Caldera 2012, Santorini (Greece)

Principle Investigator: Dr. Javier Escartin (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Hydrothermal activity is one of the main processes that facilitate both heat and chemical fluxes from the deep Earth to the overlying fluid envelopes. Studies on the chemical composition of these volatiles (fluid and gas) will provide vital constraints on:

a) Origin of the magmas at depth, composition of the mantle, and the relative input from the subducting slab (crust and sediments);

b) Processes of mixing and degassing within the magma chamber; and

c) Contribution of the emitted gases to the Earth's atmosphere.

These studies are at the core of the proposed cruise, which involves an international and multidisciplinary team, including the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (France), the University of Girona (Spain), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (USA), the University of Athens (Greece) and the support of the Hellenic Centre of Marine Research infrastructure.

Our target is the Santorini Caldera (Hellenic arc) and the hydrothermal areas that it hosts at depths up to ~400 m bsl. R/V "Aegaeo" will host the "Girona 500" AUV which will survey different zones of the caldera, both over known sites and at unexplored zones. Microbathymetric, side scan sonar and 3D visual maps will be produced, along with in-situ chemical analysis from a mass spectrometer installed on the AUV. The heavy load manipulation capabilities of the HOV "Thetis" and ROV "Max Rover" will support the deployment of temperature probes and perform water, gas and rock sampling.

The goals of the proposal are three-fold:

From the technology side:

(1) is to validate the Girona 500 AUV as a well suited and fully operational vehicle open to the scientificcommunity.

From the science side, the goals are:

(2) to constrain the distribution, extent and nature of hydrothermal activity from high-resolution geophysical surveying, and

(3) to understand the underlying hydrothermal processes from fluid sampling and monitoring of the field.

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