WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.183 --> 00:00:10.883 The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is literally a mountain range that 2 00:00:10.883 --> 00:00:15.803 divides the Atlantic Ocean into two: east and west. It extends 3 00:00:15.803 --> 00:00:19.243 on its northern extent to just northwest of Greenland and it 4 00:00:19.243 --> 00:00:22.003 goes all the way down almost into the Southern Ocean to 5 00:00:22.003 --> 00:00:26.643 about the same latitude as the southern tip of South America. 6 00:00:26.643 --> 00:00:30.603 Plates that form the surface of the Earth are splitting apart. 7 00:00:30.603 --> 00:00:34.843 The plates come apart and the molten rock underneath it is 8 00:00:34.843 --> 00:00:39.723 coming up and that causes new crust of the Earth to be formed 9 00:00:39.723 --> 00:00:42.883 and it pushes those plates apart. And that's what's created 10 00:00:42.883 --> 00:00:46.603 the Atlantic Ocean in the first place. 11 00:00:48.503 --> 00:00:52.483 It's like a line. It's like a zipper running all the way down 12 00:00:52.483 --> 00:00:56.203 the Atlantic, and that zipper is literally opening and being 13 00:00:56.203 --> 00:01:00.443 replaced by hot molten rock that binds to the edge of the 14 00:01:00.443 --> 00:01:05.403 crust and so we're always making new seafloor. 15 00:01:05.403 --> 00:01:09.563 The southern part has actually been pretty well mapped and partly 16 00:01:09.563 --> 00:01:12.483 explored because of there's a lot of hydrothermal vent 17 00:01:12.483 --> 00:01:16.003 activity that takes place there but north of the Azores, 18 00:01:16.003 --> 00:01:19.643 there's very very little that we know. In fact, there are 19 00:01:19.643 --> 00:01:24.283 virtually no good bottom topography maps for more than 20 00:01:24.283 --> 00:01:27.763 300 miles north of the Azores, and so this is one of the 21 00:01:27.763 --> 00:01:30.323 things that we're going to be doing on this expedition is 22 00:01:30.323 --> 00:01:33.523 trying to create some good maps. and once you have the maps and 23 00:01:33.523 --> 00:01:36.923 you have a better knowledge of the bottom, then that induces 24 00:01:36.923 --> 00:01:39.763 exploration and asking questions about, well, oh, what 25 00:01:39.763 --> 00:01:43.243 will we find in this kind of habitat and that kind of habitat? 26 00:01:43.243 --> 00:01:50.403 So, north of the Azores, very, very poorly explored. 27 00:01:50.403 --> 00:01:53.123 There has been work done previously here but it's been hit and miss. 28 00:01:53.123 --> 00:01:56.603 It's been very sporadic and it's been more of work of 29 00:01:56.603 --> 00:01:59.163 opportunity so as the ship is transiting through here to get 30 00:01:59.163 --> 00:02:02.203 to another location they might stop, they might do a little 31 00:02:02.203 --> 00:02:05.963 multibeam mapping. They might take a geological sample. But in terms 32 00:02:05.963 --> 00:02:08.723 of the number of dedicated expeditions just to exploring 33 00:02:08.723 --> 00:02:11.163 this area, it's really few and far between so that makes it 34 00:02:11.163 --> 00:02:16.663 really exciting. In the deep sea, in these very specialized 35 00:02:16.663 --> 00:02:21.463 locations called hydrothermal vents, bacteria are feeding on 36 00:02:21.463 --> 00:02:25.063 energy from inside of the Earth and they are becoming the base 37 00:02:25.063 --> 00:02:28.103 of the food chain for lots of other really interesting and 38 00:02:28.103 --> 00:02:31.663 endemic organisms. So we're really hoping that we can 39 00:02:31.663 --> 00:02:34.663 discover some hydrothermal vents. Um so far as I know 40 00:02:34.663 --> 00:02:37.223 there's only been one or two that have been discovered north 41 00:02:37.223 --> 00:02:40.583 of the Azores and so this may be an opportunity to discover more. 42 00:02:40.583 --> 00:02:43.783 It's always exciting because we have some 43 00:02:43.783 --> 00:02:46.263 predictions of what we're going to see and very often 44 00:02:46.263 --> 00:02:52.863 they're upended. I think one of my most memorable views was on 45 00:02:52.863 --> 00:02:57.623 dive one when we were climbing this slope that was a pile of 46 00:02:57.623 --> 00:03:00.023 coral rubble at first, and it was kind of interesting to see 47 00:03:00.023 --> 00:03:02.543 all these dead coral skeletons, but perhaps a little bit 48 00:03:02.543 --> 00:03:04.703 depressing and wondering why we weren't seeing the live ones, 49 00:03:04.703 --> 00:03:07.943 and then we came into this field of just brilliant yellow 50 00:03:07.943 --> 00:03:11.783 among this you know completely black deep sea and this field 51 00:03:11.783 --> 00:03:16.583 went on and on and on for tens and tens of meters. Eguchipsammia 52 00:03:16.583 --> 00:03:22.323 stony coral just a spectacular sight that I've never seen before. 53 00:03:22.323 --> 00:03:26.323 One of the things that I I really found most beautiful to me as a 54 00:03:26.323 --> 00:03:29.483 geologist was some of those beautiful pillow formations we 55 00:03:29.483 --> 00:03:32.323 found and those beautiful pillow lobes especially there 56 00:03:32.323 --> 00:03:34.643 was there's one that we came across that look like it had 57 00:03:34.643 --> 00:03:37.963 been just snaking down this small hill and it had gotten to 58 00:03:37.963 --> 00:03:41.363 a point where the the outside crust had become too cold for 59 00:03:41.363 --> 00:03:43.843 it to continue and then there was this beautiful breakout 60 00:03:43.843 --> 00:03:46.163 where the head of it had been fragmented and then this 61 00:03:46.163 --> 00:03:48.683 beautiful other pillow lobe pushed right out of it and and 62 00:03:48.683 --> 00:03:52.123 that was a textbook example of how those those form and push 63 00:03:52.123 --> 00:03:56.663 forward. The other thing that I I really appreciated was you 64 00:03:56.663 --> 00:03:59.583 know having Scott here as a biologist. Uh I haven't had 65 00:03:59.583 --> 00:04:02.583 this opportunity before to be side by side with someone in a 66 00:04:02.583 --> 00:04:05.143 completely different discipline and an expert in their own 67 00:04:05.143 --> 00:04:09.383 field and and realizing this really beautiful intricate 68 00:04:09.383 --> 00:04:15.183 codependent relationship on the geology and the biology. These 69 00:04:15.183 --> 00:04:18.223 pillow lavas that we see provide homes and structures 70 00:04:18.223 --> 00:04:23.143 and and little refuges to the biology and then the biology 71 00:04:23.143 --> 00:04:25.903 also helps precipitate some of the weathering of the of those rocks. 72 00:04:25.903 --> 00:04:31.503 We found very high abundances, high density, high 73 00:04:31.503 --> 00:04:35.583 diversity sessil communities, corals and sponges, all kinds 74 00:04:35.583 --> 00:04:38.343 of color, lots of abundance from the moment we hit the seafloor 75 00:04:38.343 --> 00:04:41.383 to the moment we left. And these are some of the places 76 00:04:41.383 --> 00:04:44.503 that we have some sense are down there, but we don't know 77 00:04:44.503 --> 00:04:46.503 for certain. We don't know exactly where they are. We're 78 00:04:46.503 --> 00:04:49.903 still trying to learn why do we see such communities in this 79 00:04:49.903 --> 00:04:53.303 place and not that place. Um to see them is really important 80 00:04:53.303 --> 00:04:56.783 for conservation and management knowing the places that perhaps 81 00:04:56.783 --> 00:05:00.583 we want to protect these organisms are very long lived. 82 00:05:00.583 --> 00:05:04.143 Really exciting to get down there.