SGER: A Seafloor Camera System for Flow Rate Measurements in Black Smoker Vents

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The PI has requested funding to develop and test a seafloor camera system that can measure fluid flow through black smoker hydrothermal vents using video image analysis. Fluid flow through black smoker vents plays a significant role in the exchange of heat and chemicals between the oceanic crust and the ocean. This flow delivers energy to a diverse subseafloor ecosystem and serves to link tectonic and magmatic processes to chemical and biological processes. Measurements of fluid flow in these systems are essential for measuring fluxes and understanding complex systematic linkages. Despite the importance of measuring fluid flow rates, there is currently no instrument capable of obtaining long term flow measurements in black smoker vents. High temperatures, low pH, and mineral precipitation make invasive techniques infeasible. To address this problem, The PI proposes to develop a non-invasive image-based instrument to obtain flow rates in black smoker vents. This camera system will employ a new technique for measuring black smoker flow, called Optical Plume Velocimetry (OPV), which has been developed in the laboratory and has been shown to work well on simulated black smoker flows. Broader Impacts This study will develop an instrument that will increase our ability to understand the hydrology of marine hydrothermal systems and a variety of related processes, including the interactions between geomechanical processes and other processes such as heat and chemical transport and biological productivity. The development and field test of this technology will open up a wide range of possible experiments at many vent fields on the mid-ocean ridge. This work will also support the work of a young scientist. Crone has a strong record of public outreach through the media, and communicating his results to scientific and general audiences.