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Quelle: Christoph Beier (FAU)

Ship's log SONNE SO263

 

The expedition SO263 comes to an end – numbers please

By now, we are already on the transit back to Suva, Fiji, where we will arrive on Wednesday, 27.06.2018 around 8:00 am. We are already looking forward to be welcomed by a happy “Bula” (Fijian for hello ☺ ).
All boxes are packed, last data is being processed, final parts for the cruise report are being written and the cabins are cleaned up, before we have to leave SONNE on Thursday – our home for the last 4 weeks.
The expedition was very successful and especially all PhD-students and postdocs on board have plenty of material for their work and will be able to study the samples and publish their results in the next years.

Some numbers for SO263:

35 scientists
21 working days
131 stations

17 MARUM-QUEST dives
62 TV-grab stations
22 deployments of the wax-corer
19 times we used the water sampler (CTD)

3000 L of water were brought on deck by the CTD
300 rock samples and 50 sulphide samples were collected from the sea floor
162 separate fluid and plume samples with more than 500 aliquots were processed
334°C had the hottest fluid sample
277 mussels were collected, 140 were dissected directly on board
116 boxes with scientific equipment are stored in 2 containers

4000 eggs have been eaten
500 kg meat was processed
405 L of coffee were consumed

2 islands provided variety in the eternal blue
1 shark accompanied SONNE one whole day

Shipping samples and gear will take as long as two months before we will then unload and unpack the boxes; while some of us will already think about packing lists for the next cruise.
 

Group Picture of all scientists of SO263 (W. Borchert)
Photo of SONNE taken by a drone (S. Meinecke)
A whitetip reef shark, who accompanied us for one whole day (W. Borchert)

 

 

 

Rocks from the seafloor

During SO263, the group of chief scientist Prof. Dr. Karsten Haase focuses on sampling rocks that are often associated with subduction zone volcanism. The main goal is to better understand the processes that occur during the formation and ascent of melts in subduction zone volcanoes to further our understanding of the magmatic and hydrothermal cycles in these enigmatic geodynamic environments.

This is the reason, why SO263 aims at sampling magmatic and sulfide rock samples from active and inactive hydrothermal vents. A lot of these samples are taken using a hydraulic TV-guided grab (TV-grab), with which the seafloor is sampled on selected localities. The optical systems allows to observe and control the sampling live onboard and to determine which and how much sampling material to heave aboard. During daytime further sampling sites are investigated with the ROV MARUM-QUEST.

Another relatively simple but reliable sampling method for recovering geological specimens is the wax-corer. It consists of a metal tube, loaded with further weights, which is dropped onto the ocean floor and picks up volcanic glass material. These glasses form when hot magma (~1250 °C) is erupted into cold water and is quenched by the extreme difference in temperatures. Volcanic glasses are important tracers for the composition of the initial magma and are therefore an essential component for petrological and geochemical research.

Once the rock, sulfide and glass samples are on-board, the scientists prepare them for further geochemical analyses, performed at and by the collaborating institutions. These preparations include sorting the samples as well as a detailed scientific documentation.
At first the samples are photographed, measured and cut using a rock saw. After that each sample is described, involving mineral compositions, textures and structure of the rocks. Finally, the samples are ready for their transport to the GeoZentrum Nordbayern at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen – Nürnberg, where further investigations and analyses will be carried out.

The team around chief scientist Karsten Haase, from left to right: Karsten Haase, Bernd Schleifer, Thomas Günther, Stefan Krumm, Bettina Storch, Milena Schönhofen, Christoph Beier (W. Borchert).
Karsten Haase is getting a rock sample out of the TV-grab (S. Krumm, FAU).
Part of a black smoker, which was recovered with the TV-grab (B. Schleifer, FAU).

 

 

 

Microbial hydrothermal communities

Of the three domains of life on Earth, two are made up entirely of things so small that they can only be seen using a microscope- so called “microbes” belonging to the domains Bacteria and Archaea. The third domain of life, Eukarya, contains all the living things we see every day (plants, animals, and the like), but also many microbes called “protists”, which have more complex structures and lifestyles than those in the bacterial and archaeal domains. Two microbiologists on board RV SONNE are trying to identify which microbes live in the waters around these extreme volcanic systems and understand how they contribute to life here.

Bledina Dede (Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany) is interested in bacteria and archaea that are lurking at the deep sea hydrothermal vents. As the seawater and rocks in the vicinity of vent systems are the home of millions of microorganisms, water was filtered and rocks’ surfaces were scratched to collect biomass for DNA/RNA sequencing. This will allow the characterization of the microbial communities and their metabolic capabilities. Additionally, seawater was incubated with different substrates that serve as a “fuel” for the chemosynthetic bacteria which are capable of organic matter production without the need of light. These incubations help us to understand changes in the microbial community based on environmental factors and may tell us the food source for different groups of microorganisms.

Sheryl Murdock (University of Victoria, Canada) is deploying colonization modules in warm vent fluids to trap the protists and bring them back for study in the lab. The colonizers first attract Bacteria and Archaea, which are abundant in the warm fluids, and these microbes act as bait to attract the protists. In the lab, the protists are grown in culture tubes to characterize their behaviours and grow enough material for identification through DNA analysis. Information from the fluid samples collected by the chemistry groups will help describe the habitat and chemical tolerances of these organisms.

A colonizer within a warm hydrothermal vent. The colonizer consists of a permeable tube, in which an artificial sponge serves as a habitat (MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen).
The microbiologists Sheryl Murdock and Bledina Dede in the lab (C. Kleint, Jacobs University)
Two tubes in which bacteria are grown. The microbes are visible in the left tube as milky dots (C. Kleint, Jacobs University)

 

 

 

Trace metal supply to the ocean

In addition to the fluid chemists from University of Bremen, who are mainly interested in the gases in the fluids, the team of fluid geochemists aboard consists of Annika Moje, Charlotte Kleint and David Ernst from Jacobs University Bremen, Britta Planner-Friedrich from University of Bayreuth, Ingo Meierhoff from Münster, Christian Peters from University of Münster, and Frederike Wilckens from MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences in Bremen.

The fluid geochemists work with the fluids that are taken from the hydrothermal plumes collected by the water sampler and from the hot and diffuse hydrothermal fluids sampled by the MARUM-QUEST. One question of interest, for example, is how much arsenic and iron are released from the different vents and how far these elements can be "tracked" in the water column. Do these elements reach the top 200 meters of the water column, the photic zone, where bioproductivity is highest and most organisms live? Iron is an important but limited micro-nutrient for almost all marine organisms, whereas arsenic may have toxic effects. However, especially in the environment of hot vents, many microorganisms can at least tolerate arsenic or even use it to gain energy.

Some of the fluid parameters are already determined on board. Immediately after sampling, pH, oxygen, salinity and redox potential (Eh-value) of the fluids and plumes are measured. In addition, iron, sulfide, magnesium, calcium, and chlorine concentrations of the fluids are determined. Based on these initial results, we can estimate the quality of the sampling, i.e. the purity of the collected hydrothermal fluids. In addition, we can make first statements about the processes and sources that influenced the hydrothermal fluids.

However, the main work in the lab aboard is the sample preparation for transport and later analyses in the labs at home. As many fluid components are not stable under surface conditions, the sample preparation must be very fast. Thus, all fluid geochemists are already impatiently waiting as soon as the water sampler or the MARUM-QUEST come on deck to process the samples as quickly as possible. Depending on the later analysis, the fluids are filtered in various size fractions, partially acidified, cooled or frozen. In addition, the volatile components of the fluids are fixed, which is necessary for some of the methods to ensure accurate and precise results.

The fluid-chemistry team during SO263. Upper row, left to right: Patrick Monien, David Ernst, Charlotte Kleint, Britta Planer-Friedrich, Christian Peters, Ingo Meyerhoff. Lower row, left to right: Stefan Sopke, Alexander Diehl, Annika Moje, Frederike Wilckens (S. Krumm, FAU).
Britta Planer-Friedrich, while „shock-frosting“ the samples in liquid nitrogen (C. Kleint, Jacobs University).
Frederike Wilckens performs first analyses (titrations) on the samples (C. Kleint, Jacobs University).
Annika Moje acidifies the samples (C. Kleint, Jacobs University).

 

 

 

MARUM QUEST finds TV-Grab sampling location

During our dive today at a southern seamount in the Niuatahi Caldera, the MARUM QUEST found the location that was sampled by the TV-grab the day before (visible in the picture as the white hole).

Despite the size of the drag and the rather simple technology, it is shown that the TV-grab is able to take samples quite selectively, without leaving bigger damage at the seafloor.

The picture shows the different camera perspectives of MARUM QUEST, which make detailed navigation and sampling with the ROV possible.

The different camera perspectives of MARUM QUEST (MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen)

 

 

 

Gastight Fluid Sampling

Today, we arrived in our third working area of SO263, the Niuatahi Caldera. During the first dive, we already reached a new temperature record, while successfully sampling two black smokers showing temperatures of 324°C and 334°C. 
 
The petrologists and fluid chemists of the working group “Petrology of the Oceanic Crust” from the University of Bremen, Wolfgang Bach, Patrick Monien, Alexander Diehl and Stefan Sopke, take care of the sampling and first analysis of the emitted hydrothermal fluids from the black and white smokers. 
 
Besides basic parameters, such as temperature and pH, alkalinity (the acid buffering capacity of water) as well as concentrations of hydrogen and methane are measured on-board immediately after a ROV dive ends. 
 
Fluids are collected with isobaric gas-tight (IGT) samplers, which allow us to bring up the fluid while maintaining seafloor-pressure insight the sampler. Gases dissolved in the fluids at great pressures do hence not escape when the MARUM QUEST comes up from the deep sea. In the lab, the fluid samples are drawn from the IGT-samplers into gastight syringes. Gas bubbles form inside the syringe when the pressure drops, similar what happens when opening a bottle of sparkeling water. Afterwards this gas is injected into a gas chromatograph and separated into its individual components, before two detectors simultaneously analyze the concentrations of methane and hydrogen. The concentration of hydrogen is a particularly crucial parameter in determining the subsurface environment as well as the occurring type of interaction between the hot fluids and the volcanic rocks. 
This key parameter enables us, with the help of thermodynamic calculations, to better understand the chemical parameters that occur in the subsurface, deep below the hydrothermal vents. Gas concentrations further play a major role for the fauna on the hydrothermal vents, as they represent the “fuel” for the chemosynthetic organisms. 
 
To facilitate complete and detailed analyses of these precious fluids, all samples from the IGTs are split between the involved fluid chemists from the University of Bremen, the Jacobs University, the University of Münster as well the University of Bayreuth. 
 
Alexander Diehl retrieving a sample into a gastight syringe from an IGT sampler (C. Kleint, Jacobs University).
IGT sample in gastight syringe; the degassing of the sample is visible by the formation of gas bubbles (A. Diehl, University of Bremen).
Patrick Monien determining alkalinity in an IGT sample (C. Kleint, Jacobs University).

 

 

 

SO263 – “Mussel Mania” – Niua North

After we got several rocks and hydrothermal fluids (displaying temperatures above 300°C) in the 1200 m deep working area Niua South, we are heading to our next working area, Niua North.
Niua North is located in only 700 m water depth, and, as the name suggests, it lies north of Niua South, approx. 10 kilometers.
The hydrothermalism is very different when compared to Niua South -instead of black smokers, it is rather apparent as white smokers. The fluids are very acidic (pH 1.8), sulphurous as well as gas-rich; the vent field is named Hellow Vents.

While we just found a single mussel in Niua South, there is a whole field of mussels in Niua North (Mussel Mania). The microbiologists Merle Ücker and Miguel Ángel González Porras from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen are already excited about the first samples from this area.

The net, which is used by MARUM-QUEST to scoop the Bathymodiolus mussels, is securely stored in one of the drawers of the ROV. Once on deck, everything has to go fast: The mussels are quickly dissected in the labs of RV SONNE to minimize any sample alteration. The super-developed gills are their most interesting organ, as they contain the bacterial symbionts. These allow them to thrive “down there”, where it is dark and basically no organic matter present to feed on. The bacterial symbionts are chemosynthetic, meaning that they are able to “digest” the reduced compounds that are released by the hydrothermal vents to produce organic matter, which is ultimately transferred to the hosts: The mussels.

Back in Bremen, the mussels’ gills will be studied in the laboratory. There, the microbiologists aim to understand how the symbionts and the mussel interact using a “molecular language”, how diverse the symbionts are, or how their population is determined by environmental parameters.
 

White Smoker in Niua North, Hellow Vents (MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen)
Mussel Mania in Niua North (MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen)
Miguel Ángel González Porras and Merle Ücker from Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen with two of the Bathymodiolus mussels in the lab (C. Kleint, Jacobs University).
An open Bathymodiolus mussel, ready to be dissected (C. Kleint, Jacobs University).

 

 

 

SO263 Samples from the first working area – Niua South


After all labs are now fully equipped and all large equipment is ready for deployment, we are curious and happy to get first samples.

During the nights of the 3rd to 7th of June, four successful TV-grab deployments each night brought several kilograms of rocks from about 600 -1500 m water depth aboard SONNE. Amongst the rocks are not only pumices, frequently found in island arcs, but also basaltic samples, which are essential to understand the formation of the Niua South region. The range of recovered rock-types allows us to plan and adapt the upcoming TV-Grabs based on rocks and pictures from previous deployments to ensure an efficient sampling. Sawing, description and packing of the rocks for the transport back home is directly performed on board.

To detect possible plumes in the first working area Niua South, four additional profiles with the water sampler (so called tow-yos) were performed. To do so, the water sampler is towed behind the SONNE (which is moving along the selected profile with 1 knot), while online sensors continuously and live report parameters, such as depth, salinity, pressure and – most important for us – turbidity. A turbidity signal indicates that particles are present in the water column and is most likely a sign for a hydrothermal plume. In such depths, the bottles are closed by just pushing a button in the lab. Up to 24 bottles, 12 L volume each may be closed during each tow-yo. Back on deck, the scientists are waiting already to fill samples from the different bottles and respective water depths.
With the help of these profiles and later analysis of the samples, we are able to estimate the dimensions of the plume – lateral and vertical.

Our most important sampling device, the “MARUM-QUEST” dives already for the second time and delivers spectacular images and samples from the seafloor. After diving through the 1200 m deep water column, it directly landed in an area with active and inactive hydrothermal vents. Therefore, the sampling could start right away.
Apart from rocks and ores, “QUEST” will also sample fluids, as well as biological samples, such as mussels, snails and tube worms.

The first processing and treatment of the samples starts directly in the labs of RV SONNE and will last into the night, while simultaneously the next device is already launched into the water to bring more samples aboard.

Launch of MARUM QUEST (D. Ernst, Jacobs University)
Black Smokers at Niua South (MARUM-QUEST, University of Bremen)
Fluid sampling at a black smoker in Niua South (MARUM-QUEST, University of Bremen)
Snail „Alviniconcha“ from Niua South active hydrothermal vents (D. Ernst, Jacobs University)
Christoph Beier and Bernd Schleifer with a recovered basalt and the TV-Grab (S. Krumm, FAU)

 

 

 

SO263 TongaRift started

In the morning of May 31st, all scientists embarked RV Sonne and moved into their cabins. As all containers and airfreight have arrived by that time, we left Suva, Fiji, towards Tonga around 9:00 am local time in the morning of June 1st. On board are geoscientists of several different disciplines, such as petrologists, geochemists, oceanographers, specialists for hydrothermalism and biologists. Some participants are still suffering from seasickness, due to strong winds and waves, however, the weather forecast is good and we are expecting better weather soon. As a full stomach is always good in case of seasickness, we are very thankful for the delicious food on board.

We use the two days of transit until we reach our first working area to fill and prepare the empty labs of RV Sonne. The setup reaches from a big rock saw to clean-labs for trace metal free work. Additionally, the brought instruments, such as a gas chromatograph for the analysis of different gases or a photometer for the analysis of iron and sulfide are tested and set up. Work is not only carried out inside the ship, but also outside, where the bigger equipment, such as a water sampler, a TVgrab and of course the deep-sea robot MARUM ROV-QUEST are being prepared for their first deployment. The very helpful and skilled crew is supporting us with our preparations and also smaller issues are fixed immediately.

For June 3rd, the first sampling station is scheduled. During that station, we will use the water sampler to get water samples from different water depths. These samples are used for the analysis of background concentrations, but also to calibrate other devices. Following the water sampler, we will deploy the TV-grab at night, which will bring rocks from the sea floor on board Sonne. A first dive with ROV-QUEST is scheduled for June 5th.

We are very excited and look forward to our first samples as well as to spectacular images of the hydrothermal systems.

Going aboard at May 31, 2018 (Photo: D. Ernst, Jacobs University)
Empty lab at RV Sonne (Photo: D. Ernst, Jacobs University)
Lab preparation (Photo: D. Ernst, Jacobs University)
Seas during the transit (Photo: S. Krumm, FAU)
Leaving Suva, Fiji (Photo: D. Ernst, Jacobs University)

 

 

 

On June1st 2018, we will start expedition SO263 TONGARIFT on board the German research vessel “SONNE” in Suva, Fiji.


In total, 34 scientists from different institutes will be on board: from GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (Chief Scientist: Prof. Dr. Karsten Haase), from Jacobs University Bremen, the University of Bremen, MARUM – Cen­ter for Mar­ine En­vir­on­mental Sci­ences of the University of Bremen, MPI Bremen, the University of Münster, from the University of Bayreuth, as well as international partners from the universities of Victoria and Ottawa, Canada and from the University of Hawaii. Additionally, a Tongan observer will join our expedition.

Our destination is a two-day trip away from Fiji, the Tonga arc, an island arc with dozens of active and inactive volcanoes at the bottom of the sea between 700 and 2000 m water depth.
The focus of our expedition is the exploration and characterization of the geological and geochemical processes as well as the biological activity along the Tonga island arc, as these hydrothermal systems differ strongly compared to those at mid-ocean ridges.

“Quest”, the deep-sea remotely operated vehicle owned and operated by MARUM will be used to take samples directly at the source of the active hydrothermal vents. Apart from fluids, it will also sample rocks, ores and organisms such as mussels. A TV-grab will collect large amounts of rocks, while a water sampler, equipped with different online sensors, will take several liters of water from different water depths.

We will take water samples directly at the hydrothermal source as well as along the entire water column up to the surface. This is primarily done to characterize the less studied elemental fluxes of hydrothermal systems along the Tonga island arc and the understanding of their role for the global elemental budget of the ocean and for local chemical and biological processes in the water column and at the seafloor.

Prof. Karsten Haase (FAU), Chief of Expedition / Photo: Christoph Beier (FAU)
RV Sonne in the harbor of Suva (Fiji) on 30.5.2018 / Photo: Christoph Beier (FAU)