The Geologic Setting of Hydrothermal Vents at Mariana Arc Submarine Volcanoes: High-Resolution Bathymetry and ROV Observations

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives were made at 7 submarine volcanoes between 14-23° N in the Mariana Arc in April 2004 with the ROPOS ROV. Six of these volcanoes were known to be hydrothermally active from CTD data collected during a previous expedition in March 2003: NW Rota-1, E Diamante, NW Eifuku, Daikoku, Kasuga-2, and Maug, a partly submerged caldera. The physical setting of hydrothermal venting varies widely from volcano to volcano. High-resolution bathymetric surveys of the summits of NW Rota-1 and NW Eifuku volcanoes were conducted with an Imagenex scanning sonar mounted on ROPOS. Near bottom observations during ROPOS dives were recorded with digital video and a digital still camera and the dives were navigated acoustically from the R/V Thompson using an ultra-short baseline system. The mapping and dive observations reveal the following: (1) The summits of some volcanoes have pervasive diffuse venting (NW Rota-1, Daikoku, NW Eifuku) suggesting that hydrothermal fluids are able to circulate freely within a permeable edifice. At other volcanoes, the hydrothermal venting is more localized (Kasuga-2, Maug, E Diamante), suggesting more restricted permeability pathways. (2) Some volcanoes have both focused venting at depth and diffuse venting near the summit (E Diamante, NW Eifuku). Where the hydrothermal vents are focused, fluid flow appears to be localized by massive lava outcrops that form steep cliffs and ridges, or by subsurface structures such as dikes. High-temperature (240° C) venting was only observed at E Diamante volcano, where the "Black Forest" vent field is located on the side of a constructional cone near the middle of E Diamante caldera at a depth of 350 m. On the side of an adjacent shallower cone, the venting style changed to diffuse discharge and it extended all the way up into the photic zone (167 m). At NW Eifuku, the pattern of both deep-focused and shallow-diffuse venting is repeated. "Champagne vent" is located at 1607 m, ~150 m below the summit, and is characterized by focused flow of CO2-rich fluids, whereas the summit has extensive areas of diffuse venting and is covered with thick bacterial mats. (3) Some of the most remarkable vent sites are deep, narrow volcanic craters at NW Rota-1 and Daikoku volcanoes. The crater at NW Rota-1 volcano (named "Brimstone Pit") is 15-m wide, 20-m deep, funnel shaped, and was actively erupting ash, lapilli, and molten sulfur. The rim of Brimstone Pit is composed of welded spatter and is located at 550 m depth, about 30 m below the summit. Other diffuse hydrothermal sites at NW Rota-1 are located along the rocky summit ridge. At Daikoku volcano, an extraordinary crater emitting cloudy hydrothermal fluid was found at 375 m depth on the north shoulder of the volcano, about 75 m below the summit. This crater was at least 135 m deep and had a remarkably cylindrical cross-section with a diameter of ~50 m. ROPOS descended 75 m into the crater and was still at least 60 m above the bottom, according to the altimeter, when we were forced to cease operations due to weather. In addition, diffuse hydrothermal fluids seep from large areas of the summit and upper slopes of Daikoku.