Collaborative Research: A Submarine Eruption on the North East Lau Spreading Center, a RAPID Response Effort

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This research is a time critical (RAPID) response cruise by a coalition of investigators to investigate a newly discovered explosively erupting undersea volcano in the Northern Lau Basin in the Western Pacific Ocean. The discovery of actively erupting undersea volcanoes is a rarity and data that addresses many fundamental geological, hydrothermal, volcanic, and biological issues will be collected. The volcano being investigated is one in which there is an unusual high-intensity hydrothermal plume and explosively erupted volcanic material. Goals of this work are to document the fauna that colonize the initial stages of back arc volcanism, as well as to sample early stage hydrothermal fluids. The intensity of fluid flow from the vents will also be examined. It is likely that novel and previously unknown microbiological life forms associated with these fluids will be discovered. Work is complementary to data being gathered to the south in an area of intense NSF-funded work (the Ridge 2000 Program). Broader impacts of the work include graduate student and postdoctoral training, support of a PI whose gender is under-represented in the sciences, use of a novel ROV for undersea exploration, and public outreach through media outlets. An additional impact is the cross agency nature of the project between NSF and NOAA.