2012 expeditions:

September - R/V Revelle

Visit the NOAA Ocean Exploration website for updates and information:

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/12fire/welcome.html

2010 expeditions:

December 2010 - Kilo Moana

Cruise KM1024 aboard the RV Kilo Moana in Dec 2010 was a short (7 day), targeted cruise that focused almost entirely on bottom sampling of volcanic landforms in the NE Lau basin via dredging . Water column properties (temperature, pressure, optical backscatter, and oxidation reduction potential) were measured during each dredge with a PMEL MAPR (Miniature Autonomous Plume Recorder). Small amounts of mapping and CTD work were conducted as well. It was the second expedition for our group to the NE Lau Basin in 2010, continuing exploration of the region and building directly upon observations made during a May 2010 cruise (KM1008) and two earlier R/V Thompson cruises, TN227 (Nov 2008) and TN234 (May 2009). The goal of KM1024 was to retrieve rock samples from as many of the apparently active and recently active volcanic features in the area as possible for shore-based petrologic and rock geochronologic studies. Twenty five of twenty seven planned dredges were executed over 4.5 days, each recovering rock samples, nearly all of them fresh and relatively young. (full summary)

2010 KM1024 Cruise Report: pdf

April/May 2010 - Kilo Moana

The main objective of this expedition to the NE Lau Basin (April/May 2010) was to continue our exploration of the region based on findings from the two previous cruises.  The operational tools utilized were the CTD-rosette system and a towed camera system.  During the 13 day cruise, 24 hydrocasts and 9 camera tows were conducted.  1 mooring was also deployed and the a new acoustic glider was successfully tested.
2010 KM1008 Cruise Report: pdf

3D image of West Mata (click for full-size)

Undersea Volcanic Eruptions Spotted in Action
(DiscoveryNews 6/5/09)

May 5-13, 2009

2009 Expedition Vents blog: See 2009 cruise postings on laueruptions.blogspot.com. Eruption Confirmed!

2009 Cruise Report: download tn234-NELRC-CruiseReport-final.pdf

The 2008 Expedition searched for hydrothermal activity in the NE Lau region by conducting water-column plume surveys.  In conjunction with the water column work, expedition also conducted bathymetric mapping of the seafloor using the shipboard EM300 system in areas where high resolution maps do not exist.  The primary targets were the NE Lau Spreading Center (NELSC) , the Mangatolo Triple Junction (MTJ, also called the Kings Triple Junction), and the large caldera named Volcano O (Caldera on map).

Expedition conducted on R/V Thompson using ROV JASON.

2008 Cruise Report: download tn227-nelau-report-final.pdf

2008 Expedition Logbook postings:
November 14 | 18 | 21 | 25 | 27

Plume Discovery-Expedition Update:

Location of the plumes discovered on the Lau Spreading Center during the 2008 expedition. (click image for larger view)

Posted November 21, 2008:
Voyage TN227 of the R/V Thompson is presently conducting seafloor mapping and water-column plume surveys in the NE Lau region. We are currently over the NE Lau Spreading Center at ~15 deg 24’S, 174 deg 15’W. We have found that the water column over this back-arc spreading center is populated with an unusual suite of spectacular plumes at depths ranging from 1400 m up to 700 m below the sea surface. Some of our water column profiles detected over 5 distinct hydrothermal plume layers, and the shallowest of these plumes is over 600 m above any local topography. Furthermore the plumes are characterized by intense light scattering anomalies, high Eh signals, and in some cases very high concentrations of dissolved hydrogen. This represents a considerable increase in activity compared to the previous study conducted here on the R/V Kilo Moana in 2004 [German et al., g-cubed, 2006], and a suite of plume surveys conducted using IMI30 and MAPRs in July 2008. Based on our collective experience, these plumes have the physical and chemical characteristics associated with seafloor eruptive activity. During the remaining 6 days of this expedition, we plan to continue surveying the region and attempt to localize the source of this unusual activity. We had considered deploying Dan Fornari's camera system, which is also on board, but not all of the necessary components are on the ship. We believe The RIDGE community should consider this site as a focus for future Time Critical Studies activities, especially in conjunction with ship operations supporting the Lau ISS.

All updates from sea are posted at:
http://ventslaubasin2008.blogspot.com/

More Information:

Background | Science Team