CASM Virtual Site

CASM Virtual Site

casm location map

The CASM site is noteworthy because it was the first active hydrothermal vent site discovered in the NE Pacific. CASM was first discovered in 1983 by a group of Canadian and U.S. Scientists using the Canadian PISCES IV submersible. However, it had not been visited by a submersible or ROV for about a decade before 1998. CASM is an acronym for Canadian American Seamount (Expedition). The CASM site is located at the northern end of Axial caldera, where the caldera wall intersects Axial's north rift zone. Hydrothermal venting at CASM is located in and around a large fissure, within about 100 m of the caldera wall. The site has both active and extinct sulfide chimneys and appears to have been rejuvenated by the 1998 eruption. Lush colonies of young tube worms and palm worms were observed after the eruption, with a distinct increase in populations after 1998.

	Fly-through movie The Quicktime movie below allows you to get a virtual tour of the site by moving through it. Click the button at the lower left to play the movie. Both the fly-through movie and the panorama may take some time to load, so please be patient.		Panorama The Quicktime VR panorama below gives you a 360° view of the site. Click and drag your mouse inside the panorama window to look in different directions. The buttons in the bottom left zoom in or out and show hotlinks to video clips. Click on ROPOS to go between sites.

If you do not see two movie windows or Quicktime icons above, go to the Help page.