Skip to main content
Earth, Planets and Space
Download PDF

Contribution of heat outputs from high- and low-temperature hydrothermal sources to the neutrally buoyant plume at the TAG hydrothermal mound, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Earth, Planets and Space volume 59, pages 1141–1146 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

We provide an estimation of the heat output necessary to generate the neutrally buoyant plume above the TAG hydrothermal mound, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, located at 26°N, using a model of plume rise in a density-stratified environment with crossflow. The estimated heat output is 460 ± 40 MW. Previous studies have estimated that the heat outputs from high-temperature hydrothermal discharge and low-temperature diffuse flow at the TAG hydrothermal mound are 90 ± 20 MW and at least 780 MW, respectively. Consequently, the contribution of diffuse flow to make the neutrally buoyant plume is 370 ± 60 MW, which accounts for approximately 80% of the heat output to the neutrally buoyant plume. As this contribution is less than 50% of the total heat output from the diffuse flow, it is likely that more than 50% of the heat output from the diffuse flow dissipates in the ambient current.

References

  • Baker, E. T. and G. J. Massoth, Characteristics of hydrothermal plumes from two vent fields on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, northeast Pacific Ocean, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 85, 59–73, 1987.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bemis, K. G., R. P. Von Herzen, and M. J. Mottl, Geothermal heat flux from hydrothermal plumes on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 6351–6365, 1993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujioka, K., K. Kobayashi, K. Kato, M. Aoki, K. Mitsuzawa, M. Kinoshita, and A. Nishizawa, Tide-related variability of TAG hydrothermal activity observed by deep-sea monitoring system and OBSH, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 153, 239–250, 1997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ginster, U., M. J. Mottl, and R. P. Von Herzen, Heat flux from black smokers on the Endeavour and Cleft segments, Juan de Fuca Ridge, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 4937–4950, 1994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goto, S., M. Kinoshita, A. Schultz, and R. P. Von Herzen, Estimate of heat flux and its temporal variation at the TAG hydrothermal mound, Mid-Atlantic Ridge 26°N, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 2434, doi:1029/2001JB000703, 2003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humphris, S. E. and M. C. Kleinrock, Detailed morphology of the TAG active hydrothermal mound: Insights into its formation and growth, Geophys. Res. Lett., 23, 3443–3446, 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, R. H. and H. Elderfield, Chemistry of ore-forming fluids and mineral formation rates in an active hydrothermal sulfide deposit on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Geology, 24, 1147–1150, 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kawada, Y., S. Yoshida, and S. Watanabe, Numerical simulations of mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal circulation including the phase separation of seawater, Earth Planets Space, 56, 193–215, 2004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, D. S., J. A. Baross, and J. R. Delaney, Volcanoes, fluids, and life at mid-ocean ridge spreading centers, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 30, 385–491, 2002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinoshita, M., R. P. Von Herzen, O. Matsubayashi, and K. Fujioka, Tidally-driven effluent detected by long-term temperature monitoring at the TAG hydrothermal mound, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Phys. Earth Planet. Int., 109, 201–212, 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavelle, J. W. and M. A. Wetzler, Diffuse venting and background contributions to chemical anomalies in a neutrally buoyant ocean hydrothermal plume, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 3201–3209, 1999.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lunel, T., M. Rudnicki, H. Elderfield, and D. Hydes, Aluminium as a depth-sensitive tracer of entrainment in submarine hydrothermal plumes, Nature, 344, 137–139, 1990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Middleton, J. H., The rise of forced plumes in a stably stratified crossflow, Boundary-Layer Meteorol., 36, 187–199, 1986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton, B. R., G. I. Taylor, and J. S. Turner, Turbulent gravitational convection from maintained and instantaneous source, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A, 234, 1–23, 1956.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudnicki, M. D. and H. Elderfield, Theory applied to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal plumes: the finite-difference approach, J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 50, 161–172, 1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, A. and H. Elderfield, Controls on the physics and chemistry of seafloor hydrothermal circulation, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London Ser. A, 355, 387–425, 1997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Speer, K. G. and P. A. Rona, A model of an Atlantic and Pacific hydrothermal plume, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 6213–6220, 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tivey, M. K., S. E. Humphris, G. Thompson, M. D. Hannington, and P. A. Rona, Deducing patterns of fluid flow and mixing within the TAG active hydrothermal mound using mineralogical and geochemical data, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 12527–12555, 1995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Geo-Resources and Environment, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), AIST Tsukuba Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8567, Japan

    Shusaku Goto

  2. Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo, 1-15-1 Minami-dai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, 164-8639, Japan

    Toshitaka Gamo

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima-naka, Okayama, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan

    Hitoshi Chiba

  4. Marine-Earth Data and Information Department, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 3173-25 Showa-machi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-0001, Japan

    Kantaro Fujioka

  5. Super Computer System Planning and Operation Department, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 3173-25 Showa-machi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-0001, Japan

    Kyohiko Mitsuzawa

Authors
  1. Shusaku Goto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Toshitaka Gamo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hitoshi Chiba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kantaro Fujioka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kyohiko Mitsuzawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shusaku Goto.

Rights and permissions

Open Access  This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Goto, S., Gamo, T., Chiba, H. et al. Contribution of heat outputs from high- and low-temperature hydrothermal sources to the neutrally buoyant plume at the TAG hydrothermal mound, Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Earth Planet Sp 59, 1141–1146 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352057

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352057

Key words