Ridge 2000 Office - 4 Year Rotation to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds the RIDGE 2000 project office, which is the coordinating body for Ridge 2000 (R2K), an interdisciplinary research program focused on integrated studies of Earth's oceanic spreading centers - the 50,000 km mid-ocean ridge system, which is populated by hydrothermal vents that support diverse communities of living organisms and where oceanic crust is created. The Ridge 2000 program addresses a wide range of topics ranging from crustal accretion to the transfer of energy from the mantle to the hydrosphere, to biological systems supported by hydrothermal circulation. The office will coordinate the final synthesis and integration phase of the decade-long Ridge 2000 Program that has collected a wealth of information. Community interaction will be supported through a series of meetings each year and by teleconferences and web conferences. The R2K office will also enhance data management and web functions by establishing a consolidated web site at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), and continue to support the existing education and outreach activity at Pennsylvania State University.