ITR: VIP (Vents Imaging and Processing): A System of Dynamic Data Analysis and Prediction for Hydrothermal Plumes

热液羽流，通常被称为黑烟，是由海洋中部扩张脊上的海底喷口排出的热流体形成的。这些流体在上升时携带着周围的海水，对于了解海洋中热量和化学物质的全球运输（这是气候研究中的一个因素）以及了解海洋生物和微生物的进化非常重要。目前观测羽流的方法既有遥感方法，也有原位方法，包括声成像、温度传感器等。本文建议将这些方法收集的数据与数值模型相结合，以建立新的夹带和输运预测模型。为了提供必要的即时反馈，以最大限度地提高现场实验的效用，将开发一个动态数据驱动的分析模型并与声成像仪器系统一起使用。该分析系统将驱动观测到的热液羽流对生物和地质物质的携带和运输的预测模型，这将有助于了解海洋中幼虫和化学物质运输所需的颗粒采样计划，并验证声成像方法的准确性。更广泛的影响：VIP系统有可能通过有效地收集数据和有效地定位测量仪器来彻底改变热液羽流的研究。鉴于美国国家科学基金会RIDGE 2000计划正在准备在三个选定的综合研究地点进行密集的研究，这是特别及时的。VIP系统也适用于其他现象的研究，如天然气水合物矿床上方甲烷渗漏产生的气泡羽流和深海污水出口羽流。

Hydrothermal plumes, commonly called black smokers, are formed by hot fluids discharging from seafloor vents on mid-ocean spreading ridges. These fluids entrain the ambient seawater as they rise and are important to understanding the global transport of heat and chemicals in the ocean (which is a factor in climate studies) and to understanding the evolution of marine organisms and microbes. Currently, there are both remote sensing and in-situ methodologies to observe plumes including acoustic imaging, temperature sensors, etc. This proposal combines the data collected by such methods with numerical models in order to develop new predictive models of entrainment and transport.A dynamic data-driven analysis model will be developed and utilized with acoustic imaging instrumentation system in order to provide the immediate feedback necessary to maximize the utility of field experiments.This analysis system will drive predictive models of the entrainment and transport of biological and geological material by the observed hydrothermal plumes, which will facilitate the particulate sampling programs needed to understand larval and chemical transport in the ocean and validate the accuracy of the acoustic imaging method.Broader Impact: The VIP system has the potential to revolutionize the study of hydrothermal plumes by making it possible to gather data efficiently and site measurement instrumentation effectively. This is especially timely given that the NSF RIDGE 2000 program is preparing for an intensive program of studies at the three selected Integrated Study Sites.The VIP system is also applicable to the study of other phenomena such as bubble plumes from methane seeps above gas hydrate deposits, and deep ocean sewage outfall plumes.