US-Russian-Norwegian Investigation of Gas Hydrate and Hydrothermal Activity in Ancient and Recent Plate Boundaries Within the Norwegian-Greenland and Barents Seas

1995年夏天，美国-挪威-俄罗斯联合探险队在挪威-格陵兰海和巴伦支海发现了一个温暖的气体喷口，位于一条被称为霍恩松德断层的古老断裂带上，距离该地区已知的今天的板块边界很远。喷口的特点是高热流，笼状物质，硫化氢，以及未知物种的Pogonopore蠕虫。这项奖励是使用一艘配备侧视声纳和水下机器人的俄罗斯船只迅速返回现场，详细绘制喷口区域范围的地图。此外，它还将调查克尼波维奇山脊沿线可能的地点，以了解最近的热液活动。人们认为，对巴伦支海边缘温暖气体喷口的研究可能会为该地区古代板块边界的热复兴程度提供新的线索，以及北极地区的警告喷口可能对陆地(如斯皮茨卑尔根)的现代环境或古代冰川地区(如熊岛扇)的消融事件起到的作用。

During the summer of 1995, a joint US-Norwegian-Russian Expedition in the Norwegian-Greenland and Barents Sea discovered a warm gas vent located on an ancient fracture zone known as the Hornsund Fault, at great distance from known present-day plate boundaries in the region. The vent was characterized by high heat flow, clathrates, H2S, and an unknown species of Pogonophore worm. This award is to return rapidly back to the site, to map in detail, the extent of the vent domain using a Russian vessel equipped with side-looking sonar and ROV. In addition, it is to investigate likely sites along the Knipovich Ridge for recent hydrothermal activity. It is believed that the examination of the warm gas vents along the margin of the Barents Sea may shed new light on the degree of thermal rejuvenation of ancient plate boundaries in the region, and the possible role that warn vents in the Arctic region may play on deglaciation events, either in modern settings on land (such as Spitsbergen) or in ancient glaciated regions, such as the Bear Island Fan.