QUELLE 2013 - Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and ... · from the headquarters of the Japan...
Transcript of QUELLE 2013 - Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and ... · from the headquarters of the Japan...
The Sh
inkai 6500
surveyin
g h
ydro
therm
al ven
ts near O
kinaw
a, Jap
an.
On
Janu
ary 5, 2013, the R
/V Y
oko
suka, carryin
g th
e m
ann
ed research
sub
mersib
le Shin
kai 6500, will d
epart
from
the h
eadq
uarters o
f the Jap
an A
gen
cy for M
arine-
Earth Scien
ce and
Techn
olo
gy (JA
MSTEC
) in Yo
kosu
ka, Jap
an. Th
is will b
egin
the ch
alleng
e of “Q
UELLE 2013,”
a rou
nd
-the-w
orld
voyag
e of Sh
inkai 6500, w
hich
will
spen
d ab
ou
t on
e year visiting
the In
dian
Ocean
, the
Sou
th A
tlantic, th
e Carib
bean
Sea, and
the So
uth
Pacific
Ocean
.Sh
inkai 6500 w
ill visit hyd
roth
ermal ven
t field
s, su
bm
arine seep
age sites, th
e ultra-h
adal zo
ne o
f deep
sea tren
ches an
d o
ther extrem
e enviro
nm
ents, w
here it
will sh
ed lig
ht o
n th
e hab
itable lim
its of life an
d its
un
iqu
e survival strateg
ies.Q
UELLE 2013 m
ay even an
swer th
e qu
estion
of h
ow
the
Earth b
ecame a p
lanet b
rimm
ing
with
life.
The Sh
inkai 6500 w
ill visit extreme d
eep-sea
enviro
nm
ents an
d reveal th
e hab
itable lim
its of life
and
its un
iqu
e survival strateg
ies.
Cen
tral Ind
ian O
cean R
idg
e, R
od
rigu
es Triple Ju
nctio
n area,
Ind
ian O
cean
Loo
king
for in
sigh
ts in
to th
e early evolu
tion
of life
There is active h
ydro
therm
al activity in th
is area, wh
ich is a
hab
itat for u
nu
sual o
rgan
isms su
ch as th
e scaly-foo
t g
astrop
od
, a snail w
ith scales m
ade o
f iron
sulfi
des.
It is very likely that h
ydro
gen
was a so
urce o
f energ
y for
early life; this m
arine area h
as sites spo
utin
g h
ot w
ater w
ith h
igh
hyd
rog
en co
ncen
tration
s. The m
ission
here w
ill b
e to attem
pt to
un
derstan
d early evo
lutio
n b
y stud
ying
th
e residen
t org
anism
s.
Rio
Gran
de R
ise, Sao Pau
lo R
idg
e, Sao
Paulo
PlateauTh
e first d
ive of a h
um
an-o
ccup
ied
research su
bm
ersible in
the
Sou
th A
tlantic
The R
io G
rand
e Rise is an
imm
ense rid
ge, th
at rises mo
re than
5000 m
abo
ve the o
cean fl
oo
r in th
e Sou
th A
tlantic. Th
is su
rvey will d
iscover h
ow
marin
e com
mu
nities ch
ang
e with
d
epth
and
geo
log
y. We exp
ect to fi
nd
a variety of o
rgan
isms
and
hab
itats.Sao
Paulo
Rid
ge, w
here m
aterial derived
from
the Earth
’s m
antle is exp
osed
at the sea fl
oo
r. Recen
tly, chem
osyn
thetic
com
mu
nities* w
ere disco
vered in
areas surro
un
din
g a sim
ilar en
viron
men
t in th
e Marian
as Trench
in th
e Western
Pacific.
We exp
ect to fi
nd
similar ch
emo
synth
etic com
mu
nities in
the
Sao Pau
lo R
idg
e area.Th
e Sao Pau
lo Plateau
has exten
sive natu
ral gas an
d o
il field
s, an
d p
ossib
ly the w
orld
’s mo
st extensive ch
emo
synth
etic co
mm
un
ities. If chem
osyn
thetic co
mm
un
ities are fou
nd
here,
they w
ou
ld b
e the fi
rst disco
vered in
the So
uth
Atlan
tic.
* Chem
osynthetic comm
unities: Biological comm
unities based on energy from
chemical sources, such as hydrogen sulfide and
methane em
itted from hydrotherm
al vents.
Near th
e Caym
an Islan
ds,
a British
territory in
the C
aribb
ean Sea
Are th
ere org
anism
s living
at 500°C
at deep
hyd
roth
ermal fi
elds?
The C
ayman
Rise is said
to h
ave 500 °C seaw
ater spo
utin
g
from
hyd
roth
ermal ven
ts. Here w
e will su
rvey the h
abitab
le lim
its of life an
d reveal su
rvival strategies in
extreme
enviro
nm
ents, su
ch as sym
bio
sis betw
een m
acro- an
d
micro
org
anism
s.A
t on
e time th
e Pacific an
d A
tlantic o
ceans w
ere con
nected
, an
d th
ere was exch
ang
e of o
rgan
isms b
etween
them
. H
ow
ever, 3 millio
n years ag
o a lan
d b
ridg
e con
nected
Sou
th
and
No
rth A
merica, sep
arating
the tw
o o
ceans an
d iso
lating
th
e residen
t org
anism
s from
each o
ther. W
e will su
rvey ho
w
org
anism
s orig
inatin
g in
the Pacifi
c evolved
in th
e Atlan
tic, an
d exp
lore th
eir adap
tation
s and
sub
sequ
ent evo
lutio
n.
Ton
ga an
d K
ermad
ec trench
esTo
the w
orld
’s secon
d-d
eepest
sub
marin
e trench
At JA
MSTEC
, we h
ave investig
ated th
e Ch
alleng
er Deep
in th
e M
arianas Tren
ch, th
e deep
est kno
wn
po
int in
the w
orld
’s o
ceans (10,911 m
). Ho
wever, w
e have n
ot yet in
vestigated
the
wo
rld’s seco
nd
-deep
est trench
- the To
ng
a Trench
(10,850 m
dep
th). B
y investig
ating
the To
ng
a Trench
and
com
parin
g th
e d
eepest an
d th
e secon
d-d
eepest areas in
the w
orld
’s ocean
s, w
e will b
e closer to
un
derstan
din
g u
ltra-deep
-sea ecosystem
s.Th
e Lou
isville Seamo
un
t Ch
ain is q
uickly su
bd
uctin
g in
to th
e To
ng
a and
Kerm
adec tren
ches. W
e will in
vestigate a n
um
ber
of th
ese seamo
un
ts to fi
nd
ou
t ho
w co
mm
un
ities chan
ge w
ith
dep
th.
The scaly-fo
ot g
astrop
od
Qu
est
for
the
Lim
it o
f Li
feA
n a
rou
nd
-th
e-w
orl
d v
oya
ge
by
the
Shin
kai 6
500
QU
ELLE
201
3
Shin
kai 6
500
sub
mer
sib
leSh
inka
i 650
0 is
a d
eep
su
bm
erg
ence
veh
icle
th
at c
an d
ive
to d
epth
s o
f 65
00 m
eter
s. It
car
ries
on
e re
sear
cher
an
d
two
pilo
ts.
Shin
kai 6
500
was
co
mp
lete
d in
198
9, a
nd
sin
ce it
s fi
rst
rese
arch
div
e in
199
1 h
as c
on
du
cted
su
rvey
s ar
ou
nd
Jap
an
as w
ell a
s th
rou
gh
ou
t th
e Pa
cifi
c O
cean
, an
d in
th
e A
tlan
tic
and
Ind
ian
Oce
ans.
Sup
po
rt V
esse
l Yo
kosu
kaTh
e su
pp
ort
sh
ip Y
oko
suka
per
form
s su
rvey
s o
f th
e d
eep
-se
a fl
oo
r b
y ac
tin
g a
s a
sup
po
rt s
hip
fo
r th
e Sh
inka
i 650
0.
Ab
ou
t JA
MST
ECO
n A
pri
l 1, 2
004,
th
e Ja
pan
Ag
ency
fo
r M
arin
e-Ea
rth
Sc
ien
ce a
nd
Tec
hn
olo
gy
(JA
MST
EC),
fo
rmer
ly t
he
Jap
an
Mar
ine
Scie
nce
an
d T
ech
no
log
y C
ente
r, w
as in
aug
ura
ted
as
an
ind
epen
den
t ad
min
istr
ativ
e in
stit
uti
on
. JA
MST
EC
has
th
e m
ain
ob
ject
ive
to c
on
trib
ute
to
th
e ad
van
cem
ent
of
acad
emic
res
earc
h in
ad
dit
ion
to
th
e im
pro
vem
ent
of
mar
ine
scie
nce
an
d t
ech
no
log
y in
fras
tru
ctu
re b
y su
pp
ort
ing
fu
nd
amen
tal r
esea
rch
on
an
d d
evel
op
men
t o
f th
e se
a.
Wh
at is
“Q
UEL
LE”
?Th
e n
ame
of
this
vo
yag
e, “
QU
ELLE
”, is
an
acr
on
ym f
or
“Qu
est
for
the
Lim
it o
f Li
fe”.
It a
lso
mea
ns
“ro
ots
” o
r “o
rig
in”
in G
erm
an.
Is t
his
th
e fi
rst
aro
un
d-t
he-
wo
rld
voya
ge
for
the
Shin
kai 6
500?
This
gre
at v
oya
ge
by
the
Shin
kai 6
500
and
its
sup
po
rt
vess
el Y
oko
suka
is t
he
firs
t in
15
year
s, s
ince
th
e 19
98
cru
ise
MO
DE
’98
(Mid
-Oce
anic
Rid
ge
Div
ing
Ex
ped
itio
n).
Tak
ing
th
e ea
ster
n r
ou
te a
rou
nd
th
e w
orl
d f
or
MO
DE
’98,
su
rvey
s w
ere
con
du
cted
alo
ng
th
e M
id-A
tlan
tic
Rid
ge
afte
r p
assi
ng
th
rou
gh
th
e Pa
nam
a C
anal
, an
d t
he
Sou
thw
est
Ind
ian
Rid
ge
was
su
rvey
ed a
fter
pas
sin
g t
hro
ug
h t
he
Suez
Can
al,
mak
ing
Sh
inka
i 650
0 th
e fi
rst
man
ned
su
bm
ersi
ble
to
co
nd
uct
a s
urv
ey in
th
e In
dia
n O
cean
.
Wh
y th
e so
uth
ern
hem
isp
her
e?W
hy
the
dee
p s
ea?
Du
rin
g t
he
dec
ade
follo
win
g t
he
year
200
0, s
cien
tist
s fr
om
ove
r 80
nat
ion
s p
arti
cip
ated
in t
he
“Cen
sus
of
Mar
ine
Life
”, f
urt
her
ing
ou
r u
nd
erst
and
ing
of
the
div
ersi
ty a
nd
dis
trib
uti
on
of
mar
ine
org
anis
ms.
Dee
p-
sea
zon
es b
elo
w 2
500
m, t
he
op
en o
cean
aw
ay f
rom
la
nd
, an
d e
spec
ially
th
e g
reat
er p
art
of
the
sou
ther
n
hem
isp
her
e, h
ow
ever
, wer
e fo
un
d t
o b
e as
yet
larg
ely
un
exp
lore
d. T
hat
is w
hy
we
are
go
ing
to
th
e so
uth
ern
h
emis
ph
ere
and
th
e d
eep
sea
.
Shin
kai 6
500
low
ered
to
th
e o
cean
su
rfac
e fr
om
su
pp
ort
ves
sel Y
oko
suka
2-15
, Nat
sush
ima-
cho
, Yo
kosu
ka-c
ity,
K
anag
awa,
237
-006
1, J
apan
PHO
NE
: +81
-46-
866-
3811
FAX
: +
81-4
6-86
7-90
25h
ttp
://w
ww
.jam
stec
.go
.jp/
1
24 3
2013
.2
Support Vessel Yokosuka
Shinkai 6500 submersible
Quest for the Limit of LifeAn around-the-world voyageby the Shinkai 6500
QUELLE 2013
・ A unique marine environment created by an immense seamount rising over 5000 m from the ocean floor
・ A vast submarine oil field in the deep ocean at a depth of 3600 m
Caribbean Sea, near the Cayman Islands (British territory)・ A highly diverse deep-sea
hydrothermal field; the deepest yet discovered
・ A singular biocoenosis (ecosystem) that links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans
Central Indian Ridge
Kermadec TrenchRio Grande RiseSao Paulo Ridge
Temporary return to Japan, early August(Battery replacement for Shinkai 6500)
STARTLeave Yokosuka January 5, 2013
Call at Port Louis, Mauritius, late March
Call at Cape Town, South Africa, early April
Call at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
early May
Call at San Juan, Puerto Rico (USA), mid-June
Call at Santos,Brazil, late May
Call at Cristobal, Panama, early July
Rodrigues Triple Point area
A deep-sea hydrothermal field inhabited by chemosynthetic communities including highly unusual organisms such as the scaly-foot gastropod
・ An active region of plate convergence with the world’s second-greatest ocean depth (10,850 m)・ The Louisville Seamount Chain,
which is subducting into the Tonga and Kermadec trenches
・ Submarine volcanic activity in the active back-arc region, landward of the trenches
Sao Paulo Plateau
GOALReturn to
home port, late November
Tonga Trench
1
2
4
3
Call at Suva, Fiji, early and late October
Call at Guam (USA) mid-September
Call at Auckland, New Zealand,
late November