Video Clips from other research areas

This page presents a selection of video highlights from NOAA/VENTS research activities on the Juan de Fuca and Gorda Ridges before the NeMO Project started at Axial Volcano. Most of the video clips on this page are in MPEG format. To view a video, just click on one of the links below the "thumbnail" views. Some of the video clips are available in both small and larger formats. The small sized clips will load faster and play better than the larger ones. To the right of each thumbnail is a brief description of the video clip. At the bottom of this page is information on how to obtain video tape copies of some of this footage.

Small/MPEG - 1.3Mb	<-- Alvin submersible being launched for a dive to the ocean floor. Alvin holds 3 people, a pilot and two observers, and can dive for up to 8 hours.	Small/MPEG - 0.9Mb Large/MPEG - 3.7Mb	<-- This amazing black smoker (Inferno vent at Axial Volcano) appears to be "flaming", because the fluid it is venting is at 348°C, the boiling point for this depth (1543 m). The "glow" is an illusion and probably caused by bubbles in the phase separated fluid reflecting the lights from the sub. It is not emitting its own light.
Small/MPEG - 0.5Mb Large/MPEG - 1.5Mb	<-- Black smoker (VENT1 at South Cleft) venting 284°C mineral-rich fluid. The chimney is made of sulfide minerals, and is covered with tubeworms.	Small/MPEG - 0.8Mb Large/MPEG - 2.2Mb	<-- Another black smoker vent on top of a 10 m high chimney, with a temperature of 342°C (VENT1 at South Cleft). This one is a real chugger!
Large/MPEG - 0.7Mb	<-- Animation of the earthquake swarm on the CoAxial segment in June 1993. The quakes were associated with the intrusion of a dike along the segment culminating in an eruption.	Small/MPEG - 0.6Mb Large/MPEG - 1.7Mb	<-- First view of the 1993 lava flow from the ROPOS remotely operated vehicle that erupted on the CoAxial segment, during the 1993 earthquake swarm.
Small/MPEG - 1.6Mb	<-- Warm water (50°C) venting out of the 1993 CoAxial lava flow as it cools. The yellow staining is iron-rich material produced by bacteria that are thriving in the vent fluids.	Small/MPEG - 1.3Mb Large/MPEG - part1 - 5.3Mb Large/MPEG - part2 - 6.2Mb	<-- A snowblower vent at the CoAxial FLOC site spews bacterial floc into the water. The 1993 dike intrusion produced a bloom of bacteria here in the "subsurface biosphere".
Small/MPEG - 0.9Mb Large/MPEG - 4.2Mb	<-- Another vent at the CoAxial FLOC site where rapid bacterial growth has formed bizarre, kelp-like, filaments that wave in the warm currents.	Small/MPEG - 0.7Mb	<-- Steep cliff face on part of the new lava flow from the 1996 Gorda Ridge eruption. Yellow iron-staining is from hydrothermal venting from the cooling lava flow.
Small/Quicktime-1.7Mb Large/Quicktime-8.0Mb Small/AVI - 5.6Mb Large/AVI - 18Mb	<-- The formation of pillow lava in the deep ocean has never been observed, but it probably looks a lot like this. This movie shows pillow lava flowing underwater off the coast of Hawaii, after it was erupted on land and flowed into the ocean. Video footage from the movie "Pele Meets the Sea" courtesy of Richard Pyle at Lava Video Productions.

A video tape of some of the dive footage shown on this page is available through the NOAA Public Affairs Office. To order copies of this video tape in any format (BETA=$60; VHS=$29), call the Video Transfer office at 301-881-0270. The tape runs about 20 minutes. Ask for the "Hydrothermal Vents Research Video Highlights", and be sure to ask for the information sheet that goes with the tape to explain each of the shots.

More Video highlights from NeMO 2001 at Axial Volcano.

More Video highlights from NeMO 2000 at Axial Volcano.

More Video highlights from NeMO 1999 at Axial Volcano.

More Video highlights from NeMO 1998 at Axial Volcano.

Back to the main Vents Video Page.

Also check out the NeMO Explorer site that has virtual seafloor landscapes, fly-through movies, panoramas, and video clips.

Last Updated: 01/07/03 by Bill Chadwick

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