Establishing a new era of submarine volcanic observatories: Cabling Axial Seamount and the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge

Abstract At least 70% of the volcanism on Earth occurs along the 65,000 km network of mid-ocean ridge (MOR) spreading centers. Within these dynamic environments, the highest fluxes of heat, chemicals, and biological material from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere occur during volcanic eruptions. However, because underwater volcanoes are difficult and expensive to access, researchers are rarely, if ever, in the right place at the right time to characterize these events. Therefore, our knowledge is limited about the linkages among hydrothermal, chemical and biological processes during seafloor formation and crustal evolution. To make significant advancements in understanding the evolution of MOR environments, the United States and Canada have invested in the first plate-scale submarine cabled observatory linked through the global Internet. Spanning the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, these two networks include > 1700 km of cable and 14 subsea terminals that provide 8–10 kW power and 10 Gbs communications to hundreds of instruments on the seafloor and throughout the overlying water column — resulting in a 24/7/365 presence in the oceans. Data and imagery are available in real- to near-real time. The initial experimental sites for monitoring volcanic processes include the MOR volcanoes called Axial Seamount and the Endeavour Segment that are located on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Axial, a hot-spot influenced seamount, is the most robust volcano along the ridge rising nearly 1400 m above the surrounding seafloor and it has erupted twice in the last 15 years. In contrast, the Endeavour Segment is characterized by more subdued topography with a well defined axial rift and it hosts one of the most intensely venting hydrothermal systems known. A non-eruptive spreading event lasting 6 years was documented at Endeavour between 1999 and 2005. Hydrothermal venting intensity, chemistry, and temperature, as well as associated biological communities at both sites were significantly perturbed by the magmatic and intrusive events. This paper presents the similarities and differences between the Axial and Endeavour volcanic systems and identifies reasons why they are ideal candidates for comparative studies. The U.S. has made a 25-year commitment for sustained observations using the cabled infrastructure. The highly expandable nature of submarine optical networking will allow for the future addition of novel experiments that utilize ever evolving advancements in computer sciences, robotics, genomics and sensor miniaturization. Comprehensive modeling of the myriad processes involved will continue to assimilate and integrate growing databases yielding a new understanding of integrated processes that create the seafloor in the global ocean basins.

[1]  R. E. McDuff,et al.  A hydrographic transient above the Salty Dawg hydrothermal field, Endeavour segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2010 .

[2]  B. M. Howe,et al.  SEAFLOOR OBSERVATORIES A new vision of the Earth from the Abyss , 2015 .

[3]  Laura Beranzoli,et al.  SEAFLOOR OBSERVATORIES: A New Vision of the Earth from the Abyss , 2015 .

[4]  J. Baross,et al.  Bacterial diversity in a subseafloor habitat following a deep-sea volcanic eruption. , 2003, FEMS microbiology ecology.

[5]  W. Chadwick,et al.  Evidence for deformation associated with the 1998 eruption of Axial Volcano, Juan de Fuca Ridge, from acoustic extensometer measurements , 1999 .

[6]  M. Hannington,et al.  Growth history of a diffusely venting sulfide structure from the Juan de Fuca Ridge: A petrological and geochemical study , 2006 .

[7]  E. Baker,et al.  In situ observations of the onset of hydrothermal discharge during the 1998 Submarine Eruption of Axial Volcano, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 1999 .

[8]  A. Turchyn,et al.  The remarkable longevity of submarine plumes: Implications for the hydrothermal input of iron to the deep-ocean , 2013 .

[9]  E. Baker,et al.  Geology of the northern Cleft segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge: Recent lava flows, sea-floor spreading, and the formation of megaplumes , 1991 .

[10]  E. Baker,et al.  Ocean currents at Axial Volcano, a northeastern Pacific seamount , 2003 .

[11]  W. Wilcock,et al.  Microearthquakes on the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2002 .

[12]  J. Baross,et al.  Thermophilic subseafloor microorganisms from the 1996 North Gorda Ridge eruption , 1998 .

[13]  P. Einarsson,et al.  Seismological evidence for Lateral magma intrusion during the July 1978 deflation of the Krafla volcano in NE-Iceland , 1978 .

[14]  Kenneth H. Rubin,et al.  Active submarine eruption of boninite in the northeastern Lau Basin , 2011 .

[15]  K. V. Damm.  Chemistry of hydrothermal vent fluids from 9°–10°N, East Pacific Rise: “Time zero,” the immediate posteruptive period , 2000 .

[16]  INTERDISCIPLINARY GROUP EXPLORES SEAFLOOR ERUPTION WITH REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE , 1999 .

[17]  T. Gold,et al.  The deep, hot biosphere. , 1998, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[18]  A. Bradley,et al.  Insights into tide-related variability at seafloor hydrothermal vents from time-series temperature measurements , 2002 .

[19]  J. Delaney,et al.  The Juan de Fuca Ridge—Hot Spot—Propagating Rift System: New tectonic, geochemical, and magnetic data , 1981 .

[20]  R. Embley,et al.  High‐resolution studies of the summit of Axial Volcano , 1990 .

[21]  Alan D. Chave,et al.  NEPTUNE: Real-Time Ocean and Earth Sciences at the Scale of a Tectonic Plate , 2000 .

[22]  E. Baker,et al.  Microbial biomass in the hydrothermal plumes associated with the 1998 Axial Volcano Eruption , 1999 .

[23]  R. Feely,et al.  Seafloor eruptions and evolution of hydrothermal fluid chemistry , 1997, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[24]  M. Lilley,et al.  Anomalous CH4 and NH4+ concentrations at an unsedimented mid-ocean-ridge hydrothermal system , 1993, Nature.

[25]  J. Kellogg.  Temporal and spatial variability of hydrothermal fluxes within a mid-ocean ridge segment , 2011 .

[26]  Matthew C. Smith,et al.  Magmatic effects of the Cobb hot spot on the Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2005 .

[27]  M. Lilley,et al.  Seafloor deformation and forecasts of the April 2011 eruption at Axial Seamount , 2012 .

[28]  E. Baker,et al.  Detection of an unusually large hydrothermal event plume above the slow‐spreading Carlsberg Ridge: NW Indian Ocean , 2006 .

[29]  J. Huber,et al.  Microbiological characterization of post-eruption “snowblower” vents at Axial Seamount, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2013, Front. Microbiol..

[30]  P. Girguis,et al.  Influence of subsurface biosphere on geochemical fluxes from diffuse hydrothermal fluids , 2011 .

[31]  H. Johnson,et al.  Earthquake-induced changes in a hydrothermal system on the Juan de Fuca mid-ocean ridge , 2000, Nature.

[32]  W. Broecker.  How to Build a Habitable Planet , 1998 .

[33]  Susan M. Huse,et al.  Microbial Population Structures in the Deep Marine Biosphere , 2007, Science.

[34]  Christopher R. German,et al.  Hydrothermal Plumes Over Spreading‐Center Axes: Global Distributions and Geological Inferences , 2013 .

[35]  D. Butterfield,et al.  Seismic precursors and magma ascent before the April 2011 eruption at Axial Seamount , 2012 .

[36]  R. Dziak,et al.  Long‐term seismicity and ground deformation at Axial Volcano, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 1999 .

[37]  C. Schultz.  Diversity of Hydrothermal Systems on Slow Spreading Ocean Ridges , 2011 .

[38]  Autun Purser,et al.  Temporal and spatial benthic data collection via an internet operated Deep Sea Crawler , 2013 .

[39]  E. Davis,et al.  Hydrogeology of the Oceanic Lithosphere , 2004 .

[40]  J. Sarrazin,et al.  Microbial‐mineral floc associated with nascent hydrothermal activity on CoAxial Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 1995 .

[41]  E. Baker,et al.  Hydrothermal discharge during submarine eruptions : the importance of detection, response, and new technology , 2012 .

[42]  M. Lilley,et al.  Isotopic evidence of magmatism and seawater bicarbonate removal at the endeavour hydrothermal system , 2004 .

[43]  Luca Vogt,et al.  How To Build A Habitable Planet , 2016 .

[44]  V. Tunnicliffe,et al.  Post-eruption succession of macrofaunal communities at diffuse flow hydrothermal vents on Axial Volcano, Juan de Fuca Ridge, Northeast Pacific , 2009 .

[45]  E. Baker,et al.  Cataclysmic hydrothermal venting on the Juan de Fuca Ridge , 1987, Nature.

[46]  Deborah S. Kelley,et al.  Repeat bathymetric surveys at 1-metre resolution of lava flows erupted at Axial Seamount in April 2011 , 2012 .

[47]  J. Delaney,et al.  Growth of large sulfide structures on the endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca ridge , 1986 .

[48]  S. Carbotte,et al.  Recent seismic studies at the East Pacific Rise 8°20'–10°10'N and Endeavour Segment : insights into mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal and magmatic processes , 2012 .

[49]  J. Dymond,et al.  Plume dispersed hydrothermal particles: A time-series record of settling flux from the Endeavour Ridge using moored sensors , 1988 .

[50]  W. Menke,et al.  Magma storage beneath Axial volcano on the Juan de Fuca mid-ocean ridge , 2001, Nature.

[51]  M. Tivey.  The influence of hydrothermal fluid composition and advection rates on black smoker chimney mineralogy: Insights from modeling transport and reaction , 1995 .

[52]  G. Massoth,et al.  Mixing, Reaction and Microbial Activity in the Sub‐Seafloor Revealed by Temporal and Spatial Variation in Diffuse Flow Vents at Axial Volcano , 2013 .

[53]  Deborah S. Kelley,et al.  Enriched H2, CH4, and 3He concentrations in hydrothermal plumes associated with the 1996 Gorda Ridge eruptive event , 1998 .

[54]  H. Thomas,et al.  Geologic history of the summit of Axial Seamount, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2013 .

[55]  Dana R. Yoerger,et al.  “Edifice Rex” Sulfide Recovery Project: Analysis of submarine hydrothermal, microbial habitat , 2001 .

[56]  R. E. McDuff,et al.  Constrained circulation at Endeavour ridge facilitates colonization by vent larvae , 2003, Nature.

[57]  John A. Baross,et al.  Submarine hydrothermal vents and associated gradient environments as sites for the origin and evolution of life , 1985, Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere.

[58]  P. McGill,et al.  Termination of a 6 year ridge‐spreading event observed using a seafloor seismic network on the Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2013 .

[59]  R. Dziak,et al.  A 20-Year Hydroacoustic Time Series of Seismic and Volcanic Events in the Northeast Pacific Ocean , 2011 .

[60]  W. Chadwick,et al.  Recent eruptions on the CoAxial segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge: Implications for mid‐ocean ridge accretion processes , 2000 .

[61]  R. Light,et al.  Sonar images hydrothermal vents in seafloor observatory , 2011 .

[62]  E. Baker,et al.  Submarine venting of liquid carbon dioxide on a Mariana Arc volcano , 2006 .

[63]  C. German,et al.  Mid-ocean ridges : hydrothermal interactions between the lithosphere and oceans , 2004 .

[64]  D. Lovley,et al.  Extending the Upper Temperature Limit for Life , 2003, Science.

[65]  D. Kelley,et al.  Abundances of Hyperthermophilic Autotrophic Fe(III) Oxide Reducers and Heterotrophs in Hydrothermal Sulfide Chimneys of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean , 2008, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[66]  P. McGill,et al.  The role of magma injection in localizing black-smoker activity , 2009 .

[67]  S. Petersen,et al.  A model for growth of steep-sided vent structures on the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge: Results of a petrologic and geochemical study (Paper 1999JB900107) , 1999 .

[68]  D. Yoerger,et al.  Submarine Lava Flow Emplacement at the East Pacific Rise 9°50´N: Implications for Uppermost Ocean Crust Stratigraphy and Hydrothermal Fluid Circulation , 2013 .

[69]  J. Baross,et al.  Diversity and distribution of subseafloor Thermococcales populations in diffuse hydrothermal vents at an active deep-sea volcano in the northeast Pacific Ocean , 2006 .

[70]  E. Baker,et al.  Helium, heat, and the generation of hydrothermal event plumes at mid-ocean ridges , 1999 .

[71]  R. Dziak,et al.  Temporal and spatial history of the 1999–2000 Endeavour Segment seismic series, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2004 .

[72]  Jeffrey S. Seewald,et al.  Aqueous volatiles in hydrothermal fluids from the Main Endeavour Field, northern Juan de Fuca Ridge: temporal variability following earthquake activity , 2003 .

[73]  Deborah S. Kelley,et al.  Volcanoes, Fluids, and Life at Mid-Ocean Ridge Spreading Centers , 2002 .

[74]  John F. Cassidy,et al.  An episode of seafloor spreading and associated plate deformation inferred from crustal fluid pressure transients , 2001 .

[75]  J. Delaney,et al.  Geology and hydrothermal evolution of the Mothra Hydrothermal Field, Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2007 .

[76]  John R. Delaney,et al.  Geology of a vigorous hydrothermal system on the Endeavour segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 1992 .

[77]  J. Delaney,et al.  Spatial and temporal evolution of magmatic systems beneath the endeavour segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge: Tectonic and petrologic constraints , 1990 .

[78]  J. Resing,et al.  A 20-YeAr HYdroAcoustic time series of seismic And VolcAnic eVents in tHe , 2011 .

[79]  Eric A. D'Asaro,et al.  Structure of two hydrothermal megaplumes , 1994 .

[80]  G R Heath,et al.  Marine geology. , 1982, Science.

[81]  E. Baker,et al.  Variations in hydrothermal methane and hydrogen concentrations following the 1998 eruption at Axial Volcano , 1999 .

[82]  J. Lavelle.  The initial rise of a hydrothermal plume from a line segment source—Results from a three-dimensional numerical model , 1995 .

[83]  J. Delaney,et al.  Large massive sulfide deposits in a newly discovered active hydrothermal system, The High-Rise Field, Endeavour Segment, Juan De Fuca Ridge , 1993 .

[84]  W. Chadwick,et al.  Volcanic inflation measured in the caldera of Axial Seamount: Implications for magma supply and future eruptions , 2009 .

[85]  Deborah S. Kelley,et al.  An off-axis hydrothermal vent field near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 30° N , 2001, Nature.

[86]  K. Bemis,et al.  Diffuse Flow On and Around Hydrothermal Vents at Mid-Ocean Ridges , 2012 .

[87]  A. Rubin,et al.  Dike‐induced earthquakes: Theoretical considerations , 1998 .

[88]  Jason Feldman,et al.  Remote Detection of Marine Microbes, Small Invertebrates, Harmful Algae, and Biotoxins using the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) , 2009 .

[89]  D. Clague,et al.  Explosive eruptions at mid-ocean ridges driven by CO 2 -rich magmas , 2011 .

[90]  T. Shank,et al.  Hydrothermal Systems: a Decade of Discovery in Slow Spreading Environments , 2013 .

[91]  J. Baross,et al.  In situ microbial ecology of hydrothermal vent sediments , 1992 .

[92]  H. Thomas,et al.  Abundance and Distribution of Hydrothermal Chimneys and Mounds on the Endeavour Ridge Determined by 1-m Resolution AUV Multibeam Mapping Surveys , 2008 .

[93]  M. Hannington,et al.  Chemical microenvironments within sulfide structures from the Mothra Hydrothermal Field: Evidence from high-resolution zoning of trace elements , 2011 .

[94]  M. Lilley,et al.  Magmatic events can produce rapid changes in hydrothermal vent chemistry , 2003, Nature.

[95]  B. Larson,et al.  Parameters of subsurface brines and hydrothermal processes 12–15 months after the 1999 magmatic event at the Main Endeavor Field as inferred from in situ time series measurements of chloride and temperature , 2009 .

[96]  D. Clague,et al.  1998 eruption of axial volcano: Multibeam anomalies and sea‐floor observations , 1999 .

[97]  John Whitehead,et al.  Scientific Rationale for Establishing Long-Term Ocean Bottom Observatory/Laboratory Systems , 1987 .

[98]  D. Caress,et al.  The 1998 eruption of Axial Seamount: New insights on submarine lava flow emplacement from high‐resolution mapping , 2013 .

[99]  Susan E. Humphris,et al.  Seafloor hydrothermal systems : physical, chemical, biological, and geological interactions , 1995 .

[100]  Deborah S. Kelley,et al.  Incidence and Diversity of Microorganisms within the Walls of an Active Deep-Sea Sulfide Chimney , 2003, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[101]  M. Lilley,et al.  The quantum event of oceanic crustal accretion: impacts of diking at mid-ocean ridges. , 1998, Science.

[102]  Margaret K. Tivey,et al.  Permeability-porosity relationships in seafloor vent deposits: Dependence on pore evolution processes , 2007 .

[103]  E. Baker,et al.  Rapid dike emplacement leads to eruptions and hydrothermal plume release during seafloor spreading events , 2007 .

[104]  W. Seyfried,et al.  Chemistry of hydrothermal vent fluids from the Main Endeavour Field, northern Juan de Fuca Ridge: Geochemical controls in the aftermath of June 1999 seismic events: VENT FLUIDS FROM MEF-JUAN DE FUCA RIDGE , 2003 .

[105]  J. Lupton.  Hydrothermal Plumes: Near and Far Field , 2013 .

[106]  W. Martin,et al.  Hydrothermal vents and the origin of life , 2008, Nature Reviews Microbiology.

[107]  Earl E. Davis,et al.  Detailed geomorphology and neotectonics of the Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge: New results from Seabeam swath mapping , 1986 .

[108]  Dawn J. Wright,et al.  Hydrothermal vent distribution along the East Pacific Rise crest (9°09′–54′N) and its relationship to magmatic and tectonic processes on fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges , 1991 .

[109]  W. Wilcock.  Physical response of mid‐ocean ridge hydrothermal systems to local earthquakes , 2004 .

[110]  J. Baross,et al.  Thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganisms in 3–30°C hydrothermal fluids following a deep-sea volcanic eruption , 1998 .

[111]  S. Carbotte,et al.  Seismic structure of the Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge: Correlations with seismicity and hydrothermal activity , 2007 .

[112]  W. Wilcock,et al.  Tracking fin whales in the northeast Pacific Ocean with a seafloor seismic network. , 2012, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[113]  J. Baross,et al.  A novel microbial habitat in the mid-ocean ridge subseafloor , 2001, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[114]  D. S. Kelley,et al.  Next-generation science in the ocean basins: Expanding the oceanographer’s toolbox utilizing submarine electro-optical sensor networks , 2015 .

[115]  Dana R. Yoerger,et al.  A Serpentinite-Hosted Ecosystem: The Lost City Hydrothermal Field , 2005, Science.

[116]  D. Yoerger,et al.  Geology and venting characteristics of the Mothra hydrothermal field, Endeavour segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2001 .

[117]  Scott Veirs,et al.  Magnitude and variance of near‐bottom horizontal heat flux at the Main Endeavour hydrothermal vent field , 2006 .

[118]  M. Lilley,et al.  Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge: One of the Most Remarkable Places on Earth , 2012 .

[119]  G. Massoth,et al.  Gradients in the composition of hydrothermal fluids from the Endeavour segment vent field: Phase separation and brine loss , 1994 .

[120]  J. Ryan,et al.  Robotic sampling, in situ monitoring and molecular detection of marine zooplankton , 2012 .

[121]  W. Chadwick,et al.  Direct observation of a submarine volcanic eruption from a sea-floor instrument caught in a lava flow , 2001, Nature.

[122]  J. Baross,et al.  Individual hydrothermal vents at Axial Seamount harbor distinct subseafloor microbial communities. , 2009, FEMS microbiology ecology.

[123]  Kenneth H. Rubin,et al.  The East Pacific Rise between 9°N and 10°N: Twenty-five years of integrated, multidisciplinary oceanic spreading center studies , 2012 .

[124]  W. Seyfried,et al.  Chemistry of hydrothermal vent fluids from the Main Endeavour Field, northern Juan de Fuca Ridge: Geochemical controls in the aftermath of June 1999 seismic events , 2004 .

[125]  R. Feely,et al.  CO2 and 3He in hydrothermal plumes: implications for mid-ocean ridge CO2 flux , 2004 .

[126]  E. Baker,et al.  Decay of hydrothermal output following the 1998 seafloor eruption at Axial Volcano: Observations and models , 2004 .

[127]  G. Massoth,et al.  Submarine venting of phase-separated hydrothermal fluids at Axial Volcano, Juan de Fuca Ridge , 1989, Nature.

[128]  Glen S. Jamieson,et al.  The deep scattering layer associated with the Endeavour Ridge hydrothermal plume , 1992 .

[129]  M. Lilley,et al.  A seismic swarm and regional hydrothermal and hydrologic perturbations: The northern Endeavour segment, February 2005 , 2010 .

[130]  E. Delong,et al.  The Subseafloor Biosphere at Mid-Ocean Ridges , 2004 .

[131]  R. Thomson,et al.  Numerical simulation of hydrothermal vent‐induced circulation at Endeavour Ridge , 2005 .

[132]  G. Massoth,et al.  Geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids from Axial Seamount hydrothermal emissions study vent field, Juan de Fuca Ridge: Subseafloor boiling and subsequent fluid‐rock interaction , 1990 .

[133]  R. Thomson,et al.  Numerical simulation of mean currents and water property anomalies at Endeavour Ridge: Hydrothermal versus topographic forcing , 2009 .

[134]  M. Hannington,et al.  Sulfide geochronology along the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge , 2013 .

[135]  W. Wilcock,et al.  Fin whale tracks recorded by a seismic network on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, Northeast Pacific Ocean. , 2013, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[136]  S. Hammond.  Relationships between lava types, seafloor morphology, and the occurrence of hydrothermal venting in the ASHES vent field of Axial Volcano. [Axial Seamount Hydrothermal Emission Study] , 1990 .

[137]  S. Kim Juniper,et al.  Long-term eruptive activity at a submarine arc volcano , 2006, Nature.