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

将进行两次前往东劳扩散中心（ELSC）的考察巡航，以评估选择哪些地点作为岭2000计划的综合研究地点（ISS）的靶心，并进行该领域进一步跨学科研究所需的研究。除了勘探和生物制图之外，这些地点还将根据漫流喷口的化学性质和宏观生物学之间的关系进行仔细的评估。这在目前尤为重要，因为该地区唯一可用的水化学数据来自高温喷口，表明锌含量很高，硫化物和甲烷含量很低；这与漫流中报道的丰富的硫化物群落和可能的甲烷氧化共生体不一致。这项研究是对该场址实施计划中概述的前两次主要国际空间站评价巡访的补充，并将继续进行。两艘巡洋舰中的第一艘将考察多达6个由前几艘巡洋舰确定的地点，并对其中3个地点进行详细研究，目的是收集数据，以最终确定劳盆地国际空间站的靶心地点。第二次巡航将在一年后进行，在选择国际空间站的靶心之后，并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，使用现场分析仪对主要群落类型中的水化学成分进行测量，对主要群落类型进行定量采样，对组成物种进行鉴定和系统发育分析，分析确定主要共生体中共生体使用的还原剂，测量不同喷口区域主要物种的生理状况，这些物种的生存维持的初步研究，以供进一步研究，以及各种辅助研究。第二次巡航将集中在一个单一的地点，研究将检查化学，生理学和生态学之间的相互作用，在该地点的每个离散的动物组合中，以及构建该地点的高分辨率地图，并在第一次巡航的结果的促进和指导下对活体动物进行实验。

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.