Volcanic Eruptions on the Galapagos Spreading Center

Ship

R/V Atlantis

Vehicles

HOV Alvin

Cruise Party

John Sinton: Chief Scientist, Principal Investigator
University of Hawaii 1680 East-West Road Honolulu, HI USA 96822
+1 808 956 7751
sinton@hawaii.edu

Departure: Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, Ecuador on Mar 15, 2010

Arrival: Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, Ecuador on Apr 14, 2010

Supporting documentation:

»sinton_study-areas.jpg

Operations Area: Galapagos Spreading Center

Lat/Lon: 2° 0.0′ N / 94° 30.0′ W

Depth Range: 1500 / 3000

Will the vessel be operating within 200 NM of a foreign country? Ecuador
Are visas or special travel documents required? no

Science objectives

Map and sample lava flow fields in two specific areas along the east-west trending Galapagos Spreading Center.  Each area is about 40 km x 15 m in size.  Within each area we are specifically interested in the relationship of small seamount strucures to low-lying seafloor adjacent to them.  We will attempt to determine if seamounts are formed during the same or different eruptions from those that produced non-seamount lava flows.  In addition we will map faults and fissures in the areas of interest.

Science Activities

Alivin dives, ~13 in each area.  During nights we will use Sentry, primarily in survey mapping mode in order to obtain high-resolution bathymetry and magnetics data.  We expect to deploy Sentry every night if possible.  In addition we will deploy TowCam on about half the nights, to obtain bottom photographs and wax cores in selected areas.  Possible alternative night-time activities in place of TowCam include rock dredging and wax coring.

Pre-cruise planning meeting: Teleconference

Stations:

  Station 1
  Distance: 300
  Days: 14 days
  Latitude: 2° 37.0’ N
  Longitude: 95° 0.0’ W

Funding Agency: NSF #OCE-0849813

- added NSF #OCE-0849813 on Dec 29, 2009 9:08 PM by
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R/V Atlantis

Shipboard Equipment

Sippican XBT System (Mark 21)
Bathymetry System 3.5 kHz
Relay Transponder for Wire Use
12 kHz Pinger for Wire Use
Transponder Navigation - Sonardyne USBL
Navigation - Heading
Multibeam
Navigation - Position
Gravimeter

Critical CTD Sensors: 

Sediment Sampling

Box corer
Gravity corers
Rock dredges

Navigation

Will you be using Long Base Line (LBL) navigation? yes

How many nets? 2

How many tansponders? 0

Will you be using Ultra-short baseline (USBL) navigation for other than Alvin operations? yes

Winches

Hydro Winch with .25" hydro wire
Trawl Winch with .681 fiber optic
Trawl Winch with 9/16th trawl wire




Wire Notes: We will be using TowCam in fiber-optic mode so we need the necessary winch, wire, rings etc that go with that.  In addition we might do some rock dredging, presumably using the trawl winch.  We might also want to take some wax cores which I assume uses the hydro winch, but I'm not sure about that.

Standard Oceanographic Cables

	Instrument(s)	Instrument Weight(s)	Maximum Depth
.681 fiber optic:	TowCam	null	null

Slip ring required? no	Number of conductors:
Non-standard wire required? no	Type:
Traction winch required? no	Describe:

Other Science Vans:

Specialized Deck Equipment

Mooring Deployment/Recovery Equipment Required: no	Type:
Cruise Specific Science Winch Required: no	Type:
Nets Required: no	Type:

Over the Side Equipment

Will you be bringing any equipment (winches, blocks, etc.) that lowers instruments over the side? no

Special Requirements

Elecrical Power: no	Identify:
Equipment Handling: no	Identify:
Inter/intraship Communications: no	Identify:
Science Stowage: no	Identify:
Water: no	Identify:

Additional Cruise Items/Activities

Explosive Devices: no Portable Air Compressors: no Flammable Gases: no

Small Boat Operations: no SCUBA Diving Operations: no

Hazardous Material

Will hazardous material be utilized? no

Radioactive Material

Radioiosotopes: no

Additional Information

Is night time work anticipated on this cruise? yes

Specialized tech support (Seabeam, coring, other):  The principal night program is Sentry, and we expect to deplooy it every night if possible.  In addition we plan to deploy TowCam in concert with Sentry on some nights.  Seabeam surveys are another possibility for night work, as are rock dredging and/or wax coring.

Other required equipment and special needs: 

HOV Alvin

Site Survey

Will you provide detailed charts of the work area(s)?  yes
Current Chart(s):
»sinton_study-areas.jpg


If no, willl you need R/V Atlantis to generate maps of the work area(s)?  no

Will you need post-dive maps of the work area generated?  no

Navigation

Will you be using Long Base Line (LBL) navigation? yes

How many nets? 0

How many tansponders? 8

Will you be using Ultra-short baseline (USBL) navigation for other than Alvin operations? yes

Vehicle Equipment

Bio collection boxes: 12 x 12 x 12
High temperature probe (0-480°C)
Low temperature probe
Magnetometer
Profiling sonar
Push corers (12-pack rack)


What type of samples do you expect to collect?
lava rock samples, about 10-15 rock samples per dive.

Elevators

Will you be using elevators to transport samples to the surface?  yes
If yes, how many would you anticipate?  0

Science Supplied Equipment

Are you supplying equipment to be used on HOV Alvin?  no

Has this equipment been used on Alvin before?  no

Please give a brief description of the equipment, its intended purpose, the cruise # it was last used on if any and its deployment method.
We will have ctd, SM2000 and a magnetometer on Sentry.  In addition we will want to have the new sub-bottom profiler mounted on Sentry.

Does this equipment use an external pressure housing?  no

Has the pressure housing been tested per Alvin Pressure Test requirements?  no

Air weight of this equipment?

Water weight(s) of this equipment?

Does the equipment require a power interface from Alvin?  no

Voltage required

Power required

Data Interface

Does the equipment meet the electrical requirements of the Alvin User Manual?  no

Please provide power and comms specifics, wiring diagram, pinout, and wiring harness in advance of the cruise.

Does this equipment require hydraulic inputs from Alvin?  no
Hydraulic schematic of the equipment requirements.

Does this equipment require manipulation?  no

If yes, please describe how the equipment is to be manipulated: 

Will this equipment be deployed off the vehicle?  no

If yes, please describe how the equipment is intended for deployment: 

If yes, will the equipment be disconnected from the vehicle and left in situ?  no

How long will the deployment be? 

Will the equipment be recovered by the same vehicle?  no

Do you intend to recover any other previously deployed equipment?  no

If yes, please describe this equipment: 

Does this equipment use any glass spheres, ceramic housings or similar (non-metallic materials) for either buoyancy or as pressure housings?  no

Do you require any electronic equipment in the personal sphere? no

Has the computer or control panel been gas tested for use in the personnel sphere?  no

Hazardous Material

Will hazardous material be utilized? no

Additional Information

Brief operations description or comments:
We expect to cover 3-5 km long bottom traverses with periodic stops to collect samples on each Alvin dive.  Sentry will be deployed every night for collection multi-beam bathymetry and magnetics.
Date Submitted: Dec 29, 2009 9:28 PM