FY 2004
Explorations of Mariana Arc volcanoes reveal new hydrothermal systems
Embley, R.W., E.T. Baker, W.W. Chadwick, Jr., J.E. Lupton, J.A. Resing, G.J. Massoth, and K. Nakamura
Eos Trans. AGU, 85(4), doi: 10.1029/2004EO040001, 37, 40 (2004) |
| Some 20,000 km of volcanic arcs, roughly one-third the length of the global mid-ocean ridge (MOR) system, rim the western Pacific Ocean. Compared to 25 years of hydrothermal investigations along MORs, exploration of similar activity on the estimated ∼600 submarine arc volcanoes is only beginning [Ishibashi and Urabe, 1995; De Ronde et al, 2003] . To help alleviate this under-sampling, the R/V T G Thompson in early 2003 (9 February to 5 March) conducted the first complete survey of hydrothermal activity along 1200 km of the Mariana intra-oceanic volcanic arc. This region includes both the Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. |
