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NSF PR 01-36 - April 24, 2001
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Media contacts:
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Cheryl Dybas, NSF
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(703) 292-8070
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cdybas@nsf.gov
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Shelley Lauzon, WHOI
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(508) 289-2270 or 3340
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slauzon@whoi.edu
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Program contact:
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Phil Taylor, NSF
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(703) 292-8582
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ptaylor@nsf.gov
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This material is available primarily
for archival purposes. Telephone numbers
or other contact information may be out
of date; please see current contact information
at media
contacts.
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Scientists Release Images of Hydrothermal Vents
Found in the Indian Ocean
Images reveal array of animals, black smokers
Scientists exploring a remote area of the central Indian
Ocean seafloor two-and-one-half miles deep have found
animals that look like fuzzy snowballs, and chimney-like
structures two stories tall spewing super-heated water
full of toxic metals. The findings, released on the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) 's Dive
and Discover Web site were made at the start of a
month-long National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded
expedition. (See: http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/).
The Dive and Discover site was supported by WHOI,
and NSF.
"This expedition has been four years in-the-making:
we needed to get a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV),
a large research vessel, and a multi-disciplinary
group of scientists to a location distant from the
U.S.," said Phil Taylor, director of NSF's biological
oceanography program. "After the Japanese discovery
of some hydrothermal vent activity in the region,
excitement grew about what might be found, and how
resident ecosystems in and around these vents might
differ from those studied in the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans."
Images and data from the seafloor may provide critical
answers to long standing questions about the diversity
of life in the deep sea, how animals move from place
to place and how the ocean crust is changing. A Japanese
team is reported to have discovered hydrothermal vents
in the Indian Ocean last year, but little information
has been publicly available.
The 34-member team of scientists and engineers from
a dozen institutions are working aboard the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution's 279-foot research
vessel Knorr. The ship left the Seychelles
in late March to pick up additional equipment at Mauritius
before heading to the central Indian Ocean, a remote
area where three of the earth's giant crustal plates
converge at what is called the Triple Junction. Scientists
began mapping the area and deployed instruments to
detect seawater temperatures higher than normal, an
indication of possible hydrothermal activity. Higher
temperatures were found, and the remotely operated
vehicle (ROV) Jason, which is equipped with
numerous environmental sensors and cameras, was deployed
for closer inspection. According to website reports,
Jason's cameras revealed an array of marine
life and chimney-like structures called black smokers
because of their resemblance to smoke stacks. The
first images came from an area near the Triple Junction
at 25o 19.2' S latitude and 70o
1.8' E longitude.
White sea anemones resembling fuzzy snowballs cover
the base of the smokers, plump mussels, snails and
crabs live nearby, and thumb-sized shrimp swarm around
the chimneys in search of food. Further exploration
may reveal more animals and extensive vent fields.
Many of the animals could be new species.
ROV Jason and a suite of vehicles will explore
other areas for vent fields. Scientists will collect
biological samples and samples of vent and smoker
fluid and plumes, rocks and sediment samples from
the seafloor, and map the area before the ship returns
to Mauritius on May 1.
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