Schmidt Ocean Institute announces 2017 expedition schedule
The Schmidt Ocean Institute recently announced the 2017 expedition schedule for the R/V Falkor, their highly-capable and versatile research vessel. Numerous SOEST researchers and faculty have been granted ship time and support to perform a range of oceanography and geology research and mapping on four cruises.
Eyes Above and Below: Testing UAV’s and Mapping Johnston Atoll
John R. Smith, science director at the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory, will lead multibeam mapping and magnetic surveys in the remote waters of Johnston Atoll on three to four seamounts. Considered to be the stepping stone for marine species to colonize the Hawaiian Archipelago, this region has a large number of seamounts and ridges that have yet to be mapped and has high density deep-sea coral and sponge communities. The maps would be used to help plan for two remotely operated vehicle exploration cruises later in 2017. In addition to the science party and ship crew, a student; an artist; and a Honolulu teacher and SOEST alumni Jena Kline will join the cruise.
Deep Coral Diversity at Emperor Seamount
Several SOEST co-investigators, Sonia J. Rowley and Henrietta Dulai from the Department of Geology and Geophysics (GG); and John R. Smith and Glenn Carter from the Department of Oceanography, will join lead investigator Les Watling from the UHM College of Natural Sciences on this cruise to the Emperor Seamount. The bathyal zone (800-3500 m) is the least well-known depth zone in the ocean but contains much of the deep sea coral diversity. This species diversity is almost completely different between the Aleutians and Hawaii, with species transition occurring somewhere along the Emperor Seamount chain. The team will sample two seamounts on each side of the Emperor Seamount Main Gap to differentiate water conditions where the corals inhabit.
Unraveling Ancient Sea Level Secrets
Predicting sea level change is key to understanding coastal populations’ vulnerability to future climate shifts. Fortunately, geological records have preserved the natural swings in Earth’s climate, including the oceans’ related variations. Rapid sea-level change of 120-140 m occurred during the last deglaciation and was a dramatic global response to climate shifts and glacial melting. Tropical coral reefs offer one of the best sea level indicators, and are easily dated by radiometric methods to construct relative sea level. As a result, Ken Rubin (GG), and co-investigators Chip Fletcher (GG) and Scott White (University of South Carolina) will set out to explore sea level rise records from the last ice age using currently drowned central Pacific coral reefs.
Underwater Fire: Studying the Submarine Volcanoes of Tonga
Submarine volcanism is one of Earth’s most fundamental processes; yet few active volcanoes have been studied, and even fewer have had time series observations from repeated site visits. An international multidisciplinary team of scientists led by Ken Rubin (GG) will study one of Earth’s most dense and diverse active volcanic provinces in the Kingdom of Tonga. Falkor and the science team will head to the Northeast Lau basin in Tonga, which is known to have a very high density of submarine volcanoes – including 15 young arc volcanoes, multiple lava flows, a backarc spreading center, and 15-20 older volcanic cones. The team will develop a detailed geological and ecological understanding of the terrain to understand volcano distribution and duration, how the volcanoes develop/maintain hydrothermal activity, and how the hyperactivity and geology affect the surrounding ecology.
Founded in 2009 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, the Schmidt Ocean Institute to advance oceanographic research, discovery, and knowledge, and catalyze sharing of information about the oceans.
Read more at Schmidt Ocean Institute.