New Norwegian land might emerge from the Atlantic Ocean
“Within the areas west of Jan Mayen, we’re near having new islands kind,” says Håvard Stubseid.
“We’ve now recognized volcanoes just a few dozen metres beneath the ocean’s floor,” he says.
Stubseid has simply returned from a analysis stint on the RV Kronprins Haakon. The researchers are finding out a dramatic mountain panorama within the deep sea between Jan Mayen and Svalbard.
They’ve made a number of thrilling discoveries.
Alongside Mohnsryggen and Knipovichryggen – Norway’s a part of the volcanic Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of Jan Mayen – the researchers on this and one other German-Norwegian expedition final summer time found new black people who smoke at a depth of round 3 000 metres. Black people who smoke are chimney-like buildings generally discovered close to volcanically lively locations
Maybe that is the place life on Earth started?
Down to three 000 metres beneath sea stage
Stubseid is a deep-sea researcher on the Centre for Deep Sea Analysis within the Division of Earth Science on the College of Bergen. Volcanology is one in all his fields of experience.
The voyage he took half in on board the RV Kronprins Haakon was the primary of three deliberate analysis expeditions to those areas via 2024.
“The overwhelming majority of volcanoes in Norwegian areas lie at enormous ocean depths, usually down to three 000 metres,” says Stubseid.
“However the areas round Jan Mayen are particular.”
Beerenberg is a 2 277 metre excessive volcano on Jan Mayen. Scientists thought it was useless – proper up till 1970. Then the 20 kilometre vast volcano instantly had a serious eruption.
Yearly ‘Norwegian’ volcanic eruptions
West of Jan Mayen and Beerenberg, the ocean is kind of shallow. And they’re volcanic.
Stubseid admits that it might be actually superior if an island arose out of the ocean right here.
Beneath the ocean floor within the North Atlantic there may be numerous volcanic exercise. Till a number of years in the past, we knew little or no about it.
Now scientists are steadily studying extra.
They know that we’ve got, on common, one underwater volcanic eruption in Norwegian deep sea areas each single yr.
Stubseid alerts us that the following time such an eruption happens, it’s fairly doable that we’ll see a brand new Norwegian island within the Atlantic Ocean being fashioned.
Volcanic mountains strategy the floor of the ocean within the areas west of Jan Mayen.
“There are buildings right here which can be just a few dozen metres beneath sea stage now,” he says.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the title of the undersea mountain vary that runs alongside the center of your complete Atlantic Ocean – from the Southern Ocean within the far south of the globe to the Arctic Ocean northward past Svalbard.
The ridge follows a crack the place the seabed within the Atlantic Ocean is splitting aside.
The crack widens by about 2 centimetres yearly, and round Jan Mayen, maybe about 1.5 centimetres annually.
It is not a lot. However sufficient in order that lava retains gushing up from the Earth’s mantle.
This exercise takes place virtually completely at deep ocean depths. The one place above sea stage the place we are able to see what’s going on is in Iceland.
Maybe we’ll finally additionally see volcanic exercise kind a brand new island throughout the Norwegian financial zone west of Jan Mayen.
Unmanned submarine takes to ocean depths
RV Kronprins Haakon was launched 5 years in the past and is likely one of the world’s most superior analysis vessels.
“Our voyage this autumn to the mid-ocean ridge between Jan Mayen and Svalbard was very profitable,” Stubseid says.
The vessel is a PC3 icebreaker class ship with 15 laboratories on board. Most vital for Stubseid and his colleagues on this journey, nevertheless, was the College of Bergen’s remote-controlled submarine, which might descend to a depth of 6 000 metres.
The researchers on this expedition had been notably excited by a geological phenomenon referred to as ‘black people who smoke’, that are hydrothermal vent chimneys.
Solely a few a long time in the past did scientists turn into conscious that black people who smoke might be discovered alongside mid-ocean ridges on the backside of the world’s oceans.
The chimneys spew water that’s a number of hundred levels Celsius and likewise precipitate massive portions of invaluable metallic sulphides that decide on the encompassing seabed.
A lot of the sooner consideration on black people who smoke has concerned distinctive organic communities that researchers have noticed present round them.
One concept is that the organic situations right here could possibly be the place to begin for all times on earth.
Now the curiosity has prolonged to the potential of discovering wealthy deposits of uncommon minerals round black people who smoke, reminiscent of are wanted to make high-tech tools.
Black people who smoke in Norwegian areas
“We’ve now discovered a number of black people who smoke in Norwegian areas,” Stubseid says.
“A variety of them are in areas round Jan Mayen and persevering with northward in direction of Svalbard. Right here they’re situated roughly 100 kilometres aside.”
Stubseid says that if it turns into related to take advantage of the deposits of invaluable minerals round black people who smoke commercially, then deposits which can be now not lively should be focused. The lively scorching people who smoke are, as talked about, host to fully distinctive life types.
One other problem with the areas round black people who smoke is that the minerals right here will finally be lined with lava and sediments that decide on the seabed.
“The additional away you progress from the rift within the seabed, the harder it turns into to take advantage of these sources.”
“On the similar time, it’s vital to guard black people who smoke. They’re fully distinctive geological and organic phenomena which can be an vital a part of Norwegian nature.”
Mountains within the deep ocean
The panorama on the seabed between Jan Mayen and Svalbard is extraordinarily hilly.
“Lots of people suppose that the seabed within the deep ocean is flat. However the border space between the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea is actually not flat,” says Stubseid.
“Right here we see top variations of three 000 metres.”
“Some volcanoes are over a thousand metres excessive and as much as 30 kilometres lengthy.”
GoNorth Expeditions
The GoNorth expeditions, which is able to happen via 2024, are Norway’s largest funding up to now in exploring the Arctic Ocean.
The expeditions have been within the planning section for 12 years.
A complete of 13 universities and analysis institutes are taking part.
THE MAREANO programme is one other analysis mission by which the Norwegian Mapping Authority, the Geological Survey of Norway and the Norwegian Institute of Marine Analysis are collaborating to map Norway’s ocean areas. Researchers can now map the seabed as much as a depth of three 000 metres and several other kilometres vast with the assistance of superior echo sounders.
“That is how we are able to see all the things that sticks up greater than 20 metres from the seabed,” says Stubseid.
“We are able to additionally create maps with a decision right down to 50 centimetres.”
“We do this by sending a torpedo-like autonomous underwater car alongside the seabed. We’re in a position to get unbelievable photos from the ocean depths,” the deep-sea researcher says excitedly.
This map by the Norwegian Mapping Authority shows Norwegian ocean areas in the North Atlantic.
References:
Harald Brekke, Norwegian Petroleum Directorate: Geologiske modeller, betydning for ressursevaluering. (Geological fashions, significance for useful resource analysis), 2 June 2022.
MARUM: New hydrothermal subject found by MARUM expedition, 19 August 2022.
Geological Report, podcast from UiB.
———
Read the Norwegian version of this article at forskning.no
——