Tag Archives: ocean

Deep-sea volcano eruption captured in HD reveals first glimpse of ocean crust formation

The Jason remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) samples fluid at an eruptive area near the summit of the West Mata Volcano. The fluid sampling “wand” is approximately three feet long.  Image courtesy of NSF and NOAA.

The Jason remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) samples fluid at an eruptive area near the summit of the West Mata Volcano. The fluid sampling “wand” is approximately three feet long. (Photo/Courtesy of NSF and NOAA)

With bulbous burps of molten lava, roiling submarine steam and a thunderous roar, an ocean floor is born. In a scene straight from the origins of our planet, scientists have for the first time captured high definition video of the deepest recorded underwater volcanic eruptions. Researchers from NOAA and the National Science Foundation unveiled two short video clips, (one posted below), during a press conference today at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

The ocean floor is almost entirely formed by lava oozing from beneath, yet this process is poorly understood and never before observed in this way. “On our very own planet we haven’t seen lava flowing on the sea floor. We haven’t seen ocean crust being made,” said Joe Resing with the University of Washington and NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.

“It’s a spectacular process to watch,” said microbiologist Julie Huber with the Marine Biological Laboratory.

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The cacophonous bubbling mass of note is the West Mata submarine volcano in the Northeast Lau Basin, about a half a day’s ship ride from western Samoa. Almost two miles beneath the surface of the ocean lies a volcano about six miles long, four miles wide and one mile high that to best knowledge may have been erupting continuously for the past five months, according to the scientists at a press conference during the American Geophysical Union fall meeting.

Shrimpy smorgasbord – The environment is so new and acidic, hovering somewhere between battery acid and stomach acid, that not much has colonized the volcano yet, but hydrothermal vent shrimp are on the scene, along with fields of microbes for the shrimp to munch on. Not only do the tiny crustaceans appear to be early colonizers, but they come from far away. The species observed are the same ones found in Hawaii and Guam so may be dispersing from as far as 4,000 miles away, said Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Tim Shank.

How underwater rock formations are created – Geology is often about looking at rocks frozen in time, now scientists can stop using their imaginations and see the process in action. One type of formation captured on video, known as Bonanite lavas, are thought to be among the hottest eruptions on Earth, and have previously only been seen long after they’ve cooled.

What they sound like – Scientists dangled a hydrophone from the remote-controlled submersible to record the roar of the volcano. If you know the basics of physics, water is an excellent conveyer of sound. The deep ocean might require earplugs.

Closing in on the action – Being underwater actually affords scientists a more intimate view of an active volcano. On land being so close to the source of an eruption would mean bye-bye for the curious cat or their equipment, but the oceanic environment provides enough buffer to see these eruptions from meters away as opposed to miles.

Roiling submarine steam,


Family dining right whale style

 

For a month after birth, Southern right whale mothers and their calves rest and nurse. Then, like the pair shown here off Argentina, they start to swim faster and farther as they prepare for a long migration in the South Atlantic to reach their feeding areas. A University of Utah study found mother whales teach their calves where to eat, raising concern about whether the whales can adapt as global warming disrupts feeding grounds. (Photo/John Atkinson, Ocean Alliance)

For a month after birth, Southern right whale mothers and their calves rest and nurse. Then, like the pair shown here off Argentina, they start to swim faster and farther as they prepare for a long migration in the South Atlantic to reach their feeding areas. A University of Utah study found mother whales teach their calves where to eat, raising concern about whether the whales can adapt as global warming disrupts feeding grounds. (Photo/John Atkinson, Ocean Alliance)

Mom right whales know best when it comes to mealtime it seems. They lead calves to grub at traditional feeding grounds teaching their offspring generations of knowledge about when and where to find food. In fact whole clans of whales will dine together in the cetacean version of a family-owned dining spot. But this is one family tradition that could lead to starvation for an already vulnerable whale species if climate change causes shifts in food distribution.

Previous research by Vicky Rowntree, research associate professor of biology and a coauthor of the new study at the University of Utah, has already shown the impacts of climate change on right whale populations. When sea temperatures rise, krill disappear and right whales respond by giving birth to fewer offspring. Now these new studies into whale behavior could highlight another problem for the whales when it comes to food.

“A primary concern is, what are whales going to do with global warming, which may change the location and abundance of their prey?” asked Rowntree in a press release. “Can they adapt if they learn from their mother where to feed – or will they die?”

Rowntree and her colleagues collected skin samples from right whales and, using a novel technique in science, combined DNA and isotope analysis to determine whale lineages and where they tend to chow down. They found that related whales congregated in designated areas to feed, and that mothers teach calves in their first year of life where to find food.

Here’s to hoping that right whales will be quick to adapt if the buffet moves elsewhere.