Objective: Understanding the dynamic processes of ridge systems and the complex interaction of the various components of these systems requires sustained time-series observations using a multidisciplinary suite of tools. The development of a seafloor observatory at a designated mid-ocean ridge site where infrastructure can support the installation, maintenance, and data telemetry for a broad spectrum of seafloor instruments led to the concept of MoMAR, or Monitoring the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Themes: The following are the major scientific questions for which InterRidge intends to have made major advances in answering in the next decade:
What are the interdependencies between the various components of the geological, chemical and biological systems of an active hydrothermal site?
What is the evolution and temporal variability of a seafloor hydrothermal system?
How do ridge crest hydrothermal systems impact the environment of the ridge?
How are the heat and mass originating from hydrothermal discharge dispersed into the ocean?
How can a deep-sea observatory be best used to conduct controlled experiments outside of the laboratory?
Chairs - Javier Escartin (IPGP) & Ricardo Santos (Azores)
Group Members - Kyohiko Mitsuzawa (JAMSTEC); Pierre-Marie Sarradin (IFREMER); Adam Schultz (Oregon State Univ.); Paul Snelgrove (Univ. Newfoundland) & Paul Tyler (National Oceanography Centre)
2007 Update
InterRidge Working Group Update
Monitoring and Observatories
(May 2007)
Working Group Members:
Javier Escartin (Chair) , IPG, France
Ricardo Santos (Co-Chair), University of Azores, Azores
Kyohiko Mitsuzawa , JAMSTEC , Japan
Pierre-Marie Sarradin IFREMER , France
Adam Schultz , NSF , USA
Paul Snelgrove , Univ. Newfoundland , Canada
Paul Tyler , National Oceanography Centre , UK
The MOMAR Working Group, after the last meeting, has been inactive for the following reasons:
Monitoring the Mid Atlantic Ridge - MoMAR
MOMAR brings together researchers from the international scientific community to plan a long-term monitoring program on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in a region south of the Azores. With an emphasis on real-time data retrieval, MOMAR plans to combine long-term monitoring of geological, physico-chemical, and biological activity at hydrothermal vents with broader-scale monitoring of tectonic, volcanic and hydrothermal processes at the ridge axis.
