Keck Expedition 2004
DATES:
There are a number of different legs on this expedition.
July 30, 2004 - August 11, 2004
August 16, 2004 - August 26, 2004
August 30, 2004 - September 8, 2004
LOCATION: Juan de Fuca plate tectonic margins
Cruise Description
Click on the links above to find out more about this exciting cruise! The logbook will take you to daily updates posted from the ship along with photographs. People will let you see who is out there doing this great research while the equipment page will help you understand what they are using to get the job done. There is a lot more background information about the expedition from the purpose page.
The
five-year collaborative Keck Research Program is a proto-type
NEPTUNE Experiment in that achievement of the overarching objectives
will require the full capabilities of a regional cabled observatory
and many years to reach fruition. The ultimate principal objective
is to test the hypothesis that plate tectonically modulated microbial
productivity at the bottom of the ocean may be a significant fraction
of the photosynthetically generated productivity near the top of the
ocean. At present there is no data on the seafloor sources. Our
near-term approach is to develop and deploy sensors that allow simultaneous
detection of deformation, fluid/chemical fluxes, and microbial output
associated with three types of plate boundaries adjacent to one another.
The northern boundaries of the Juan de Fuca plate are the focus of the
effort for three reasons: 1) they are spatially condensed, well-defined
examples of a ridge, a transform fault, and a subduction complex, 2)
they are close to major ports, and, 3) the entire experiment will be
central to the Phase I installation by Canada of NEPTUNE.
In close collaboration, scientists and engineers from MBARI and the
UW will have placed on all three plate margin types a suite of short
period and broad band seismometers. In addition, UW and Scripps scientists
will expand deployment of a variety of fluid flow sensors and chemical
monitors in co-located coordination with the seismometer arrays by the
end of 2004 field season. It is intended that these networks will continue
to operate in an autonomous, annual servicing mode until they can be
connected to the regional cabled observatory in 2007-8.
As the final, and key element in the program, Keck funds are also supporting
development of the “Deep
Environmental Sampling Processor” (D-ESP), an adaptation of Chris
Scholin’s original instrument (link to esp pages). The D-ESP will
be 4000m-rated ESP that will be crucial to allow real-time microbial
investigations of microbial populations in real, or near-real-time when
connected to the cabled network. Testing and deployment of this system
is scheduled for late 2005 or mid summer 2006. With completion
of the D-ESP deployments in the NE Pacific, all components of the entire
experiment will be ready for use on the submarine network, and several
years of experience with the experimental approaches will have been
digested by the time NEPTUNE is operational.
There are three related portions (or Legs) of this Expedition. More detailed information about each Leg can be found at the Purpose Link above. The purpose of Leg 2 of this Expedition is to install and/or service seismometers for the Keck Experiment. Leg 3 is a multidisciplinary effort to examine the biogeochemical linkages at hydrothermal vent systems along the Endeavour and Middle Valley segments of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The purpose of the first two dives of Leg 4 of the expedition are to complete sampling basalts from off-axis sites on the south Cleft region of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The last five dives of Leg 4 are a NURP-funded project to Jim Gill that focuses on the Endeavor Segment.