Collaborative Research: Investigating the Interrelationships Between Crustal Structure, Volcanism, and Hydrothermal Activity Along the Backarc East Lau Spreading Center

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

The focus of this project is the East Lau Spreading Center, a 390 km-long first-order ridge segment in the Lau backarc basin. This spreading center has been selected to be an integrated studies site by the Ridge 2000 program. This project will provide nested sidescan and hydrothermal surveys of the spreading center using a hull-mounted bathymetric and side-scan system, a 30 kHz sonar, and a 120 kHz sonar. The goal is to provide information on the spatial and temporal variations in crustal architecture, detect hydrothermal plumes and map variations in hydrothermal characteristics.