Notes from planning discussions on deep water ecology and circulation research.

Attendees

Notes were entered here for the hydrophone group

Kim Juniper (chair), Laurenz Thomsen, Alex Hay (latter half), Reyna Jenkins, Renald Belley, Daphne Munroe, Trish Nettleship, Mark Verbenkov, Doug Schillinger

Idea

Mobile pod to conduct short term studies, either for scouting of new locations of permanent pods, or as part of targetted experiments. 

Low cost fibre optic connection to battery powered pod at mouth of Barkley Canyon.

Large scale thematic study, Fluids in crust

• 2 methane seeps, Barkley and 889
• Basement outcrop, 1027 bore hole and nearby locations including mount
• Endeavour vents (mid term)
• Middle Valley (long term)

Experiment ideas

corals

• barkley canyon to begin
• trophic links to seeps
• biology and behaviour vs. particl transport
• scout with ROV south canyon wall for reef type coral community

hydrates

• clam behaviour vs CH4 flux
• predation (quatify)
• mound dynamics vs phyiscs
• fish behaviour
• geochemical cycles
• manipulative experiments

heat flow

parametric echo sounding

Instrumentation Requirements, power & communications, platform requirements

Mobile pod movement at Barkley requires no additional infrastructure.  Could add new equipment such as

• pore pressure
• mobile ADV
• Optical backscatter for coral experiments
• micro particl sampler

Mobile pod at 1027 would require new junction box if this portion was done in conjunction with mobile experiments at Hydrates.  Would also require

• new bottom frame
• instruments including but not limited to* ADCP (upward and downward looking pair)
• rotary SONAR
• PTZ camera
• pore pressure
• microbial sensors
• sediment trap
• plankton pump

New pod at canyon mouth would require

• ADCP (upward and downward looking pair)
• rotary SONAR
• ptz camera

Network wide instruments

• pH
• pore
• vertical ctd chains

What kinds of research expertise are required? Who should be involved?

Physical oceanographers, benthic ecologists

Barkley Canyon Deep sea ecosystems group in collaboration with Hydrates group and more

Thomsen, Hay,Juniper, Snelgrove, Metaxas, Tunnicliffe, Hesseman , Spence

How long would the experiment last?

Mobile pod is meant to compliment the 25 year deployment at Barkley canyon or other locations.  Additional infrastructure at canyon mouth is meant to be permanent, even if thin fibre optic cable is only in the short term (ie long term node at ODP 888).

Additional instruments at 889 and 1027 are meant to be permanent, but could be mobile or a combination of mobile and fixed instruments.

But mobile experiments and interactive experiments (wally) are meant to be short term pilot projects on the order of 1 year.

How can this move forward? What specific steps can be taken?

Enter your notes here...