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

最近，来自美国和英国的一个国际科学家小组在加勒比海的开曼海隆发现了一组新的、不寻常的热液喷口，这些喷口是迄今为止发现的最深的，位于海底不寻常的岩石类型中。 该项目是NSF和NASA之间的一项联合活动，旨在跟进这一发现，并允许对这些独特的系统进行地球化学和生物采样和分析。 其中一个有待勘探的地点是皮卡尔喷口区，水深5 000米，是已知最深的热液喷口。 它有证据表明海底存在相分离，可能是有史以来测量到的最热的喷口温度（超过450摄氏度）。 另一个是位于超镁铁质岩石中的冯达姆火山口，其烟囱由硫化物而不是碳酸盐组成，这使得它与研究充分的失落之城火山口系统截然不同，后者也位于超镁铁质岩石中。 由NSF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，研究烟囱矿物学和当地的地质环境。 一个重点将是确定有机化合物通过非生物地球化学过程的程度。 由NASA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相联系。 将与其他已知的通风系统进行比较。 这项工作的更广泛的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。

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.