Gorda Ridge: A Seafloor Spreading Center in the United States' Exclusive Economic Zone Proceedings of the Gorda Ridge Symposium May

ISBN-13: 9781461279372 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 311 str.

Gregory R. McMurray

Opis

Gorda Ridge presents a primarily technical summary of recent advances in seafloor research related to mineral exploration of the only seafloor spreading center within the United States' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Spreading centers are known to be the locus of hydrothermal activity and to host mineral deposits of hydrothermal origin. The book includes sections on the results of mineral exploration on Gorda Ridge, the newest technologies for mineral exploration and sampling on the seafloor, and the evolving field of hydrothermal vent biology and ecology. What makes the book unique is that it is: 1) a site book, 2) a truly multidisciplinary summation of the state of the art in complementary areas of deep ocean geology and biology, and 3) a marker in the evolution of federal-state relations concerning ocean development.

Spis treści

I. Introduction.- 1. Geology and Geophysics of Gorda Ridge.- II Gorda Ridge Mineral Potential.- 2. Hydrography and Geochemistry of Northern Gorda Ridge.- 3. Geology of the GR14 Site on Northern Gorda Ridge.- 4. Multistage Hydrothermal Systems in the Blanco Fracture Zone.- 5. Distribution and Composition of Massive Sulfide Deposits at Escanaba Trough, Southern Gorda Ridge.- 6. Submersible Observations in Escanaba Trough, Southern Gorda Ridge.- 7. A Comparison of Sulfide Deposits from Modern Sediment-Covered Spreading Axes with Besshi-Type Deposits of Japan.- 8. Deposition of Metalliferous Sediment Beneath a Brine Pool in the Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea.- 9. Economic Perspective on Development of Potential Gorda Ridge Sulfide Deposits.- III. Technology.- 10. Hydrothermal Plume Prospecting: Hydrographic and Geochemical Techniques.- 11. Acoustic Techniques for Imaging Seafloor.- 12. Technologies for Geophysical Exploration on the Ocean Bottom.- 13. Seafloor Electromagnetic Exploration Methods.- 14. An Electric Drill for Deep-Sea Coring.- 15. Mining Technology for Gorda Ridge Sulfides.- IV. Benthic Ecology.- 16. Distributional Ecology of Benthic Megaepifauna and Fishes in Gorda Ridge Axial Valley.- 17. Distributional Ecology of Selected Megaepifauna on Abyssal Plains Adjacent to Gorda Ridge, Northeast Pacific Ocean.- 18. Spatial Variation in Faunal Composition of Hydrothermal Vent Communities on the East Pacific Rise and Galapagos Spreading Center.- 19. Regional-Scale Features of Northeast Pacific, East Pacific Rise, and Gulf of Aden Vent Communities.- 20. Notes on Fauna from Several Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent and Cold Seep Soft-Sediment Communities.- 21. Hydrothermal Vent Fauna of Escanaba Trough (Gorda Ridge).- V. Conclusions.- 22. Results of the Gorda Ridge Symposium.