Explorations | Submarine Ring of Fire | Background

Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 Explorers

Rodger Adamson
Edward T. Baker
Neil Basu
Bob Bennett
Sheryl Bolton
Dave Butterfield
Bill Chadwick
Cornel E.J. de Ronde
John Dower
Sebastien Durand
Bob Embley
Leigh Evans
James Hein
Bob Holland
Jim Illman
Kim Juniper
Ben Larson

R/V Thomas G. Thompson Crew

Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 Explorers

Rodger Adamson
Hydraulics and Mechanical Technician
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

Rodger is a mechanical/hydraulic technician with the ROPOS team. He has been involved with ROVs and robotics for 15+ years, mainly in the manufacturing area. He also assisted in the construction of ROPOS. Rodger lives in Brentwood Bay, Vancouver Island B.C.

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Edward T. Baker
Supervisory Oceanographer
NOAA Vents Program, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Ed Baker, a veteran of more than 60 research cruises, was educated at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Washington, where he is an affiliate professor in the Department of Oceanography. Currently a supervisory oceanographer at PMEL, he joined NOAA in 1975. Dr. Baker has investigated deep-sea processes, especially hydrothermal vents and submarine canyons, throughout the Pacific Ocean.

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Neil Basu
Graduate Student
University of Texas at Dallas

Neil Basu is a graduate student at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he studies geochemistry and petrology with peripheral interests in GIS and remote sensing. His participation in this research cruise is due to his work with Dr. Robert Stern on the recently discovered fossil roots of a hydrothermal system at West Rota submarine caldera. He hopes to gain a greater understanding of arc hydrothermal systems and their associated mineralogies on this cruise.

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Bob Bennett
Deck Technician
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

Bob is a ROPOS deck technician. He has participated in two ROPOS cruises. Bob’s regular job is working as a mate on Canadian research ships. Bob lives in Victoria, Vancouver Island B.C.

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Sheryl Bolton
Research Technician
University of Washington

Sheryl is a research technician studying the microbiology of hydrothermal vent fluids. She will be focusing on culturing high temperature anaerobic microorganisms from venting fluids, as well as taking filtered water samples for DNA extraction and microscopic analyses. The University of Washington lab uses a combination of methods to try to understand this complex ecosystem. Sheryl will use hydrothermal fluids and the associated microbes as a window into this mysterious world. By studying the metabolisms (like what they eat) and growth conditions (like temperature and pressure) of these organisms, we can learn about the natural environment in which they live. The lab maintains a large collection of organisms isolated primarily from mid-ocean ridge vents around the world, but few are from systems like the Mariana arc. Plume measurements from the 2003 expedition suggest a wide variety of chemical and environmental selective elements (pH, temperature, energy sources, etc.) that may result in widely different populations of microorganisms.

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Dave Butterfield
Chemical Oceanographer
JISAO Program, University of Washington
NOAA Vents Program, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Dave Butterfield received a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and German from Portland State University, served two years in the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa, and received a PhD in Chemical Oceanography from the University of Washington. His primary research interests concern the interaction of seawater with the solid crust in volcanic hydrothermal systems. Topics of special interest include the effects of boiling on hydrothermal fluids, evolution of hydrothermal systems over time, effects of volcanic eruptions, and the role of fluid chemistry in microbial ecology. Dave has sailed on 30 submersible expeditions to hydrothermal sites on the Juan de Fuca ridge, Southern East Pacific Rise, and Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

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Bill Chadwick
Geologist
CIMRS Program, Oregon State University
NOAA Vents Program, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Bill Chadwick became very interested in volcanoes when Mount St. Helens erupted during his senior year as a geology major at Colorado College in 1980. St. Helens became the focus of his graduate work at the University of California at Santa Barbara where he earned his PhD. He has worked on active volcanoes ever since, both on land and underwater. His main interest during the 2004 Submarine Ring of Fire expedition is to compare the eruptive behavior of the submarine volcanoes of the Mariana arc to those on land.

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Cornel E.J. de Ronde
Geologist
Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences (GNS)
Lower Hutt, New Zealand

Cornel de Ronde is a Principal Scientist at the Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences. He leads the “Offshore Minerals” part of the “Economic Growth for NZ through Mineral Wealth” program. The offshore minerals research has largely concentrated on seafloor hydrothermal vents associated with submarine arc volcanoes of the Kermadec arc, NE of New Zealand. This group was recently funded $4.9M over the next 6 years to continue their work which started in 1997. Since that time, de Ronde and colleagues at GNS, NOAA and elsewhere, have surveyed 840 km (2/3rds) of the Kermadec arc including 24 major volcanoes and 8 smaller volcanic edifices. They found that 16 of the volcanoes are hydrothermally active, some with several different vent sites. The NZAPLUME III cruise, set for Sept/Oct ’04, will map the remaining part of the arc. De Ronde and colleagues have also participated on research cruises to map the Tofua (Tonga), Tabar-Lihir-Tanga-Feni (Papua New Guinea) arcs and the Ghizo Ridge (Solomon Islands) for submarine hydrothermal venting.

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John Dower
Fisheries Oceanographer
University of Victoria, Canada

Dr. Dower's research examines the ways in which biology and physics interact in marine ecosystems and, how these interactions affect the growth and survival of zooplankton and larval fish. For the past 10 years he has also studied the ecology of shallow seamounts, in an attempt to unravel the processes that make these ecosystems such biologically rich environments. During the Ring of Fire expedition Dr. Dower will collect samples of zooplankton and larval fish above each of the seamounts visited, and will participate in the collection of benthic samples and water column video using the ROPOS ROV.

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Sebastien Durand
Navigation Coordinator and Pilot-in-training
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

Sebastien offers navigation support services and science liaison (with unlimited energy and enthusiasm). In his spare time he is pursuing his Master's Degree in Biology at the University of Montréal.

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Bob Embley [ OceanAGE interview ]
Geophysicist
NOAA Vents Program, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Chief Scientist, Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 Project

As Chief scientist for the Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 Ocean Exploration expedition, Bob Embley has overall responsibility for organizing the planning and logistics of the expedition. At sea he has the responsibility for communicating the collective plans of the science team to the Captain of T. G. Thompson and to the ROPOS expedition leader. Dr. Embley received a PhD in Marine Geology and Geophysics from Lamont Doherty Geological (now Earth) Observatory in 1975 and started working for NOAA in 1979. His more than 80 scientific publications include studies of a wide range of deep-sea features, including submarine canyons, sediment slides, fracture zones, and the mid-ocean ridge. He has participated in more than 50 oceanographic expeditions in the Atlantic, Pacific and Antarctic Oceans over 35 years and has a range of experience with deep-towed cameras, sidescan sonars, manned submersibles and remotely operated vehicles. He chose an oceanography career as a high school sophomore and has felt very fortunate to be able to take part in the ongoing exploration of the oceans.

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Leigh Evans
Research Assistant
CIMRS Program, Oregon State University
NOAA Vents Program, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Leigh Evans has worked with the helium isotope lab at Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport Oregon for eleven years. His activities include the extraction of gases from water samples, chemical analysis of helium isotopes, the development of new methods and instrumentation and the analysis helium isotope data. He graduated from San Diego State University with an MS and Lafayette College with a BS degree in Chemistry. Previous to his work at Hatfield he worked for five years with a manufacturer of chemical analysis instrumentation. He has participated in eight oceanographic expeditions in the past eleven years. On the Ocean Exploration cruises he will be gathering samples of vent fluids for gas analysis.

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James Hein
Marine Geologist, Geochemist, and Economic Geologist
Coastal and Marine Geology
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

Jim Hein received a BA in Geology from Oregon State University in 1969 and a PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1973. He has been a marine geologist with the USGS since 1974. He started working on marine mineral deposits two years later and has made significant contributions to the study of ferromanganese crusts and nodules, phosphorites, hydrothermal manganese, hydrothermal sulfides and sulfates, and barite deposits. Those efforts evolved into studies of a variety of deposit types that occur as potential analogs in the geologic record. Recently, Hein has been involved in studies of hydrothermal deposits that occur at oceanic fracture zones, island arcs (including a cruise to the Mariana arc in 1985), and spreading centers. Hein has authored or co-authored over 340 papers and abstracts. He is a Fellow of both the Society of Economic Geologists and the Geological Society of America and was President of the International Marine Minerals Society.

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Bob Holland
Hydraulics and Mechanical Technician; Pilot
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

Bob has been involved in building, operating and maintaining manned and unmanned submersibles for more than 30 years. Talented and experienced in the role of top 'wrench' on the ROPOS team, Bob is also known for a deft hand on the spatially-correspondent 7-function manipulator.

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Jim Illman
Software Developer; Navigator and Acoustics Technician
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

Jim is a software author and contractor who owns his own company, Software Engineering Associates. Jim has been navigating with ROPOS for 12 years. His interests are telemetry systems, data acquisition, underwater acoustics and navigation. Jim is an aeronautical engineer by training and father of two wonderful sons by avocation. Jim’s home is in Seattle Washington.

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Kim Juniper
Biologist
University of Quebec, Montreal

Dr. Juniper is a Professor of Biology and Director of the GEOTOP Research Centre at he Universite du Quebec a Montreal. Following a 1982 PhD from Canterbury University in New Zealand, where he did experimental studies on the effects of grazing by invertebrates on microorganisms in intertidal mudflats, his research has focused on the ecosystems found around submarine hot springs or hydrothermal vents, and on the floor of the deep ocean. His publications on hydrothermal vents encompass the fields of microbial ecology, biomineralization and benthic ecology. He is President of the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility that operates the ROPOS remotely-operated submersible used in the Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 mission, and has pioneered the use of remotely-operated vehicle technology for deep-sea science, including in situ chemical sensing and non-interventive imaging techniques. Other research areas include the ecology of deep-sea sediments and arctic sea ice.

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Ben Larson
Graduate Student
University of Washington

Ben Larson is a graduate student in chemical oceanography at the University of Washington in Marvin Lilley's lab. He will be working on shipboard gas chromatographic analysis of volatile concentrations in the sampled fluid. He will determine the amount of dissolved H2, CH4, and N2O in the fluids. The chromatographic data collected at sea is not as detailed as the information that can be obtained from a more advanced land-based apparatus, which can measure the concentrations of a greater number of the dissolved volatile components. However, it is an important component of an exploratory cruise because it yields information about the fluids within a day of their collection. This information is critical in determining where to explore for new hydrothermal venting sites.

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Geoff Lebon
Chemist
JISAO Program, University of Washington
NOAA Vents Program, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Geoff Lebon is a chemist and is in his 20th year with the Vents program, having endured 30+ cruises during that time. On the OE cruise he will be in charge of back-deck operations for the CTD. Geoff has set up trip wires on the CTD that are released by a signal from the scientists in the ship's computer room. When the CTD is back on the deck, Geoff will sample for CO2, total and dissolved trace metals, pH, and particulates. He will analyze the pH at sea and the particulates back at the lab using XRF and SEM for morphology. Geoff’s home is in Seattle, Washington, where he earned his degree in Chemistry from the University of Washington.

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Shane Lovelace
Deck Technician
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

Shane is a ROPOS deck technician. He has worked on contract for ROPOS for 2 years. Shane’s regular job is working on Canadian research ships as a mate. He enjoys working with the ROPOS team because of the interesting work and their devotion to science programs. Shane’s home is in Victoria, Vancouver Island, B.C.

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John Lupton
Oceanographer
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), NOAA

After majoring in physics at Princeton University, John Lupton went on to receive a PhD in physics at the California Institute of Technology. He is currently an Oceanographer at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and also holds the position of Adjunct Professor at Oregon State University. Dr. Lupton has focused much of his research on the distribution of helium isotopes and rare gases in terrestrial systems, including applications to ocean circulation, submarine hydrothermal venting and volcanic activity, and degassing of the earth’s mantle. Most recently Dr. Lupton has participated in studies hydrothermal venting along oceanic arcs such as the Tonga-Kermadec Arc and the Mariana Arc.

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Susan Merle
Senior Research Assistant
CIMRS Program, Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center
NOAA Vents Program, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Susan graduated in 1993 from the University of Washington with a BS degree in Oceanography, emphasizing marine geology and geophysics. Previous to her 6+ years of work with the Vents program, she worked for five years in the seafloor survey industry. Susan specializes in seafloor data acquisition, processing, analysis, three-dimensional rendering of ocean features and their geological interpretation. She manages large data sets that include bathymetry, sidescan/backscatter, seafloor sample information, and real-time logging system data collected by a variety of seafloor remote sensing systems. Susan has been the web coordinator on four previous OE cruises, and will resume that role for the OE Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 web site.

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Anna Metaxas
Assistant Professor, Department of Oceanography
Dalhousie University

Anna Metaxas received her PhD in Biology at Dalhousie University, and then conducted research at Harbor Branch and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutions. Her current research program is aimed at understanding the physical and biological factors that regulate population dynamics of marine benthic invertebrates, particularly dispersal of the planktonic larval stages. Her research examines such patterns both in shallow water and deep-sea habitats utilizing both the field and laboratory settings. She has been conducting research in the deep sea since 1995 and has mainly focused on the biological communities associated with hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise and Juan de Fuca Ridge, cold seeps in the Gulf of Mexico, and deep-water corals on the Scotian shelf and slope. She has participated in 20 scientific cruises, and has logged 15 submersible dives and 100s of hours of ROV dives.

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Shunsuke Miyabe
Graduate Student
Okayama University

Shunsuke Miyabe is a graduate student at the Institute for study of the Earth’s Interior at Okayama University, Japan. His research concentrates on the processes associated with sulfur oxidation and reduction within hydrothermal systems, in particular how sulfur is used by the microbial populations that use sulfur in their metabolism.

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Craig L. Moyer
Associate Professor, Biology Department
Western Washington University

Craig Moyer is a marine microbiologist interested in the use of modern molecular techniques for the study of microbial ecology and evolution. He equates this to both acting as census-taker and studying genealogy in terms of exploring the community structure and diversity of microorganisms living on the edge of the limits for life. His current focus is extreme environments hosting strong physical and chemical gradients, such as those found at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and serpentine mud volcanoes. He has participated in over 35 major oceanographic expeditions and has acted as scientific observer on many dives using both manned submersibles and remotely operated vehicles. His interests are primarily involved with studying those most dominant populations of microorganisms with the potential of impacting their habitats and reshaping their ecosystems using novel metabolic pathways.

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Ian Murdock
Mechanical, Robotics, and Automation Technician; Pilot and Navigator
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

Practically abducted by the ROPOS team in 1998, Ian adds a unique perspective and a variety of engineering skills to the crew. In addition to his technical skills he has a background in earth sciences and experience organizing work and recreational projects.

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Ko-ichi Nakamura
Marine Chemist
National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology
Institute for Marine Resources and Environment, Japan

Ko-ichi Nakamura had been engaged in marine geological research for 24 years at the Geological Survey of Japan, which merged with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in 2001. Ko-ichi studied volcaniclastics on his first cruise to the Marianas submarine volcanoes with Bob Stern and Jim Hein in 1985. He started studying redox of hydrothermal fluid by electrodes after he found the first backarc hydrothermalism in the Okinawa Trough with Peter Halbach. He has been sailing with VENTS program personnel since the 1993 Japanese-American joint cruise on the R/V Melville on the Southeast Pacific Rise. On his third cruise in the Marianas he is studying hydrogen and methane gases in hydrothermal fluids and plumes by sensors.

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Shannon Ristau [ OceanAGE interview ]
NOAA Corps Officer
Pacific Environmental Marine Laboratory (PMEL), NOAA

LTjg Ristau is a NOAA Corps officer who has been working with the Vents Program for the past eight months. She's been with NOAA for the last four and a half years working in different areas of the organization - as a program analyst in various offices within the National Ocean Service and as navigation officer on NOAA Ship Whiting, a hydrographic vessel. She has a degree in geology from Smith College and specializes in seafloor imaging and mapping, including multibeam and sidescan processing, GIS, and geologic interpretations.

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Kevin Roe
Oceanographer
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), NOAA

Kevin Roe is an Oceanographer at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. He is an experienced oceanographer, having first participated in seagoing research over 20 years ago. He has been on numerous cruises that utilize remotely operated vehicles and Alvin. During this cruise, Kevin will be analyzing in near real-time the unique fluids that are venting from the Mariana Arc hydrothermal vents. He will first analyze the vent fluids for dissolved chemicals that are best analyzed immediately, such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and silica, and he will measure pH rapidly before oxidation, precipitation, bacterial utilization or simple degassing occur. Samples will also be preserved for analyzes back onshore. Chemicals that are of interest include dissolved metals such as iron, manganese, zinc, copper, cadmium, silver, and lead and major ions, which include sodium, chloride, magnesium, sulfate, calcium, strontium, potassium, borate, and trace elements. In addition, Kevin will help maintain the Hydrothermal Fluid Particulate Sampler (HTFP), nicknamed "the Beast", and help process the major titanium bottles.

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Jonathan Rose
Research Assistant
University of Victoria in British Columbia

Jonathan is a research assistant at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. He is working with Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe on hydrothermal vent ecology and with Dr. John Dower on plankton associated with the Marianas system.

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Keith Shepherd
General Manager; Chief pilot; Navigator and Electronic Technician
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

A veteran of over 23 years in research submersibles, Keith has the ability to focus the talent and resources that make the ROPOS road show a consistent success. Keith owns and operates Highland Technologies Inc., an offshore management company retained by the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility to manage C.S.S.F. and direct ROPOS operations.

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Bob Stern
Professor, Geosciences Department
University of Texas at Dallas

Bob Stern is Professor and Head of the Geosciences Department at the University of Texas at Dallas. His studies of the Mariana Arc system began as a graduate student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography when he and fellow graduate student Tim Dixon (now at RSMAS, U. Miami) visited most of the volcanic islands in 1976. Since that time he has concentrated on studies of the submarine Mariana arc and back arc basin, leading or participating in expeditions in 1985, 1991, 1996, 1997, and 2001. He has written 40 papers on various aspects of the Mariana Arc, mostly focused on the composition and evolution of arc and back-arc basin magmas.

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Keith Tamburri
Assistant Manager; Shift Supervisor; Pilot and Electronic Technician
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

Big Keith has 17 years experience with ROVs and still enjoys the challenges they offer. Keith offers engineering, management and supervision services for ROVs worldwide. He also designs and manufactures electronic and software control systems and ground fault monitoring equipment for the subsea industry.

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Verena Tunnicliffe
Canada Research Chair in Deep Oceans
Professor, University of Victoria, Canada

As a keen enthusiast of marine biology, Verena Tunnicliffe has worked on mudflats, coral reefs, fjords, seamounts and deep-sea environments. Her work focuses on animal adaptations to the challenges of the physical, chemical and geologic world. Her work on hot vent communities has included an examination of how animal vent faunas around the world are related. She has pursued interests in technological advances to improve deep ocean studies and is currently director of a cabled observatory project called VENUS.

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Kim Wallace
Electronic Technician and Pilot
ROPOS/Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

A principal of devOcean Technology Ltd., Kim has over 20 years experience in electronics; 10+ of those supporting ocean research. devOcean provides technical support services to CSSF and other clients.

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R/V Thomas G. Thompson Crew

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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