Collaborative Research: Venting Outside the Box - Extending the Known Limits to Seafloor Hydrothermal Circulation and the Chemosynthetic Life it Supports

合作研究：开箱即用的通风——扩展海底热液循环及其支持的化学合成生命的已知极限

• 批准号: 1061863
• 负责人: Chris German
• 金额: $ 30.2万
• 依托单位: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-15 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1061863&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Venting; Outside; Box

A new and unusual set of hydrothermal vents that are the deepest yet discovered and that are hosted in unusual rock types on the seafloor have been found recently on the Cayman Rise in the Caribbean Sea by an international teams of scientists from the US and UK. This project is a joint activity between NSF and NASA that follows up on this discovery and allows the geochemical and biological sampling and analysis of these unique systems. One of the sites to be explored is the Piccard vent field which at 5000 meters water depth is the deepest hydrothermal vent site known. It has evidence for phase separation at the seafloor and may host the hottest vent temperatures ever measured (in excess of 450C). The other is the von Damm vent site which is hosted in ultramafic rocks and has chimneys made of sulfides instead of carbonates, making it distinctly different from the well studied Lost Cities vent system which is also hosted in ultramafic rocks. Researchers funded by NSF will sample vent and near vent fluid chemistry, examine chimney mineralogy, and the local geological setting. A focus will be to determine the extent to which organic compounds are being made through abiotic geochemical processes. Researchers funded by NASA will sample the microbial and macrobiological life forms that inhabit these extreme environments and link their findings to the site geochemistry. Comparisons will be made with other known vent systems. Broader impacts of the work include student and postdoc training and significant public outreach through engagement of National Geographic which intends to feature this research on their Oceanus television program.

来自美国和英国的国际科学家小组最近在加勒比海的开曼隆起发现了一组新的、不寻常的热液喷口，它们是迄今为止发现的最深的，并且位于海底不寻常的岩石类型中。 该项目是 NSF 和 NASA 之间的联合活动，旨在跟进这一发现，并允许对这些独特系统进行地球化学和生物采样和分析。 待探索的地点之一是皮卡德喷口区，其水深 5000 米，是已知最深的热液喷口地点。 它有海底相分离的证据，并且可能拥有有史以来测量到的最热的喷口温度（超过 450°C）。 另一个是冯达姆喷口遗址，它位于超镁铁质岩石中，其烟囱由硫化物而不是碳酸盐制成，这使得它与同样位于超镁铁质岩石中的失落城市喷口系统明显不同。 由国家科学基金会资助的研究人员将对喷口和喷口附近的流体化学进行采样，检查烟囱矿物学和当地的地质环境。 重点是确定通过非生物地球化学过程产生有机化合物的程度。 由美国宇航局资助的研究人员将对栖息在这些极端环境中的微生物和宏观生物生命形式进行采样，并将他们的发现与现场地球化学联系起来。 将与其他已知的通风系统进行比较。 这项工作的更广泛影响包括学生和博士后培训以及通过国家地理杂志的参与进行的重大公众宣传，国家地理杂志打算在他们的 Oceanus 电视节目中展示这项研究。