10:45 AM - 12:15 PM
[O02-P01] 24/7 Life onboard D/V JOIDES Resolution - IODP Exp. 399 Building Blocks of Life, Atlantis Massif [Live stream]
★Invited Papers
Keywords:IODP, OIDES Resolution, MAR Atlantis Massif, Serpentine, Carbonization
We are going to introduce Expedition 399 (Exp. 399) by the US JOIDES Resolution (JR) conducted by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). This field experiment is an essential and exciting factor in the earth and planetary sciences.
1) About IODP
IODP is an international research collaboration that explores Earth's history and dynamics using ocean-going research platforms to recover data recorded on the seafloor and to monitor subseafloor environments. IODP depends on facilities funded by three platform providers of Japan (D/V Chikyu), the US (JR), and Europe (Mission Specific Platform), with financial contributions from five additional partner agencies. Together, these entities represent twenty-one nations whose scientists are selected to staff IODP research expeditions conducted throughout the world's oceans. The "2050 Science Framework: Exploring the Earth by Scientific Ocean Drilling" was issued in 2020 as the implementation plan after 2024. For more detailed information on IODP, please stop by the JAMSTEC/J-DESC booth.
2) About Exp. 399
Exp. 399, a two-month long research cruise started on April 13 and will end on June 12, 2023 (from and to Ponta Delgada, Azores Islands), and drilling in the "Atlantis Massif" at 30 degrees N of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The JR is staffed by 24 researchers from around the world, two educational outreach staff, 20 onboard lab technicians, and a total of more than 100 people, including drilling technicians, the ship's crew and a doctor, and support staff who will live onboard the ship.
3) Scientific Objectives
This expedition aims to drill into the lower oceanic crust and the uppermost mantle (gabbro and serpentinized peridotite) rocks to observe high-T metamorphism, currently, the highest temperature ever recorded in oceanic crust drilling, and to examine the carbonation associated with hydrothermal circulation and the extent of the biosphere in subseafloor. Humans have yet to drill through the crust to the mantle, and it's one of the future plans. However, where magma production at the mid-ocean ridge is very low, deep-seated rocks are sometimes exposed on the seafloor because the magma supply cannot fill up the spreading gap of the seafloor. The dome-shaped body on the seafloor formed in this way are called Oceanic Core Complexes (OCCs), and the lower crustal and mantle rocks are exposed and can be easily sampled by drilling. The Atlantis Massif is an OCC located at 30°N in the Mid- Atlantic Ridge. It is underlain by a fault zone and is composed of gabbro intruded into serpentinized peridotite. This serpentinized peridotite has carbonate chimneys several meters high and the famous Lost City hydrothermal vent that produces hydrogen- and methane-rich alkaline fluids. Hydrogen, produced by the reaction of seawater with peridotite, is considered a powerful energy source that may have provided the fuel that formed the first building blocks of life on Earth. Small organic molecules must have been formed biologically before life began.
4) Summary
Scientists believe that vent fields such as the Lost City may be analogs of the systems in which these pre-biological reactions occurred and led to the early development of life. In addition, similar systems may exist on "ice worlds," such as Saturn's moon Enceladus, that could sustain life.
During the presentation of our poster, an online webcast is planned to the JpGU venue from aboard the JR, where this drilling voyage is taking place. So please join us and give some questions.
1) About IODP
IODP is an international research collaboration that explores Earth's history and dynamics using ocean-going research platforms to recover data recorded on the seafloor and to monitor subseafloor environments. IODP depends on facilities funded by three platform providers of Japan (D/V Chikyu), the US (JR), and Europe (Mission Specific Platform), with financial contributions from five additional partner agencies. Together, these entities represent twenty-one nations whose scientists are selected to staff IODP research expeditions conducted throughout the world's oceans. The "2050 Science Framework: Exploring the Earth by Scientific Ocean Drilling" was issued in 2020 as the implementation plan after 2024. For more detailed information on IODP, please stop by the JAMSTEC/J-DESC booth.
2) About Exp. 399
Exp. 399, a two-month long research cruise started on April 13 and will end on June 12, 2023 (from and to Ponta Delgada, Azores Islands), and drilling in the "Atlantis Massif" at 30 degrees N of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The JR is staffed by 24 researchers from around the world, two educational outreach staff, 20 onboard lab technicians, and a total of more than 100 people, including drilling technicians, the ship's crew and a doctor, and support staff who will live onboard the ship.
3) Scientific Objectives
This expedition aims to drill into the lower oceanic crust and the uppermost mantle (gabbro and serpentinized peridotite) rocks to observe high-T metamorphism, currently, the highest temperature ever recorded in oceanic crust drilling, and to examine the carbonation associated with hydrothermal circulation and the extent of the biosphere in subseafloor. Humans have yet to drill through the crust to the mantle, and it's one of the future plans. However, where magma production at the mid-ocean ridge is very low, deep-seated rocks are sometimes exposed on the seafloor because the magma supply cannot fill up the spreading gap of the seafloor. The dome-shaped body on the seafloor formed in this way are called Oceanic Core Complexes (OCCs), and the lower crustal and mantle rocks are exposed and can be easily sampled by drilling. The Atlantis Massif is an OCC located at 30°N in the Mid- Atlantic Ridge. It is underlain by a fault zone and is composed of gabbro intruded into serpentinized peridotite. This serpentinized peridotite has carbonate chimneys several meters high and the famous Lost City hydrothermal vent that produces hydrogen- and methane-rich alkaline fluids. Hydrogen, produced by the reaction of seawater with peridotite, is considered a powerful energy source that may have provided the fuel that formed the first building blocks of life on Earth. Small organic molecules must have been formed biologically before life began.
4) Summary
Scientists believe that vent fields such as the Lost City may be analogs of the systems in which these pre-biological reactions occurred and led to the early development of life. In addition, similar systems may exist on "ice worlds," such as Saturn's moon Enceladus, that could sustain life.
During the presentation of our poster, an online webcast is planned to the JpGU venue from aboard the JR, where this drilling voyage is taking place. So please join us and give some questions.