The New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2007 (NZASRoF'07) expedition will take place on the Kermadec Arc, northeast of New Zealand (indicated by the thick, yellow line). This image shows a global view of the Pacific "Ring of Fire." The five previous Submarine Ring of Fire expeditions are indicated at Explorer Ridge, Mariana Arc, and Kermadec Arc. Visible also are the crest of the Mid-ocean Ridge system (dashed line) and the plate boundaries (solid lines) defined by island arcs and trenches. Click image for larger view.
New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2007
July 28 – August 16, 2007
The New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2007 (NZASRoF'07) expedition will take us to Brothers submarine volcano, a site of vigorous geothermal activity north of New Zealand along the Kermadec Arc. We will explore Brothers Volcano in great detail using the state-of-the-art autonomous benthic explorer (ABE). This expedition will mark the most comprehensive exploration of this type of submarine volcano to date. We will also be exploring some newly mapped deep rifts southwest of Brothers. The research vessel (R/V) Sonne will carry a team of 26 scientists and engineers from New Zealand, Germany, and the U.S. to conduct these explorations.
In addition, a new remotely operated vehicle (ROV) will be used for sea-floor explorations during the latter part of the expedition, if successfully tested by our German partners.
Come join us!
Visit the 
virtual fly-throughs of Brothers Volcano on the Kermadec Arc and the Ngatoro Rift Basins backarc.
NOAA Podcast:
Learn what we hope to discover on this expedition with a video
or audio podcast. (Quicktime7 H.264, 5.9 Mb.)
You can access the Ocean Explorer New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2007 Newsfeed here: 
Updates & Logs
Click images or links below for detailed mission logs.
August 16 The New Zealand American Ring of Fire 2007 expedition proves to be an outstanding success for all.
August 14 Learn how purchasing a complex underwater vehicle differs from buying something at a store. Before a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) can be used for science, a lot of equipment needs to be thoroughly tested at enormous pressures surrounded by seawater.
August 10 See three-dimensional views of bathymetry data sets that give scientists a greater understanding of how things work in the natural world.
Includes slide show
August 9 While weather has prevented the ROV from being deployed, it has also provided scientists with more time to explore the deep basins of the Havre Trough backarc for signs of hydrothermal venting.
August 5 Using the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) data as road maps, the ROV pilots accurately home in on the vent targets to obtain conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) samples of sulfide minerals and vent fluids.
August 3 Scientists get their first look at the map of the northwest slopes of Brothers Volcano, and find the clarity of the fine-scale features to be absolutely stunning.
August 1 Magnetic anomaly surveying helps identify recent lava flows. The younger and larger the volcanic lava body is, the greater the magnetic anomaly we expect to be associated with it.
July 31 The team measures and locates numerous hydrothermal plumes inside the Brothers caldera. In the end, they will have a three-dimensional virtual model of the volcano, showing exactly where the chimneys and hot springs are.
July 30 The expedition team looks forward to seeing ABE's first-dive high-resolution map of Brothers caldera!The Ring of Fire Missions
Click images or links below for more information on all Ring of Fire missions.
Magic Mountain Virtual SiteTake a trip to the seafloor! Explore the hydrothermal vents of the Magic Mountain Chimney Fields via a series of interactive computer animations and videos. (Where is Magic Mountain?)
Submarine Ring of Fire 2007(July - August) Scientists return to the Kermadec Arc, to explore in great detail the Brothers submarine volcano. This will mark the most comprehensive exploration of this type of arc volcano and is one of the most vigorous geothermaly active yet discovered.
Submarine Ring of Fire 2006(April - May) Scientists return to explore active submarine volcanoes lying along the Mariana Arc, extending for more than 800 nautical miles.
New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2005(April - May) Join scientist as they explore the active submarine volcanoes along the Kermadec Arc, located north of New Zealand, with a pair of manned submersibles the PISCES IV and V.
Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 - Mariana Arc(March - April) An interdisciplinary team of scientists returned to the submarine volcanoes of the Mariana Arc to explore, utilizing an underwater tethered robot (ROPOS).
Pacific Ring of Fire 2003(February - March) An interdisciplinary team of scientists explored the submarine volcanoes of the Mariana Arc lying north of Guam in the western Pacific.
Submarine Ring of Fire 2002(June - August) An interdisciplinary exploration team used new technology to investigate the birth of new ocean crust off the coast of western North America, part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire."
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