SUBMARINE VOLCANO-HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEMS AND THEIR IMPACTS ON THE OVERLYING OCEAN: QUANTIFICATION OF ERUPTING MID-OCEAN RIDGE VOLCANOES - A GENERATIONAL GOAL

John R Delaney, University of Washington, School of Oceanography, Seattle, United States, Dana Manalang, University of Washington, Applied Physics Lab, Seattle, WA, United States, Deborah S Kelley, University of Washington Seattle Campus, School of Oceanography, Seattle, WA, United States, Kendra L Daly, University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States, Douglas S Luther, Univ Hawaii Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States, William S D Wilcock, University of Washington Seattle Campus, School of Oceanography, Seattle, United States and Edward T Baker, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA, United States
Abstract:
Hydrothermal circulation & volcanism, along the 70,000-km Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) System, are mechanisms by which the mantle interacts with overlying oceans. Since 1977, >600 MOR hydrothermal systems are known in all ocean basins (Beaulieu et al., 2015). Hypotheses link the origin of life on earth to submarine volcanic systems. Many hydrothermal systems have been well characterized, but the powerful & transient MOR volcanic eruptions are rarely detected & are not well understood. The eruptive plume-related products, from below the seafloor, rise 100's of m to mid-water depths but have never been comprehensively assessed. Most of the thermal, chemical, and microbiological output of eruptions are temporarily retained in the evolving, identifiable plume eddies released during eruptions.

The capacity to interactively & quantitatively define all aspects of an erupting MOR volcano, & its impacts on ambient overlying marine ecosystems, is within our grasp technologically by using AI-adaptive autonomy onboard mobile instrument-laden subsea platforms. Axial Seamount, a MOR volcano on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, has erupted 3 times in 20 years and is likely to erupt again soon (Chadwick, et al., 2018). Axial is instrumented with an array of sensors linked to the Internet by electro-optical cables via NSF's OOI-Regional Cabled Array system. The OOI-RCA provides interactive connectivity, abundant electrical power, & unprecedented bandwidth to many tens of seafloor and water-column sensor packages located near, on, & within the Axial system. By employing a well-configured, highly adaptive Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV) docked near-by, the power & bandwidth can empower sustained, in situ water-column & seafloor operations before, during, and after the next eruptions. The ocean community would receive real-time access to all data collected by the AUV & the cabled sensor arrays, during the AUV's multiple, continually adaptive missions.

Similar, evermore powerful autonomous underwater systems will be deployed to off-planet oceans within one or two generations. AI-driven autonomy, sensor integration/potential failure modes, & communication/navigation styles can be thoroughly vetted in a real ocean, on an active volcanic system while surrounded by advanced real-time surveillance systems on the Cabled Array.

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