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System A at Virgin vent. The tripod (left)
houses the fluid collector intake and temperature probe A1. Fluid
sampler bottles are visible (right) under the yellow flotation spheres.
(click for full-size) |
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Tripod found lying on its side a week
after the intial deployment after temperature data suddenly dropped.
It was put upright and stablized. Temperature probe A2 visible in
the foreground. |
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The NeMO Net RAS System A is located
at Virgin, a high-temperature vent in the ASHES vent field. The fluid collector
for this system utilizes a tripod which sets directly over the vent,
to
prevent the intake from becoming clogged with hydrothermal minerals.
Hot vent fluid rises and accumulates under the funnel-shaped collector
at
the top of the tripod where the fluid intake for the sampler and temperate
probe A1 is located. The
second temperature probe was intended to be placed directly into the
hot fluid in the anhydrite mound, but was
damaged during deployment and could only be placed next to the vent orifice.
Consequently, probe A2 is
measuring temperatures near ambient just at the edge of a high-temperature
orifice.
A few days after System A was deployed, the data received
on shore showed a dramatic temperature drop in probe A1 (see the 'All
data' graph below). Scientists still at sea but now surveying Explorer
Ridge guessed the tripod must have fallen over. At the end of the
Explorer Ridge operations, the ship returned briefly to ASHES and indeed
found the tripod on its side. The tripod was righted and then retro-fitted
with a "weight belt" around the legs to keep it upright and
stable.
For more information use the following
links to NeMO Explorer:
Hydrothermal
vents
Anhydrite
chimneys
ASHES virtual reality
site
Video clip
of Virgin vent
NeMO
at Axial Volcano
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Temperature
Data from System A
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