“From Mantle to Ocean: Energy-, Material- and Life-cycles at Spreading Axes”

The priority program ran from 2003 to 2009. The aim of the program (SPP) was to carry out a multi-disciplinary, multi-segment scale study of the mid-ocean spreading system in the Atlantic. For this work two areas (15°N and 4-11°S) were selected (Fig. 1). The program had two innovative features:

• The integrated study of pre-defined areas of groups covering the highly disparate fields of petrology, volcanology, geodynamics, geophysics, hydrothermalism, microbiology, macrobiology, oceanography, water chemistry and convection modelling.
• The use of a state-of-the-art remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) for precise well-located sampling and observation of the seafloor.

A detailed surface sampling provided indications of regional variations in eruption processes, magma sources and hydrothermal deposits as well as the spatial distribution of faunal assemblages. Short drill cores extended our knowledge into the subsurface. Geophysical investigations gave insights into the entire crust and deeper parts of the mantle.

Using investigations in the same areas over several years we got information about temporal variations in the different processes at spreading axes (e.g. eruptions, tections, hydrothermal and biological activities), information which extended our three-dimensional view of the ridges to include a time-axis.

If you have further questions, please contact Dr. H.J. Wallrabe-Adams, e-mail: hwallrabe(at)pangaea.de