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Scientific exploration of the Jøtul vent field

Our colleague at the Centre, deep-sea biologist Pedro Ribeiro, is onboard the RV Maria S. Merian participating in a research cruise led by the German Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM) to explore and investigate the Jøtul hydrothermal vent field.

Photograph of the Gyme black smoker on the ocean floor in the Jøtul vent field.
Photographic composite of the Gyme black smoker, Jøtul vent field.
Photo:
MARUM

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The Jøtul hydrothermal vent field is located on the Knipovich Ridge, which can be found east of Greenland in the northernmost Norwegian-Greenland Sea. The expedition is an ititiative of MARUM’s Cluster of Excellence "The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface" and it follows up on previous research by taking a deeper dive into the understanding of Jøtul’s geological and geochemical settings, as well as their influence on the diversity and distribution of life at the seafloor. Pedro participates in dives with ROV Quest 4000 exploring Jøtul and acquiring high-resolution 3D photomosaics of the known active sites to be used in joint geological and biological studies. The Centre for Deep Sea Research at the University of Bergen is very pleased to collaborate in this expedition, continuing its long-term contribution to the understanding of Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge seafloor processes and ecosystems.

The ROV dives are live streamed and can be followed on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/live/BeFz4y_f6pA