Voyage to the Ridge 2 (ROV and Mapping)

Vessel: NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer; Expedition Dates: July 09, 2022 to July 30, 2022

Ports: Norfolk, VA to Horta, Faial, Azores

Project Principals: Derek Sowers, NOAA/OAR/OER (Expedition Coordinator and Mapping Lead); Shannon Hoy, NOAA/OAR/OER (Mapping Lead)

From July 9-30, 2022 (Norfolk, VA to Horta, Faial, Azores) NOAA Ocean Exploration completed the Voyage to the Ridge 2 expedition (EX-22-05), a combined mapping and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) expedition to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Azores Plateau. Operations during this 22-days at sea expedition included the completion of 10 successful ROV exploration dives in the vicinity the Azores and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of the Azores. ROV dives were conducted in water depths ranging from 420 m to 3350 m for a total of almost 53 hours of bottom time. EX-22-05 also collected 49,417 square kilometers of seafloor bathymetry and associated water column data using an EM304 multibeam sonar.

MARNA shallow

Area

MARNA shallow; Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Overview

Date:	July 20, 2022
Max Depth:	833.2 Meters
Bottom Time:	6 Hours 46 Minutes 14 Seconds

Purpose

To explore and characterize the habitat and benthic communities that inhabit the upper margins of a relatively shallow seamount on this segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Moytirra Vent

Area

Moytirra Vent; Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Overview

Date:	July 21, 2022
Max Depth:	3038.5 Meters
Bottom Time:	5 Hours 11 Minutes 16 Seconds

Purpose

To explore and characterize the organisms living in the hydrothermally inactive sulfide habitats.

MARNA Midwater

Area

MARNA Midwater; Water column dive

Overview

Date:	July 22, 2022
Max Depth:	1835.2 Meters
Bottom Time:	6 Hours 28 Minutes 1 Seconds

Purpose

Midwater/water column exploration

Axial Volcanic Ridge (AVR) 1

Area

Axial Volcanic Ridge (AVR) 1; Mid-Atlantic Ridge; elongate composite volcano forming part of the axial volcanic ridge

Overview

Date:	July 23, 2022
Max Depth:	2711.7 Meters
Bottom Time:	4 Hours 28 Minutes 21 Seconds

Purpose

Explore the upper slopes of a prominent axial volcanic ridge in this region of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Zenith

Area

Zenith; Seamount at a ridge-parallel normal fault, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Overview

Date:	July 24, 2022
Max Depth:	1076.1 Meters
Bottom Time:	6 Hours 6 Minutes 25 Seconds

Purpose

To explore and characterize the habitat and benthic communities that inhabit the upper margins of a relatively shallow seamount on this segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Kurchatov Ridge

Area

Kurchatov Ridge; Ridge-parallel normal fault north of Kurchatov Fracture Zone, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Overview

Date:	July 25, 2022
Max Depth:	1765 Meters
Bottom Time:	5 Hours 49 Minutes 19 Seconds

Purpose

To explore and characterize the community on the flank of a ridge arising from the axial valley of the MAR.

Kurchatov Deep

Area

Kurchatov Deep; Kurchatov Fracture Zone, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Overview

Date:	July 26, 2022
Max Depth:	3349.9 Meters
Bottom Time:	6 Hours 5 Minutes 33 Seconds

Purpose

Primary exploration at the deepest point of the fracture zone spreading area.

Redonda

Area

Redonda; 30 km west of Mid-Atlantic Ridge axis, on 2.2 My seafloor, normal fault dissected volcano

Overview

Date:	July 27, 2022
Max Depth:	1235.4 Meters
Bottom Time:	6 Hours 35 Minutes 27 Seconds

Purpose

To explore and characterize the community in a caldera on the MAR.

Cachalote Guyot

Area

Cachalote Guyot; 52 km west of Flores, on 13.4 My seafloor, on a guyot

Overview

Date:	July 28, 2022
Max Depth:	1501.4 Meters
Bottom Time:	6 Hours 10 Minutes 9 Seconds

Purpose

To explore and characterize the community on the flank of an unexplored guyot.

Kai Ridge

Area

Kai Ridge; Azores Plateau, on the upper ridge of a north-south trending exposed fault

Overview

Date:	July 29, 2022
Max Depth:	1924.5 Meters
Bottom Time:	5 Hours 53 Minutes 24 Seconds

Purpose

To explore and characterize the community on a ridge flank on the Azores Plateau.