Rapid Response to Gorda Ridge Diking/Eruptive Event: Intense Water Column (plume) and Seafloor Camera Surveys

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9634637 Cowen This project is a rapid response to a hydrothermal/volcanic event on the Gorda Ridge in the northeast Pacific. On Feb. 1996 a major seismic event was detected by the NOAA VENTS program through monitoring of the US Navy SOSUS hydrophone arrays. NOAA dispatched the research vessel MacArthur and they discovered a hydrothermal megaplume in the area of the seismic activity. The availability of the research vessel Wecoma in early April allows a more detailed response. The objectives of this cruise are to locate the source of the magaplume, to determine whether there has been a subsurface bacterial bloom, to determine geochemical and microbial concentrations in the plume, and if possible, to establish patterns of crustal breakage and/or eruption.