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Seminar 12 April

High-Resolution Mapping and Sampling Technologies to Study Deep-Sea Volcanic and Hydrothermal Processes in the 21st Century

Emeritus Scientist Dr. Daniel J. Fornari from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – Geology & Geophysics dept., is our guest at a seminar the 12 April, arranged by the Norwegian Ocean Observation Laboratory. He will hold an exciting lecture focusing on using specially developed technologies including autonomous robots, remotely operated vehicles and newly designed, human-occupied submarines to enable more detailed and site-specific exploration of seafloor processes, as submarine volcanism and hydrothermalism, in many tectonic environments.

Vehicle and sensors
Foto/ill.:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Hovedinnhold

High-Resolution Mapping and Sampling Technologies to Study Deep-Sea Volcanic and Hydrothermal Processes in the 21st Century

The deep oceans and global seafloor are truly Earths last frontier. They remain largely unexplored, yet are critical to our survival on this planet. Covering nearly 70% of our planet and reaching depths of greater than 11,000 m, the ocean realm contains the largest chain of active volcanoes, boiling hot springs, and fault zones. In undersea mountains a mile beneath the surface, bizarre landscapes host exotic life forms that rival the most imaginative science fiction. In this dark and largely unexplored environment the potential exists for profound scientific discoveries in this century that will likely shape the future of human society. Despite the opaque blue mask of the oceans as depicted on many maps, the Earth’s solid crust extends continuously beneath the oceans with distinctive geological processes, spectacular landforms, and strange life, much of it still unknown. Whereas the continents above the sea are easily observable, light does not penetrate the ocean depths below ~400 m, hence imaging and exploring the vast seafloor environment presents special challenges. Over the past few decades, using specially developed technologies including autonomous robots, remotely operated vehicles and newly designed, human-occupied submarines, the global seafloor is now coming into focus and our ability to map and visualize it can be done at centimeter-scale resolution. 

Time and place:
12th of April, 13.15-14.00.
Auditorium in Vilvite-centre, Thormøhlensgate 51