Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands)
An expedition to the Kavachi submarine volcano (Solomon Islands) in January 2015 was serendipitously timed with a rare lull in volcanic activity that permitted access to the inside of Kavachi’s active crater and its flanks. The isolated location of Kavachi and its explosive behavior normally restric...
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doaj-7e39f9c28649448586c7bf04ae3ef21d2020-11-24T21:30:42ZengThe Oceanography SocietyOceanography1042-82752016-12-0129416016910.5670/oceanog.2016.85Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands)Brennan T. Phillips0Matthew Dunbabin1Brad Henning2Corey Howell3Alex DeCiccio4Ashton Flinders5Katherine A. Kelley6Jarrod J. Scott7Simon Albert8Steven Carey9Rami Tsadok10Alistair Grinham11Harvard UniversityQueensland University of TechnologyNational Geographic Remote Imaging TeamWilderness Lodge, Gatokae IslandUniversity of Rhode Island University of Rhode Island University of Rhode Island Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean SciencesThe University of QueenslandUniversity of Rhode Island University of HaifaThe University of QueenslandAn expedition to the Kavachi submarine volcano (Solomon Islands) in January 2015 was serendipitously timed with a rare lull in volcanic activity that permitted access to the inside of Kavachi’s active crater and its flanks. The isolated location of Kavachi and its explosive behavior normally restrict scientific access to the volcano’s summit, limiting previous observational efforts to surface imagery and peripheral water-column data. This article presents medium-resolution bathymetry of the main peak along with benthic imagery, biological observations of multiple trophic levels living inside the active crater, petrological and geochemical analysis of samples from the crater rim, measurements of water temperature and gas flux over the summit, and descriptions of the hydrothermal plume structure. A second peak was identified to the southwest of the main summit and displayed evidence of diffuse-flow venting. Microbial samples collected from the summit indicate chemosynthetic populations dominated by sulfur-reducing ε-proteobacteria. Populations of gelatinous animals, small fish, and sharks were observed inside the active crater, raising new questions about the ecology of active submarine volcanoes and the extreme environments in which large marine animals can exist.https://tos.org/oceanography/assets/docs/29-4_phillips.pdfKavachi submarine volcanoactive volcanohydrothermal vent |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Brennan T. Phillips Matthew Dunbabin Brad Henning Corey Howell Alex DeCiccio Ashton Flinders Katherine A. Kelley Jarrod J. Scott Simon Albert Steven Carey Rami Tsadok Alistair Grinham |
spellingShingle |
Brennan T. Phillips Matthew Dunbabin Brad Henning Corey Howell Alex DeCiccio Ashton Flinders Katherine A. Kelley Jarrod J. Scott Simon Albert Steven Carey Rami Tsadok Alistair Grinham Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands) Oceanography Kavachi submarine volcano active volcano hydrothermal vent |
author_facet |
Brennan T. Phillips Matthew Dunbabin Brad Henning Corey Howell Alex DeCiccio Ashton Flinders Katherine A. Kelley Jarrod J. Scott Simon Albert Steven Carey Rami Tsadok Alistair Grinham |
author_sort |
Brennan T. Phillips |
title |
Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands) |
title_short |
Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands) |
title_full |
Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands) |
title_fullStr |
Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands) |
title_sort |
exploring the “sharkcano”: biogeochemical observations of the kavachi submarine volcano (solomon islands) |
publisher |
The Oceanography Society |
series |
Oceanography |
issn |
1042-8275 |
publishDate |
2016-12-01 |
description |
An expedition to the Kavachi submarine volcano (Solomon Islands) in January 2015 was serendipitously timed with a rare lull in volcanic activity that permitted access to the inside of Kavachi’s active crater and its flanks. The isolated location of Kavachi and its explosive behavior normally restrict scientific access to the volcano’s summit, limiting previous observational efforts to surface imagery and peripheral water-column data. This article presents medium-resolution bathymetry of the main peak along with benthic imagery, biological observations of multiple trophic levels living inside the active crater, petrological and geochemical analysis of samples from the crater rim, measurements of water temperature and gas flux over the summit, and descriptions of the hydrothermal plume structure. A second peak was identified to the southwest of the main summit and displayed evidence of diffuse-flow venting. Microbial samples collected from the summit indicate chemosynthetic populations dominated by sulfur-reducing ε-proteobacteria. Populations of gelatinous animals, small fish, and sharks were observed inside the active crater, raising new questions about the ecology of active submarine volcanoes and the extreme environments in which large marine animals can exist. |
topic |
Kavachi submarine volcano active volcano hydrothermal vent |
url |
https://tos.org/oceanography/assets/docs/29-4_phillips.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv |
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