SPP 1144:  From Mantle to Ocean: Energy, Material and Life Cycles on Spreading Axes

• Subject Area: Geosciences ; Biology ; Medicine
• Term: from 2003 to 2009
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5471797

The aim of the Priority Programme is to carry out a multi-disciplinary, multi-segment scale study of the mid-ocean spreading system in the Atlantic. For this work two areas (15°N and 4-11°S) have been selected. The programme has two particulary highly innovative features:-- the integrated study of pre-defined areas of groups covering the highly disparate fields of petrology, volcanology, geodynamics, geophysics, hydrothermalism, microbiology, macrobiology, oceanography, water chemistry and convection modelling;-- the use of a state-of-the-art remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) for precise well-located sampling and observation of the seafloor.A detailed surface sampling will provide indications of regional variations in eruption processes, magma sources and hydrothermal deposits as well as the spatial distribution of faunal assemblages. Short drill cores will extend our knowledge into the subsurface. Geophysical investigations should give insights into the entire crust and deeper parts of the mantle.Using investigations in the same areas over several years we will get information about temporal variations in the different processes at spreading axes (e.g. eruptions, tections, hydrothermal and biological activities), information which will extend our present-day three-dimensional view of the ridges to include a time-axis.All investigations are of great relevance for the international ridge community. The InterRidge-initiative, which was established in 1992, is an important tool for the successful coordination of studies related to spreading axes. InterRidge promotes interdisciplinary, international studies at oceanic spreading axes through the exchange of information.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: Brazil, Denmark, New Zealand, Switzerland, USA

Projects

• A combined petrological, geochemical and geochronological study of the magmatic rocks surrounding the Logatchev hydrothermal field. (Applicant Koepke, Jürgen )
• An "Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)" for sPP 1144 and German marine science (Applicant Devey, Colin )
• Biosignatures in precipitates and altered rocks at hydrothermal systems of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: organic geochemistry, microbiology and petrography (Applicants Perner, Mirjam ;  Petersen, Sven ;  Seifert, Richard )
• Carbonate Precipitation Induced by Serpentinization on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Applicant Peckmann, Jörn )
• Coordination of the Priority Program 1144 "From the mantle to the ocean" (Applicant Devey, Colin )
• Emission and plume transport of methane and hydrogen from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Applicants Keir, Robin ;  Schmale, Oliver )
• Gas chemistry and carbon cycling at hydrothermal systems along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: time- and space-referenced biogeochemical and isotopic investigations (Applicant Seifert, Richard )
• Geobiological coupling between hydrothermal vent fluids and symbiotic primary producers at spreading axes (Applicant Dubilier, Nicole )
• Geobiology of modern and ancient endolithic microorganisms within ultramafic rocks on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Applicant Reitner, Joachim )
• Geobiology of modern and ancient endolithic microorganisms within ultramafic rocks on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Applicant Peckmann, Jörn )
• Geobiology of modern and ancient endolithic microorganisms within ultramafic rocks on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Applicant Böttcher, Michael E. )
• Geophysical imaging of the deep seated pluming system feeding and controlling the Logatchev Hydrothermal vent field at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 15°N (Applicants Dahm, Torsten ;  Grevemeyer, Ingo ;  Jegen-Kulcsar, Marion )
• Geophysical Studies near the Ascension Transform: Evolution of Ridge Segmentation and Crustal Structure - Auswertung (Applicant Bialas, Jörg )
• High- and low-temperature alteration of ultramafic oceanic crust: Mineralogy, geochemistry and isotope characteristics of hydrothermal systems at the Mid Atlantic Ridge between 14° and 15°N (Applicant Lackschewitz, Klas S. )
• High resolution volcanology and geochemistry of mid ocean ridge segments flanking the 9°40'S melt anomaly and the Ascension hot spot (Applicant Münker, Carsten )
• Hydrothermal Fluids at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (15°N and 4-11°S) as Media for the Transport of Energy and Mass from the Crust into the Hydro- and Biosphere (Applicants Garbe-Schönberg, Carl-Dieter ;  Koschinsky, Andrea )
• In-situ determination of the spatial and temporal variation of elements and energy in hydrothermal fluids and associated microbial activity (Applicant Wenzhöfer, Frank )
• Investigations on population genetics and the influence of hydrothermal activity on bivalve growth at MAR hydrothermal vents (Applicant Borowski, Christian )
• Logatchev Longterm Hydrothermal Field Environmental Monitoring (Applicant Villinger, Heinrich )
• Low pressure differentiation of basalts at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near Ascension - Constraints from experiments at controlled volatile and oxygen fugacities (Applicant Holtz, Ph.D., Francois )
• Magma differentiation processes and pre-eruptive conditions of MORBs (7-11°S) near Ascension Island - Constraints from experiments and phase equilibria modeling (Applicant Holtz, Ph.D., Francois )
• Metagenomic studies of the diversity and function of chemosynthetic microbial communities at oceanic spreading zones (Applicant Amann, Rudolf )
• Metagenomic studies of the diversity and function of chemosynthetic microbial communities at oceanic spreading zones (Applicant Meyerdierks, Anke )
• Microbial diversity and key activities at hydrothermal habitats of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Applicant Imhoff, Johannes F. )
• Microbial interaction of fluid and mineral phases at hydrothermal vents of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Applicant Kuever, Jan )
• Mircrobial communities and metabolisms responsible for chemolithoautotrophic energy and carbon transfer at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Applicant Perner, Mirjam )
• Numerical modeling of mantle flow, melt migration, and MORB compositions (Applicant Hort, Matthias )
• Opaque phase petrology and geochemical modeling as a guide to abiotic organic synthesis in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 15°N area (Applicant Bach, Wolfgang )
• Passive electromagnetic and seismological measurements to study deep partial melt structure beneath the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR) (Applicant Dahm, Torsten )
• Primordial Helium and Vertical Mixing at the Midatlantic Ridge, 2°S-11°S (Applicant Rhein, Monika )
• Sulphur isotopic investigation of dissolved and solid sulphur phases in fluids, mineral precipitates, sediments and rock samples from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Applicant Strauß, Harald )
• Temporal evolution of hydrothermal systems at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (14°45 - 15°05N) (Applicant Scholten, Jan )
• The genetic relationship between ultramafic-hosted massive sulfides and their host rocks: petrological, geochemical and isotopic investigations of hydrothermal systems along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 14°45`N and 15°05`N (Applicant Herzig, Peter )
• The geology and structure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near Ascension Island (Applicant Devey, Colin )
• The Influence of Phase Separation on the Ca isotope Composition and Fluxes in Hydrothermal Systems (Applicant Eisenhauer, Anton )
• The Role of High- and Low-Temperature Ocean Crust Alteration for the Marine Calcium Budget (Applicant Eisenhauer, Anton )
• The third dimension of the ultramafic-hosted Logatchev-1 hydrothermal field: sulfide formation, evolution, and fluid flow in the subseafloor (Applicant Petersen, Sven )
• U-Th-Ra disequilibria in basalts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 6-11°S: Constraints on melting, mixing and time-scales of magmatic processes (Applicant Haase, Karsten Matthias )
• Variability of the near bottom hydrography, currents and mixing processes in the Logatchev-Field (Applicant Fischer, Jürgen )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Colin Devey