Mid-ocean Ridges
ROV Jason captures underwater video during earthquake
In January and February 2020, scientists on R/V Atlantis explored hydrothermal vents on the Cayman Rise. They used the remotely operated vehicle Jason to get an up-close view of the vents and life around them. The vents lie on a seismically active part of the seafloor known as a mid-ocean ridge. Deep-sea shrimp swarm the vents, feeding on microbes that live on chemicals flowing from the vents. While they were there, a magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck just 100 miles away. Scientists will now be able to study how seismic activity affects hydrothermal vents and the life around them.
Read MoreMid-ocean Ridges
The mid-ocean ridge occurs along boundaries where plates are spreading apart.
Read MoreExplore a Mid-Ocean Ridge Valley
Mouseover features to take a visual tour
Read MoreThe Discovery of Hydrothermal Vents
In 1977, WHOI scientists made a discovery that revolutionized our understanding of how and where life could exist on Earth and other planetary bodies.
Read MoreHow Is the Seafloor Made?
An ultrasound for the Earth? Using sound waves, a graduate student peers into the crystalline texture of the tectonic plates that cover our planet’s surface.
Read MoreIn the Ocean, a Preview of Life on Enceladus?
features work from a recent expedition to Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Quotes Frieder Klein
Pop Goes the Seafloor Rock
WHOI scientists used the human-occupied submersible Alvin and the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry to explore a surprising discovery: gas-filled volcanic rocks on the seafloor that “pop” when brought up to the surface.
Read MoreVolcanic Arcs Form by Deep Melting of Rock Mixtures
A new study published in the journal Science Advances changes our understanding of how volcanic arc lavas are formed, and may have implications for the study of earthquakes and the risks of volcanic eruption.
Read MoreEarth’s mantle may be hotter than thought
features Emily Sarafian
The 40,000-Mile Volcano
quotes Dan Fornari and mentions WHOI
Deep-sea Detectives
Deep-sea Detectives
Links to related materials Mid-Ocean Ridges—Articles, illustrations, and video showing how new seafloor crust forms Mapping the Seafloor with Multibeam…
Read MoreDeep-sea Detectives
Links to related materials Mid-Ocean Ridges—Articles, illustrations, and video showing how new seafloor crust forms Mapping the Seafloor with…
Read MoreDeep-sea Vents Yield New Species
Call it “midnight at the OASES.” Neither permanent darkness nor extreme pressure and heat cause problems for a host of…
Read MoreA Serendipitous Seafloor Sample
A Serendipitous Seafloor Sample
<!– [Scroll down and click on photos 1-14 in order] –> This research was funded by the National Science Foundation.…
Read MorePowerful Currents in Deep-Sea Gorges
On my first major research cruise, the ship was hit by a hurricane. On the second, the weather was even…
Read MoreOnce More Unto the Rift
In the beginning, there was the Garden of Eden. It was a lush primordial oasis of life, bursting with exotic…
Read MoreGarrett Mitchell
For Garrett Mitchell, an interest in oceanography arose not in a university classroom but on a surfboard in the waters…
Read MoreResearchers Compile Most Detailed Map of an Underwater Eruption
Examining more than 50,000 seafloor images, geologists have created the most detailed map ever assembled for a volcanic eruption along…
Read MoreBuilding International Bridges to Explore Ridges
In January 2007, WHOI scientists Jian Lin, who grew up in China, and Chris German, who grew up in England,…
Read MoreRescue Mission on the Seafloor
The two earthquake-monitoring instruments—each the size and weight of a small refrigerator—were glued to the ocean bottom by erupting lava…
Read MoreA Ridge Too Slow?
Ever since scientists first discovered vents gushing hot, mineral-rich fluids from the seafloor in the Pacific Ocean 30 years ago,…
Read MoreScientists “See” New Ocean Floor Just Before and After It Is Created
A multidisciplinary research team from six institutions has for the first time successfully anticipated and then chronicled a seafloor eruption along the global mid-ocean ridge, the most active volcanic system on Earth. The event along the East Pacific Rise has provided researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) with a rare opportunity to observe what happens in the immediate aftermath of an eruption.
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