Collaborative Research: Detailed Analysis of High-Resolution Morphological Data and Water-Column Hydrothermal Measurements along Earth's Fastest Spreading Center, EPR 27-32 S

This project involves the detailed analysis of coincident seafloor imagery and hydrothermal measurements of the water column that have been collected along a 600 km long section of the superfast spreading southern East Pacific Rise. Previous regional-scale analysis of these data has revealed the large-scale hydrothermal plume patterns and segment-scale volcanic and tectonic controls on hydrothermal venting at these spreading rates. The project will explore the use of various multivariate statistics to characterize the distribution and connections between the many geophysical and hydrothermal measurements, produce maps of the five known hydrothermal vent areas, and provide constraints on the fine-scale segmentation. Additionally, the project involves student interns and the dissemination of fly-by movies, popular teaching tools that will be available to the public.