Hydrothermal vent fields and chemosynthetic biota on the world's deepest seafloor spreading centre

Connelly, Douglas P.; Copley, Jonathan T.P.; Murton, Bramley J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1522-1191; Stansfield, Kate; Tyler, Paul A.; German, Christopher R.; Van Dover, Cindy L.; Amon, Diva; Furlong, Maaten; Grindlay, Nancy; Hayman, Nicholas; Hühnerbach, Veit; Judge, Maria; Le Bas, Tim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2545-782X; McPhail, Stephen; Meier, Alexandra; Nakamura, Ko-ichi; Nye, Verity; Pebody, Miles; Pedersen, Rolf B.; Plouviez, Sophie; Sands, Carla; Searle, Roger C.; Stevenson, Peter; Taws, Sarah; Wilcox, Sally. 2012 Hydrothermal vent fields and chemosynthetic biota on the world's deepest seafloor spreading centre. Nature Communications, 3. 620. 10.1038/ncomms1636

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Abstract/Summary

The Mid-Cayman spreading centre is an ultraslow-spreading ridge in the Caribbean Sea. Its extreme depth and geographic isolation from other mid-ocean ridges offer insights into the effects of pressure on hydrothermal venting, and the biogeography of vent fauna. Here we report the discovery of two hydrothermal vent fields on the Mid-Cayman spreading centre. The Von Damm Vent Field is located on the upper slopes of an oceanic core complex at a depth of 2,300 m. High-temperature venting in this off-axis setting suggests that the global incidence of vent fields may be underestimated. At a depth of 4,960 m on the Mid-Cayman spreading centre axis, the Beebe Vent Field emits copper-enriched fluids and a buoyant plume that rises 1,100 m, consistent with >400 °C venting from the world's deepest known hydrothermal system. At both sites, a new morphospecies of alvinocaridid shrimp dominates faunal assemblages, which exhibit similarities to those of Mid-Atlantic vents.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1038/ncomms1636
Programmes:	NOC Programmes
ISSN:	20411723
Additional Keywords:	earth sciences, ecology, geology and geophysics, oceanography
Date made live:	16 Feb 2012 10:38 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/310979

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1038/ncomms1636

Programmes:

NOC Programmes

ISSN:

20411723

Additional Keywords:

earth sciences, ecology, geology and geophysics, oceanography

Date made live:

16 Feb 2012 10:38 +0 (UTC)