Latitude: 14.600οN Longitude: 144.775οE Depth: 527 m bsl
NW Rota-1 is an active submarine arc volcano in the rear arc region of the S Seamount Province and shows a steep-sided cone morphology (Chadwick et al., 2008). Volcanic activity was first detected in 2004 (Embley et al., 2006) and repeat visits in 2005 and 2006 confirmed that it was in a continuous state of eruption (Chadwick et al., 2008; Embley et al., 2006). Venting at Brimstone pit was characterized by pulsating plume with droplets of molten sulfur, basaltic ash, lapilli and occasional bombs (>15 cm) falling from the plume after being ejected from the pit (Embley et al., 2006a). Resing et al., (2007) state that this vent discharges sulfuric acid-rich fluids and are also enriched in dissolved and particulate species of metals and gasses such as Fe, Mn and CO2 respectively. The venting began as degassing magma associated with eruption at Brimstone pit. Later visits found venting to be either in the form of CO2 rich gas bubbles or liquid CO2 droplets (Lupton et al., 2008).Some biological communities such as shrimp including two species Alvinocaris sp.M and Opaepele loihi (Stevens et al., 2008) and a type of Proteobacteria called Epsilonproteobacteria (Huber et al., 2010) dominate the NW Rota-1 communities.
Table 1: Operations history for NW Rota 1 vent
| Ship/ Platform | Operation | Year | Dive Number | References |
| MGLN02MV R/V Melville | SeaBeam 2000 Multibeam | 2006 April- May | J2-186 to J2-189, J2-191, J2-192 | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary (note: click “Files- operations summary”) |
| RR1413 R/V Roger Revelle/ Jason | Multibeam re-survey, CTD | 2014 | J2-800 | Submarine Ring of Fire 2014-Ironman |
| NT 0517 R/V Natsushima/ Hyper-dolphin | Not found | 2005 October | HPD#0480 HPD#0481HPD#0488HPD#0489 | NT05-17 cruise report |
| NT 10-13 Natsushima Leg.2/ Hyper-dolphin | Not found | 2010 July | HPD#1161 | NT10-13 leg2 cruise report |
| TN-232 R/V Thompson/ ROV Jason-2 | Not found | 2009 April | J2-396 to J2-412 | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary (note: click “Files- operations summary”) |
| R/V Kilo Moana/ ROV Jason-2 | Not found | 2010 March | J2-487 to J2-495 | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary (note: click “Files- operations summary”) |
| TN-167 R/V T. G. Thompson/ ROPOS | CTD tow-yo, CTD vertical cast, EM 300 | 2004 March- April | R782-R784, R786 | Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 |
Table 2: Vent activity and host rocks
| Activity and host rocks | References | |
| Activity | Active volcanoContinuous state of eruption through 2004-2006 | Embley et al., 2006; Chadwick et al., 2008; Resing et al., 2009; Dziak et al., 2012 |
| Host Rocks | Basalt, basaltic andesite and andesite | Stern et al., 2008 |
Table 3: Vent fluids
| Vent Fluids | References | ||
| Temperature (οC) | Brimstone pit | 25-120High T30-119 | Lupton et al.,2008Resing et al., 2009Embley et al., 2009 |
| Iceberg | 53.8 | Huber et al., 2010 | |
| Sandy Saddle | 35.6 | Huber et al., 2010 | |
| Fault Shrimp | 25.9 | Huber et al., 2010 | |
| Scarp Top | 17.6 | Huber et al., 2010 | |
| pH | Brimstone pit | 1.642.0 | Huber et al., 2010Lupton et al.,2008 |
| Iceberg | 3.75 | Huber et al., 2010 | |
| Sandy Saddle | 2.62 | Huber et al., 2010 | |
| Fault Shrimp | 5.25 | Huber et al., 2010 | |
| Scarp Top | 5.09 | Huber et al., 2010 | |
| ΔpH | -0.730 | Resing et al., 2009 | |
| CO2 (mM) | 7.63-93.5 | Lupton et al., 2008 | |
| ΔCO2 (mM) | 40 | Resing et al., 2009 | |
| H2 (mM) | 0.0001-12.6 | Lupton et al., 2008 | |
| Composition | Focused flow rich in Al, S, Si, CO2, Fe, Mn, and 3He. Diffuse flow rich in Fe, Mn, CO2, and 3He but without Al, S, and Si. | Resing et al., 2007 | |
| Particulate Fe (nmol/kg) | 2052 | Resing et al., 2007 | |
| TDMn (nM) | 150 | Resing et al., 2007 | |
| TDFe (nM) | 2300 | Resing et al., 2007 | |
| Δ3He (fM) | 15.3 | Resing et al., 2007 | |
| 3He (μM) | 0.0368-38.11 | Lupton et al., 2008 | |
| CH4 (mM) | 0.00002-0.0099 | Lupton et al., 2008 |
* ΔpH, ΔCO2 – Measured relative to the regional background; Δ3He – Measured above the background.
Table 4: Vent biology
| General name | Phylum | Class/Order | Family | Genus/Species | References |
| Bacteria | Proteobactera | Epsilonproteobacteria | Huber et al., 2010 | ||
| Shrimp | Arthropoda | Decapoda | Alvinocaridae | Alvinocaris sp.M | Stevens et al., 2008 |
| Shrimp | Arthropoda | Decapoda | Alvinocaridae | Opaepele loihi | Stevens et al., 2008 |
Images:
- A degassing event at Brimstone Pit at NW Rota-1.
- Shrimp at NW Rota1.
- Shinkailepas limpets at NW Rota.
- A large Alvinocaris shrimp.
- A slope covered with sulfur crusts.
- Sulfur deposits outcrop on a ridge at NW Rota.
Video Links:
- Two species of shrimp found here at NW Rota-1 volcano.
- Some of the dead marine life observed on the sea floor at NW Rota-1.
- Dive at NW Rota.
- Underwater volcanic eruption at Brimstone vent on NW Rota-1 was the first eruption ever witnessed.
- Despite the active eruptive activity nearby, two species of shrimp thrive on NW Rota-1.
References:
- Chadwick, W. W., Cashman, K. V., Embley, R. W., Matsumoto, H., Dziak, R. P., de Ronde, C. E. J., Lau, T. K., Deardorff, N. D., Merle, S. G., 2008. Direct video and hydrophone observations of submarine explosive eruptions at NW Rota-1 volcano, Mariana arc. Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (B8), 1-23.
- Dziak, R. P., Baker, E. T., Shaw, A. M., Bohnenstiehl, D. R.,Chadwick, Jr. W. W., Haxel, J. H., Matsumoto, H., Walker, S. L., 2012. Flux measurements of explosive degassing using a yearlong hydroacoustic record at an erupting submarine volcano. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 13, Q0AF07, doi:10.1029/2012GC004211.
- Embley, R. W., Chadwick, W. W., Jr., Baker, E. T., Butterfield, D. A., Resing, J. A., de Ronde, C. E., Tunnicliffe, V., Lupton, J. E., Juniper, S. K., Rubin, K. H., Stern, R. J., Lebon, G. T., Nakamura, K., Merle, S. G., Hein, J. R., Wiens, D. A., Tamura, Y., 2006. Long-term eruptive activity at a submarine arc volcano. Nature 441 (7092), 494-497.
- Huber, J. A., Cantin, H. V., Huse, S. M., Welch, D. B., Sogin, M. L., Butterfield, D. A., 2010. Isolated communities of Epsilonproteobacteria in hydrothermal vent fluids of the Mariana Arc seamounts: FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 73 (3), 538-549.
- Lupton, J., Lilley, M., Butterfield, D., Evans, L., Embley, R., Massoth, G., Christenson, B., Nakamura, K., Schmidt, M., 2008. Venting of a separate CO2-rich gas phase from submarine arc volcanoes: Examples from the Mariana and Tonga-Kermadec arcs. Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (B8), 1-21.
- Resing, J. A., Baker, E. T., Lupton, J. E., Walker, S. L., Butterfield, D. A., Massoth, G. J., Nakamura, K., 2009. Chemistry of hydrothermal plumes above submarine volcanoes of the Mariana Arc. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 10 (2), 1-23.
- Resing, J. A., Lebon, G., Baker, E. T., Lupton, J. E., Embley, R. W., Massoth, G. J., Chadwick, W. W. Jr., Ronde, C. E. J., 2007. Venting of acid-sulfate fluids in a high-sulfidation setting at NW Rota-1 submarine volcano on the Mariana Arc. Econ. Geol. 102, 1047-1061.
- Stern, R. J., Tamura, Y., Embley, R. W., Ishizuka, O., Merle, S. G., Basu, N. K., Kawabata, H., Bloomer, S. H., 2008. Evolution of West Rota Volcano, an extinct submarine volcano in the southern Mariana Arc. Evidence from sea floor morphology, remotely operated vehicle observations and 40Ar-39Ar geochronological studies. Island Arc 17 (1), 70-89.
- Stevens, C. J., Limen, H., Pond, D. W., Gelinas, Y., Juniper, S. K., 2008. Ontogenetic shifts in the trophic ecology of two alvinocaridid shrimp species at hydrothermal vents on the Mariana Arc, western Pacific Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series 356, 225–237.
Website References:
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04fire/logs/summary/summary.html (accessed 12/24/2015)
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2006 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06fire/logs/summary/summary.html (accessed 12/24/2015)
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2014 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/14fire/logs/december03/media/srof14_video7.wmv (accessed 12/24/2015)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary http://www.whoi.edu/main/jason/operations-summary (accessed 12/24/2015)
Cruise Reports:
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2006 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06fire/logs/summary/media/srof06_cruisereport_final.pdf (accessed 12/24/2015)
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2004 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04fire/logs/summary/media/marianas2004cruisereport.pdf (accessed 12/24/2015)
- NT05-17 cruise report http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/catalog/data/doc_catalog/media/NT05-17_all.pdf (accessed 02/27/2017)
- NT10-13 leg2 cruise report http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/catalog/data/doc_catalog/media/NT10-13_leg2_all.pdf (accessed 02/27/2017)