…and we are back to the blue ocean! On the French research vessel Pourquoi pas? for the “Arc en Sub” mission, we are exploring the deep crust at the Rainbow massif, 36°14’N along the Mid Atlantic Ridge. Here, one active hydrothermal site and two fossil ones have been discovered to date. We will not only map and sample the active vents from the so-called Rainbow hydrothermal field. but also explore the deeper parts of the massif that is the basement where the system has grown through time.
We deployed seismometers last night and the AUV is now mapping at high resolution the first grid. The ROV Victor 6000 will be deployed tonight to start live observations and sampling.
Follow us at the official blog of the mission:
http://arcensub.ens.fr/en/
Hoping tomorrow to have some pretty pictures to show of the bottom of the ocean. Stay tuned!
Victor 6000, the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that will explore and sample the different sites
OBS deployment
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle IdefX
Victor6000 just going into the water