Ask an Explorer

Questions were sent to the science party during this expedition. Selected questions and answers are offered below.

Question:

Your log entry titled “Studying Frozen Lava Flows” is fascinating! I get the part about the morphology depending upon the rate of flow of the lava. What determines the rate of flow of the lava? Are there "good lava days"?

- Paula Feynman, Teacher

Answer:

That’s a good question! The rate of the lava flow is controlled by its supply within the magma chamber. Unlike continental volcanoes that have individual magma chambers that supply magma to the surface, mid-ocean ridge volcanoes have a linear magma chamber beneath them which supplies magma all along the ridges length. Not all ridges are the same, though. There are slow (Atlantic), intermediate (where we are!), fast (East Pacific Rise), and ultrafast (southern East Pacific Rise) mid-ocean ridges that depend on how fast they spread apart. At slow ridges there is much less magma supply so the majority of flows are pillow lavas and the same goes for fast ridges where the majority of flows are sheet lavas.

At each of these ridges, lava flow rate changes on smaller scales which are related to their linear magma chamber. Because mid-ocean ridges are not straight (due to the curvature of the Earth), they are segmented. This means their magma chamber is segmented as well (especially at intermediate to ultrafast ridges). The middle of segments are closer to the surface, are hotter, and there are higher rates of flows than at the segment ends where it is deeper, cooler, and lava flow rates are lower. Therefore, pillows are common at segment ends and sheets at the middle of segments. Thanks for the question!

Jason Meyer
Graduate Student
University of South Carolina

Question:

When continental crust meets oceanic crust, the oceanic crust subducts because of the differential densities. When oceanic meets oceanic how do the plates "decide" which one subducts?

- Paula Feynman, Teacher

Answer:

The oceanic plate which is older, colder and thus more dense is the one that will subduct when two oceanic plates collide.

Ken Macdonald
Professor, Marine Geophysics
University of California, Santa Barbara

Question:

Do the organisms near the vents eat the minerals from the vents, or do they just live in them?

- Katie D.

Answer:

Animals that live near vents live on the chemicals that come up from the seafloor. Similar to photosynthesis, which is a process that takes energy from sunlight, these vent animals are able to use chemicals like sulfide from the hydrothermal fluid and convert it into a usable form of energy. This process is called chemosynthesis. Tubeworms, clams and mussels all live with special bacteria in their tissues. The symbiotic bacteria can take sulfide (which is toxic to the animals) and change it into a form that is not toxic for the animals to eat.

Taylor Heyl
WHOI

Question:

Did you really look forward to going on this boat trip? Why?

- Marissa

Answer:

Yes, I really looked forward to going on this trip. I knew it would be a great experience for me, especially since I've never been part of a research project like this before. I was excited to be working with a bunch of great scientists, and to be on a ship for a month! Also, I've always been really interested in the deep sea and the animals that live down there. And, I'm not going to lie, I was really looking forward to being in warm weather during a big chunk of the winter. I hope this answers your question!

Cadi Fung
Undergraduate Student
University of California, Santa Barbara

Question:

Why did you want to go on the boat and study what you’re studying?

- Elaine S.

Answer:

You have asked why I want to go on the boat and study what I am studying—a question with great insight as it is hard to know where life will take you. In my case, I was studying civil engineering and was in my junior year when I took an earth science class called Environmental Hazards and Disasters. My TA (Teacher’s Assistant) informed me that I could apply for a summer internship to research a variety of earth science topics. I applied and chose to work with a brilliant scientist who is interested in faulting that happens on the seafloor as the result of an oceanic plate being subducted. For the first time I became aware of all of the processes that sculpt the deep seafloor. It seemed like space: a frontier where exploration was relatively new. This was an exciting time for me because I started to realize that there are so many unanswered questions out there. Up until that point, I had thought that there was little information left to be added to the collective knowledge (particularly because in my undergraduate engineering education I was trained to follow procedures rather than to create my own.) This expedition is like the ultimate in acquiring new knowledge to answer the unanswered. I wanted to be on this boat to find out if the vastly unexplored Galapagos Spreading Center would show us her secrets, her vents, her biology and potentially something no one had ever seen before.

Stacy Supak
MS in Geophysics from UCSB

Question:

Hi my name is Lisa and I live in Florida. My question is a very simple one. Were any of the staff on this expedition ever afraid of the depths they have had to dive to? And if so how did they deal with the mind over matter issue? The reason I ask this is I think that diving into the unknown is just the most fantastic thing. There are so many things the ocean has yet to honor us with knowing. The cures that are there and the history of our lives is just right there, yet so far away. Thank you for everything you ALL do, good luck, and safe return! Sincerely, Lisa Schnell

Answer:

Hi Lisa,

This cruise was dedicated mostly to mapping the seafloor, identifying potential hydrothermal vent sites from deep-sea water samples, and imaging those vents with Medea, a deep-towed camera system. There were no submersible or ROV operations on this cruise but many of the scientists onboard have been to the deep sea in the submersible Alvin, capable of diving to 4500 meters and carrying a pilot and two scientists. During Alvin cruises, especially the night before a dive, there is always a certain sense that what are about to do is pushing the limits of human experience. But for those of us who believe it is important to explore and discover this unknown world, the risk is worth taking. The deep sea is a place few people have a chance to see personally and yet there you are, a mile below the ocean surface, face pressed up to a viewport, staring out at an isolated environment filled with geological formations and strange creatures never before seen by human eyes. It is a stunning sight. I have always felt that if I were to die in the deep sea, I would die doing what I love.

Thank you for your interest and for submitting your questions,

Taylor Heyl
WHOI

Question:

What was your favorite/most exciting part of the trip?

- Marissa, Meghan, Adam, Haley. Curtis Middle School, Sudbury, MA.

Answer:

Dear Marissa, Meghan, Adam, and Haley,

Thank you for checking out our Ocean Explorer website! It would be impossible for me to pick just one thing as my favorite part of the trip. I think that the most exciting thing about being at sea is sitting out on the deck on a clear night. I can see SO MANY stars because there are no lights around to drown them out. Since there are no buildings or trees to block my view of the horizon, the stars appear in front of me as well as above. Also, there are special phosphorescent algae in the water that glow green when they get shaken up. At night, I like to look over the bow of the ship and see their green sparks in the waves we make. I slept all night last night in a hammock on the front deck of the ship. I woke up this morning to the most beautiful sunrise I could imagine, where the clouds were lit up such a bright orange/red color that it looked like they were on fire.

The most exciting part of my research is getting to see what's in the ocean water from kilometers below the surface! We pull up bottles that have been filled with water near the bottom of the ocean. Then, when I filter the water, I can actually see little specks on the filters that probably have special microscopic bacteria from hydrothermal vents attached to them. Also, we have a very cool camera that goes all the way down to the seafloor. Using this camera, I can see all kinds of animals like tubeworms, crabs, and rattail fish.

Finally, one of my favorite things about being at sea has been the special celebrations and traditions that take place on the ship. On New Year's Eve, the crew made a big glowing ball out of white Christmas lights, and we had our own private "ball drop" like they do on TV. Also, there is a very important ceremony that takes place for people who cross the equator on a ship for the first time. This ceremony is called the Court of Neptune. People who haven't gone through the ceremony are known as lowly "pollywogs" and only after surviving The Court can a sailor become an honorable "shellback". I actually became a shellback myself just this morning! All in all, it's the fun of getting to know the science team and the crew as well as the excitement of learning new things about what goes on at the bottom of the sea that have made this expedition so memorable for me.

Christine Desautels
Undergraduate Student
University of California, Santa Barbara

Question:

What part of your research do you find most interesting?

- Marissa, Meghan, Adam, Haley. Curtis Middle School, Sudbury, MA.

Answer:

I think that the most interesting part of my research is getting the chance to use new methods and technology to study something that people don’t know very much about. I also think that it is interesting to work with a large group of people who are all investigating different parts of a natural system in order to better understand how the system works as a whole.

Monica Heintz
Undergraduate Student
University of California, Santa Barbara

Question:

Was the Galapagos area selected primarily for its lower average depth or is there other significance to this area? What is the average slope contour of the exploration area?

- Erik Sorensen / Novato, CA

Answer:

Dear Erik,

Thank you for your question. The Galapagos Spreading Center lies more than a mile beneath the surface of the sea. However, it is an east-west-oriented ridge that sits several hundred meters above the seafloor to the north and south. Along the global mid-ocean ridge system, the average depth of the ridge crest is approximately 2500 m. By comparison, the crest of the Galapagos Spreading Center is abnormally shallow (1600 m) at 92º-90º W where the ridge crest is located above the mantle plume that created the Galapagos Islands. The depth of the ridge crest deepens and approaches normal ridge crest depth east and west from the center of mantle plume influence (near the edges of our EM-300 and DSL-120 survey area). In the center of our survey area, at 92º-90º W, the crest of the ridge is pushed higher by the buoyancy of the hot, less dense material in the mantle plume rising beneath the ridge. We selected the survey area to study the effects of the mantle plume on the volcanic and hydrothermal behavior of the ridge crest.

The slope of the seafloor away from the ridge crest to the north and south of the Galapagos Spreading Center is similar to the east and west slope of the Appalachian Mountains. However, the slopes of individual faulted escarpments and volcanoes on the Galapagos ridge crest are very steep cliffs, suitable for rock-climbing.

I hope this answers your questions.

Happy New Year!

Rachel Haymon
Chief Scientist and Professor of Marine Geology and Geochemistry
University of California, Santa Barbara

Question:

Hi my name is KayLee, age 10. Did you always want to be an ocean explorer? I am hoping to be an ocean explorer myself. Thank you for your response.

- Home Educated at MFLC

Answers:

Dear KayLee,

When I was a girl, I was fascinated by nature, science, and adventure. At various times I wanted to be different things: an astronaut; a paleontologist; an archaeologist; someone who studies animal behavior; or possibly an oceanographer. In 10th grade, I became more interested in studying the oceans. It was the lure of the great unknown and the adventurous quality of oceanography that appealed to me. When I graduated from high school, I went to summer school at University of Hawaii because at that time UH was the only college that offered an undergraduate oceanography course. It was then that I learned about plate tectonics for the first time, and realized that the keys to understanding how the Earth works were being found on the deep seafloor. The following Fall, I entered Rice University and took a variety of science and non-science classes. I really loved my Geology classes. So, I combined my interest in the Earth and oceans by choosing marine geology. After graduating from Rice, I entered graduate school at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, and the rest is history. I remember vividly how thrilled I was the first time the power of the Pacific Ocean swell surged under my feet on my first ocean voyage. It felt to me like the beginning of everything. For me, it was. I worked hard in school to be able to follow my dreams. If you want to be an ocean explorer, you can do the same.

All my best,

Rachel Haymon
Chief Scientist and Professor of Marine Geology and Geochemistry
University of California, Santa Barbara

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I have always wanted to be an explorer. Learning and discovering new things is so exciting. The ocean is a fabulous area of study. So little is known about what lies below the water’s surface: many animals that have never been seen, and geological features that look like they are from another world. Keep working hard toward your goal, you’ll always be able to find an exciting adventure to follow.

Kayla Petitt
Undergraduate Student
UCSB

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KayLee, that in an interesting question. Being an ocean explorer had never crossed my mind growing up, although I was always interested in oceanography. Entering college, my main interests were fisheries, oceanography, and forestry in that order. I chose to study chemistry as I saw job opportunities in those 3 fields as being limited. Upon graduation from college, I joined the NOAA Corps and was assigned to a fisheries research ship, career choice number 1. Upon completion of my sea assignment I was assigned to PMEL (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory) in Seattle as a chemical oceanographer, career choice number 2. Incidentally while there I also did a lot of volunteer fisheries restoration and enhancement work to fill my interest in fisheries.

So this shows there are many ways to get to your goals, whether by creative planning or chance. Incidentally, forestry will have to wait a while.

Geoffrey Lebon
Research Scientist
University of Washington

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Hi KayLee,

I have wanted to be an ocean explorer since I was about your age when my father took me to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. It was there that I first heard about deep-sea exploration in the submersible Alvin. It became my goal to be a deep-sea scientist and to one day study life at the bottom of the ocean. I can tell you that if you have enough enthusiasm and you work hard, there is nothing you can't do.

Best wishes,

Taylor Heyl
Research Technician
WHOI

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KayLee,

I've been fascinated with the ocean since I first visited the beach as a kid. I couldn't believe how big it was and couldn't help wondering what was going on beneath the surface! Since then I've learned all kinds of neat things about the seafloor like volcanoes and creatures who only live in the deepest darkest places of the ocean. However there is much more to discover and with the right knowledge and imagination you may be the greatest ocean explorer yet!

Jason Meyer
Graduate Student
University of South Carolina

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