Latitude: 13.24667οN Longitude: 144.01667οE Depth: 1250 m bsl
Vent Sites: Fe-mats, Snail-mats (Davis et al., 2008)
Seamount X is a moderately intense, active submarine hydrothermal vent located in the Southern Seamount Province of Mariana Arc (Baker et al., 2008). Two low-temperature iron-rich vents have been recognized at Seamount X, named as Fe-mats and Snail-mats (Davis et al., 2008). Thick deposits of microbial mat and diffuse venting sites colonized by shrimp, crabs, and scale worms were discovered at this site. Not only that but also an extraordinarily large deposit of sulfur that was covered with thousands of galatheid crabs (squat lobsters) was found.
Table 1: Operations history for Seamount-X vent
| Ship/ Platform | Operation | Year | Dive Number | References |
| TN-153 R/VT. G. Thompson | EM 300 multibeam; CTD tow-yo | 2003 February – March | Not found | Submarine Ring of Fire 2003 |
| MGLN02MV R/V Melville/ ROV Jason-2 | Not found | 2006 April | J2-184 | 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 | J2-486 | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary (note: click “Files- operations summary”) |
Table 2: Vent activity and host rocks
| Activity and host rocks | References | |
| Activity | Active | Submarine ring of fire, 2003Lupton et al., 2008; InterRidge Vents Database Ver. 3.3 |
| Host Rocks | Basalt – Andesite | Embley et al., 2007 |
Table 3: Vent fluid characteristics
| Vent Fluids | References | |
| Temperature (οC) | Low T (<100οC) | Embley et al., 2007 |
| ΔpH | -0.035 to -0.093 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| Composition | low-temperature iron-rich ventsModerate Fe, Mn and 3He | Davis et al., 2008Resing et al., 2009 |
| Particulate Fe (nmol/kg) | 6-48 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| TDMn (nM) | 84-34 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| TDFe (nM) | 99-230 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| Δ3He (fM) | 1-0.5 | Resing et al., 2009 |
| CH4 (nM) | 1.6 – 4.9 | Resing et al., 2009 |
* ΔpH- Measured relative to the regional background; Δ3He – Measured above the background.
Table 4: Vent Biology
| General name | Phylum | References |
| Sulfur oxidizingɛ-Proteobacteria | Proteobacteria | Davis et al., 2008 |
| Crabs | Arthropoda | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
| Scale worms | Annelida | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
| Shrimp | Arthropoda | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
| Snails | Mollusca | Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 |
Images:
- Squat lobsters, living here upon a huge sulfur deposit at Seamount X.
- The plethora of squat lobsters at Seamount X.
- The hydrothermal fluid sampler collecting diffuse fluids.
- Huge pieces of sulfur (yellow, in the center foreground) and two pieces of basalt (reddish black, background) collected at Seamount X.
Video Links:
References:
- Baker, E. T., Embley, R. W., Walker, S. L., Resing, J. A., Lupton, J. E., Nakamura, K., de Ronde, C. E. J., Massoth, G. J., 2008. Hydrothermal activity and volcano distribution along the Mariana arc: Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (B8), 1-16.
- Davis, R. E., Moyer, C. L., 2008. Extreme spatial and temporal variability of hydrothermal microbial mat communities along the Mariana Island Arc and southern Mariana back-arc system. Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (B8), doi:10.1029/2007JB005413.
- Embley, R. W., Baker, E. T., Butterfield, D. A., Chadwick, W. W. Jr., Lupton, J. E., Resing, J. A., de Ronde, C. E. J., Nakamura, K., Tunnicliffe, V., Dower, J. F., Merle, S. G., 2007. Exploring the submarine ring of fire: Mariana Arc- Western Pacific, Oceanography 20, 68–79.
- 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), doi:10.1029/2007JB005467.
- 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), doi:10.1029/2008GC002141.
Website References:
- InterRidge Vents Database Ver. 3.3 http://vents-data.interridge.org/ventfield/seamount-x (accessed 09/17/2015)
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2003 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03fire/logs/summary/summary.html (accessed 09/17/2015)
- Submarine Ring of Fire, 2006 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06fire/logs/photolog/photolog.html (accessed 09/17/2015)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: ROV JASON/MEDEA: Operations Summary http://www.whoi.edu/main/jason/operations-summary (accessed 09/17/2015)
Cruise Reports:
- Submarine Ring of Fire 2003 http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03fire/logs/summary/marianas_cruisereport.pdf (accessed 09/17/2015)