Collaborative Research: Site Evaluations and Background Studies of Interactions Among Fluid Chemistry, Physiology, and Community Ecology for Ridge 2000 Lau Basin Integrated Studies

将进行两次前往东刘扩展中心(ELSC)的探索性巡航，以评估被选为Ridge 2000计划的综合研究地点(ISS)的地点，并进行这一领域进一步跨学科研究所需的研究。除了勘探和生物测绘外，还将根据扩散流喷口的化学成分和宏观生物学之间的关系对这些地点进行仔细的评估。这一点在此时尤为重要，因为该地区唯一可用的水化学数据来自高温喷口，表明锌非常高，硫化物和甲烷非常低；这与扩散流中报告的丰富的硫化物群落不一致，可能还有甲烷氧化共生体。这项研究是对《选址实施计划》中概述的前两个主要国际空间站评估邮轮的补充，并将继续进行。两个邮轮中的第一个将检查之前的邮轮确定的多达6个地点，并对3个地点进行详细研究，目的是收集数据，最终确定刘盆地国际空间站的靶心选址。第二次巡航将在一年后进行，在选择国际空间站靶心之后，将详细描述动物生物学和低温热液化学，以规划实际的国际空间站实验。第一次巡航的工作包括绘制主要群落类型的分布图，使用现场分析仪测量主要群落类型的水化学，辅以离散样本，主要群落类型的定量采样，组成物种的鉴定和系统发育分析，分析以确定主要共生体在主要共生体中使用的还原剂，测量不同喷口区域主要物种的生理状况，为进一步研究维持这些物种的生命进行初步研究，以及各种辅助研究。第二次巡航将集中在一个地点，研究将检查该地点每个离散动物集合内的化学、生理和生态之间的相互作用，并构建该地点的非常高分辨率的地图，并在第一次巡航结果的帮助和指导下，在活动物身上进行实验。

Two exploratory cruises to the East Lau Spreading Center (ELSC) will be undertaken to evaluate sites for selection as the Integrated Study Site (ISS) bull's eye for the Ridge 2000 program and to carry out studies necessary for further interdisciplinary research in this area. In addition to exploration and biological mapping, the sites will be carefully evaluated in terms of the relation between the chemistry of the diffuse flow vents and the macro-biology. This is especially important to do at this time because the only available water chemistry data for this region is from high temperature vents and indicates that Zn is very high and sulfide and methane are very low; this is not consistent with the abundant communities of sulfide and perhaps methane-oxidizing symbioses reported in diffuse flow. The reserach is complementary to, and will follow upon, the first two major ISS evaluation cruises outlined in the Implementation Plan for the site.The first of the two cruises will examine up to 6 sites identified by previous cruises and carry out detailed studies of 3 sites, with a goal of collecting data for finalizing selection of the bull's eye site for the Lau Basin ISS. The 2nd cruise will take place a year later, after selection of the ISS bull's eye, and will characterize the faunal biology and low temperature hydrothermal chemistry in the detail needed for planning the actual ISS experiments. The work for the first cruise includes mapping of the distribution of major community types, measurement of water chemistry in the major community types using an in situ analyzer supplemented with discrete samples, quantitative sampling of major community types, identification and phylogenetic analyses of component species, analyses to determine the reductant used by the symbionts in the major symbioses, measurements of physiological condition of major species in different vent areas, preliminary studies on maintenance of these species alive for further studies, and a variety of ancillary studies. The second cruise will be focused on a single site and studies will examine interactions between chemistry, physiology and ecology within each of the discrete assemblages of animals at the site as well as constructing very high resolution maps of the site, and carrying out experiments on living animals facilitated and guided by results from the first cruise.