1). More than 25 cruises were made to the area by surface ships from the United States, France, Canada, and England, culminating in the first manned submersible studies of a mid-ocean ridge by the French submersible Archimede in 1973, and by Archimede, Cyana, and the American submersible Alvin during the summer of 1974. The regional setting of the dive site was established by narrow-beam echo sounding, dredging, side-scan sonar and deep-tow