Project: Discovery, sampling, and quantification of flows from cool yet massive ridge-flank hydrothermal springs on Dorado Outcrop, eastern Pacific Ocean

Acronym/Short Name:Dorado Outcrop
Project Duration:2011-09 - 2014-08
Geolocation:Dorado Outcrop near Cocos Ridge (9N, 87W)

Description

Description from NSF award abstract:
Pristine fluids from a typical ridge-flank hydrothermal system have never been sampled, mainly because it has not been possible to locate a site of focused discharge where representative samples could be collected. The PIs have located a small basement feature, Dorado outcrop, on 23 m.y.-old seafloor on the eastern flank of the East Pacific Rise that they plan to sample to determine the fluid composition, and to assess the rate of discharge from the outcrop, so that they can quantify the chemical impact of this hydrothermal system. They plan an 18-day expedition that combines the surveying capabilities of the AUV Sentry (bathymetric, sub-bottom sonar, photo mosaics, water column anomalies) and an ocean-class vessel capable of collecting high-quality multi-beam data and CTD samples, and supporting the survey and sampling capabilities of the ROV Jason II for collection of spring and plume fluids, heat flow data, sediment push cores, and still and video photography. These data and samples will be combined hopefully to generate the first well-constrained estimates of hydrothermal flows from Dorado outcrop. This expedition will result in the collection of samples and data from a "fire hose" of ridge-flank, hydrothermal system, challenging the commonly held view that discharge from ridge flank hydrothermal systems occurs primarily from diffuse seeps.


DatasetLatest Version DateCurrent State
Continuous temperature collected at Dorado Outcrop near Cocos Ridge from deployment during R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 in 2013 to retrieval by cruise AT26-09 in 20142016-12-28Final no updates expected
Solid phase chemistry from push cores taken during R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 at the Dorado Outcrop near Cocos Ridge in December of 2014 (Dorado Outcrop project)2016-12-27Final no updates expected
Pore fluid chemistry from push cores taken during R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 at the Dorado Outcrop near Cocos Ridge in December of 2014 (Dorado Outcrop project)2016-12-27Final no updates expected
Pore fluid chemistry from gravity cores taken during R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 at the Dorado Outcrop near Cocos Ridge in December of 2014 (Dorado Outcrop project)2016-12-27Final no updates expected
Solid phase chemistry from gravity cores taken during R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 at the Dorado Outcrop near Cocos Ridge in December of 2014 (Dorado Outcrop project)2016-12-27Final no updates expected
Dissolved oxygen of pore water from sediment gravity cores, and push cores taken during R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 at the Dorado Outcrop near Cocos Ridge in December of 2014 (Dorado Outcrop project)2016-11-10Final no updates expected
Chemistry from discrete samples of hydrothermal springs sampled by the HOV Alvin during R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 at Dorado Outcrop in December of 20142016-11-10Final no updates expected
Discrete temperature and DO measured with the HOV Alvin during R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 at Dorado Outcrop in December of 20142016-11-10Final no updates expected
DO and temperature from a soloDO logger measured with Alvin during the R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 at the Dorado Outcrop near Cocos Ridge from November to December 20142016-10-20Final no updates expected
Spring and pore fluid chemistry from samples taken by OsmoSamplers at Dorado outcrop during R/V Atlantis cruise AT26-24 near Cocos Ridge, Pacific Ocean in 20142016-10-12Final no updates expected

Project Home Page


People

Principal Investigator: Andrew Fisher
University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC)

Principal Investigator: Samuel Hulme
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML)

Principal Investigator: C. Geoffrey Wheat
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF-IMS)

Contact: C. Geoffrey Wheat
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF-IMS)


Programs

Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations [C-DEBI]


Data Management Plan

DMP_C-DEBI_Dorado_Outcrop.pdf (67.55 KB)
02/09/2025