High-resolution multibeam bathymetry of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45–46° N: the Moytirra hydrothermal field

High-Resolution 3D Simulations of Mid-ocean Ridge Hydrothermal Systems

High-resolution bathymetry reveals contrasting landslide activity shaping the walls of theMid-Atlantic Ridge axial valley

[1] Axial valleys are found along most slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges and are one of the most prominent topographic features on Earth. In this paper, we present the first deep-tow swath bathymetry for the axial valley walls of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These data allow us to analyze axial valley wall morphology with a very high resolution (0.5 to 1 m compared to ≥ 50 m for shipboard multibeam ba...

Mineralogy, geochemistry and Nd isotope composition of the Rainbow hydrothermal field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Petrological, geochemical and Nd-isotopic analyses have been carried out on rock samples from the Rainbow vent field to assess the evolution of the hydrothermal system. The Rainbow vent field is an ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal system located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, characterized by vigorous high-temperature venting (~365ºC) and unique chemical composition of fluids: high chlorinity, low pH...

Bacterial diversity in hydrothermal sediment and epsilonproteobacterial dominance in experimental microcolonizers at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

We report here a molecular survey based on 16S rRNA genes of the bacterial diversity found in two deep-sea vent niches at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: hydrothermal sediment (Rainbow site), and microcolonizers made of three different substrates (organic-rich, iron-rich and pumice) that were exposed for 15 days to a vent emission. Bacterial diversity in sediment samples was scattered through many bact...

Autochthonous eukaryotic diversity in hydrothermal sediment and experimental microcolonizers at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

The diversity and mode of life of microbial eukaryotes in hydrothermal systems is very poorly known. We carried out a molecular survey based on 18S ribosomal RNA genes of eukaryotes present in different hydrothermal niches at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These included metal-rich and rare-earth-element-rich hydrothermal sediments of the Rainbow site, fluid-seawater mixing regions, and colonization d...