November 1, 2013
JAMSTEC
In an effort to study a variety of marine organisms which have evolved to live in extreme environments, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), led by President Asahiko Taira, has begun a project called QUELLE2013. This project began in January 2013, using the manned research submersible SHINKAI 6500 and its support vessel YOKOSUKA. QUELLE2013 is a global-scale voyage of scientific surveys and research on ecosystems in hydrothermal vent areas and other unique and extreme environments in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
SHINKAI 6500 has just completed a survey of an area near the Kermadec Trench*1, and has completed all the planned surveys of the QUELLE2013 project, and is scheduled to come back to Japan in early December after another survey around the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
The detailed research results will be released in due course via voyage reports and articles in scientific journals. In this report, we will introduce the just-completed surveys near the Kermadec Trench in the South Pacific Ocean.
1.Objectives of the survey of the Kermadec Trench
The oceanic structure around New Zealand, a country in the southern hemisphere, is similar to the one around Japan. There are areas where seamount chains stretch over several thousand kilometers. In this survey, jointly with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research of New Zealand (NIWA), JAMSTEC has studied organisms living in an area where two large seamount chains meet.
One of the large seamount chains surveyed is the Louisville Seamount Chain - a chain of over 70 seamounts stretching more than 4,300 kilometers from northeast of New Zealand to the southeast. Seamounts in this area were formed around the South Pole, and some 70 million years later, they will subduct into the Kermadec Trench. Thus, in geological times those seamount will soon disappear. The Tonga-Kermadec Arc is located just across the trench with a series of volcanically active seamounts. This is an area where hot water loaded with sulfur and acid can spew out of cracks in the seabed on the volcanoes. Many species cannot survive the chemical mix in this water, but populations of several species can be found which are adapted to the extreme conditions. These organisms rely on bacteria for energy. The bacteria produce energy from hydrogen sulfide and methane contained in the hot water.
In such a very unique environment where the disappearing seamount chain and the volcanically-active seamount chain lie over the trench axis, this survey was conducted to determine if there is any difference in ecosystems between the two seamount chains and, if any, where the difference comes from. For the first time in the world, JAMSTEC and NZ researchers observed the seafloor in this area, using the manned research submersible SHINKAI 6500. The voyage collected data as well as samples of deep-sea species, using high-definition cameras and various measuring instruments. Based on the biological distribution data and the genetic information, JAMSTEC and NIWA scientists plan to continue to work together to unravel the biodiversity patterns of evolution in unique environments.
2.Outline (see the attached map)
(1) The Louisville Seamount Chain at depths of 1,200 – 2,800 meters and the northern Kermadec Arc at depths of 400 – 800 meters
Period: October 26 to 30, 2013
Details:
i) Topographic and geological survey in and around the Louisville Seamount Chain and the northern Kermadec Arc at depths of 300 – 5,000 meters.
ii) Ecosystem and biodiversity monitoring in the Louisville Seamount Chain and the northern Kermadec Arc at depths of 300 – 5,000 meters.
3.Summary of research achievements
4.Future schedules
November 3 to 4 | YOKOSUKA and SHINKAI 6500 are open to the public in Auckland, New Zealand |
Mid-November | Surveys are conducted in and around the equatorial Pacific Ocean. |
Early-December | YOKOSUKA and SHINKAI 6500 arrive at the Yokosuka Headquarters, Japan. |
*The above schedules are subject to change due to weather, work progress or other conditions. |
*1 The Kermadec Trench is a large oceanic trench off the east coast of the Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific Ocean with a maximum depth of 10,047 meters. The trench is the third deepest trench after the Mariana and Tonga trenches. The Kermadec Arc, which includes many active submarine volcanoes, runs parallel (landward) to the trench, and the Louisville Seamount Chain intersects it from the eastern side.
Figure 1. Map of this research area. Red circles indicate seamounts surveyed during this cruise.
Figure2. Photos Benthic animals observed or captured at the Louisville Seamount Chain and northern Kermadec Arc from 347 to 2,250m depths.