New sub-sea observatory

The hunt for new hydrothermal fields continues. In summer 2006, researchers from the University of Bergen returned to the field on the Atlantic Ridge to examine the seabed in more detail. Temperature probes were put into place to measure the variations in temperature on the seabed as well as water samplers which continuously take samples.It is necessary to use custom-made titanium bottles in order to be able to take samples of the water which has a temperature of 270 °C.

The researchers at the University of Bergen are involved in an extensive collaboration with the University of Washington in Seattle. On the basis of their expertise and the experience gained from the Atlantic Ridge project, they have been invited to help establish a subsea observatory in the form of a fibre-optic cable in the Pacific Ocean, which will make it possible to study oceanographic, geological and ecological processes in a wide area.

The hunt for more hydrothermal fields in the Atlantic starts in summer 2007. This time the researchers will move northwards in the Arctic environment, right up under the ice in the Arctic Ocean, where they will descend to a depth of 2,000 to 3,000 metres to see if they can find other hydrothermal fields and examine what type of life is to be found there.